Community Action selects Heather Loughman as new CEO
Lincoln, NE (October 25, 2021) The Community Action Partnership of Lancaster and Saunders County Board of Directors announced today that after more than ten years with the agency, Heather Loughman has been named its new CEO. Loughman will begin her role on October 31, 2021, succeeding the current CEO, Vi See, who will retire after over 13 years of service.
“Heather is a willing listener, a passionate advocate, a skilled messenger, and an outstanding leader,” said Lisa Hale, Community Action Board President. “On behalf of the Board of Directors, we’re thrilled to have her leading the agency into its next chapter.”
Loughman has been employed with Community Action since 2011, serving in the Director of Communications and Development role on the agency’s leadership team since 2017. Since first joining Community Action, she has been instrumental in increasing support for agency programs, growing programs’ services provided, and adding new services to benefit residents of the agency’s two-county service area. Loughman holds a BA in Scientific and Technical Communication; business emphasis and a MS in Rhetoric and Technical Communication from Michigan Technological University. She has a Certificate in Fundraising Management. She is a Leadership Lincoln Fellows XXXIV and was named United Way Speaker of the Year in 2019.
“Community Action is an organization very dear to me, where I have had tremendous opportunity to learn and grow both personally and professionally,” said Loughman. “Learning and growth will be at the forefront of Community Action’s continued efforts to create opportunities for individuals to achieve economic stability, and to address both poverty’s conditions and causes. It is an honor to partner with our Board and Head Start Policy Council, our dedicated team of staff and volunteers, our participants, and our community of supporters to do this critical work.”
As a member of Community Action’s leadership team, Loughman has helped to steer the agency toward innovation and increased service provision throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, Community Action provided over 107,800 services to over 17,900 individuals in Lancaster and Saunders Counties. In 2021, efforts to address heightened need have continued, as many who were most affected by the pandemic are continuing to recover.
Loughman also assumes her new role at a time of tremendous growth. Community Action currently employs 166 staff across its seven locations in Lancaster and Saunders Counties, including three full-day, full-year early childhood centers in Lincoln. In addition, Community Action Head Start is expanding early childhood education services to enroll 72 additional children and their families.
