Tripp Harrison is the president and CEO of Goodwill Northern New England. Courtesy photo

GORHAM — Goodwill Northern New England’s board of directors named Tripp Harrison as president and CEO of the nonprofit which serves Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. Harrison was formerly the president and CEO of Goodwill of South Mississippi. Harrison succeeds former President and CEO Richard J. Cantz who served Goodwill for more than 20 years in various roles, according to a Goodwill press release.

“We’re lucky that Tripp deeply understands the mission of Goodwill,” Cantz said. “He’s joining at a time when our Goodwill is expanding services and continuing to make huge strides in our sustainability efforts. To have a leader from within the Goodwill movement joining us is exciting, and will ease this leadership transition.”

In addition to 29 stores, Goodwill offers workforce development, disability and brain injury programs that support more than 17,000 people each year.

Harrison is an experienced senior executive with a track record of investing in people and communities while driving growth, solving complex business problems, and building partnerships. He was the president and CEO of Goodwill South Mississippi since 2021, prior to that, he served as a senior vice president at Goodwill of Middle Georgia and The CSRA.

“One thing that excited me about joining Goodwill NNE,” Harrison said, “is the strong foundation of community impact the organization has established, with the opportunity to lead this organization to reach even more individuals in need of our services, helping them to ultimately reach personal stability. I will also be working closely with the team to ensure we are a best-in-class employer, and that each employee has the support they need to contribute in a meaningful way. Together, we’ll ensure we are delivering on our commitment to providing great value and good customer service to our donors and shoppers in our retail stores, excellent service to our business clients, and delivering robust mission programs to the individuals we serve in each of our unique communities.”

In middle Georgia and in south Mississippi, Harrison had full accountability for the donated goods retail enterprise, in addition to disability and workforce programs. He implemented new mission services and community partnerships. He built innovative strategies around operating efficiency, growth in market position, and increased employee engagement. He also led the development of successful AI/virtual job skills training programs while fostering strong relationships with federal, state, and local government agencies. Harrison joined Goodwill after a successful career in culinary and hospitality management.

“We have a tremendous opportunity ahead of us and we are thrilled that Tripp will help us achieve our goals and ambitions for Goodwilll NNE,” said Tiffany Breau-Metivier, chair of Goodwill NNE’s board of directors. “The Board of Directors is highly confident in the strength and resilience of this Goodwill team, and we look forward to a successful leadership transition.”

Each Goodwill is an independent, autonomous nonprofit that uses revenue generated from local donations to best serve the local community. Goodwill NNE operates services for adults with disabilities, group homes, workforce services, runs AmeriCorps programs, operates two brain injury clinics, and more, in addition to keeping more than 50 million pounds of reusable items out of local landfills each year. For more information visit GoodwillNNE.org.