Kristin Appelget, the four-year president of the Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce, and a seven-year member of the West Windsor Township Council, was named Monday as Princeton University's director of Community and Regional Affairs.
Ms. Appelget, who will begin her new position May 22, will leave her Chamber post, as well as her spot on West Windsor Council, effective May 8.
But the transition is one that makes sense to the 35-year-old, who, in the past seven years, has formed strong community ties, not only professionally, but also personally, as she is a fourth-generation resident of the Princeton area.
"I've had great relationships with the people I've worked with and will continue to work with — this is just a different role," Ms. Appelget said in an interview Monday.
At the University, Ms. Appelget will serve as the liaison between the University and local municipal government, including Princeton Borough and Township, West Windsor, South Brunswick, Plainsboro, and Mercer and Middlesex counties. Becoming more involved in the community than she already has been is a challenge for her, she said, but something to which she is looking forward: "I'm involved in a lot already, but I'm looking to reach out to groups that I haven't come into contact with through my involvement here at the Chamber."
For Ms. Appelget, her experience with the Chamber has prepared her for this next step. "We've grown the Chamber so much in the past four years because we've reached out into the community," she said, adding that her work has become more involved with other community groups throughout Princeton region.
"I think I have a particular skill in listening and talking to people to see where unmet needs are, and I look forward to continuing that work when I come to the University," she said.
Ms. Appelget will succeed Pam Hersh, who left the University as the director for Community and State Affairs in February to become vice president for Government and Community Affairs at Princeton HeathCare System.
Deeply rooted in the Princeton community, and currently a resident of West Windsor, Ms. Appelget said her background allows her to better appreciate the community and the resources that are offered here. "I went to school and grew up in West Windsor, and riding the Dinky into Princeton to go out to lunch with friends was a regular event.
"So many times when you live in this area, you take for granted all the resources we have," she said, adding that after graduating from Notre Dame, she returned with a newfound appreciation for the area, that "maybe I didn't fully appreciate when I was growing up."
Ms. Appelget's youth has always been something of note at the various positions she has held in the community, but it has been anything but a hindrance; in fact, it has enabled her to bring different perspectives to the table, she said. Elected to West Windsor Council at 28, she said she was at the point in her career, having worked at UBS PaineWebber, where she could start devoting more time to the community. Her devotion has since become a career.
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In addition to Ms. Appelget's appointment, Robert Durkee, the University's vice president and secretary, said the responsibility for the University's state relations will be transferred to Karen Jezierny, the director of Public Affairs. Ms Jezierny, a former assistant state treasurer and a former member of the speaker's staff of the New Jersey General Assembly, was appointed director of public affairs in 2004. At the time she was serving as director of the University's Policy Research Institute for the Region.
Karen Woodbridge, an 18-year member of the office of Community and State Affairs and currently its associate director, will be promoted to the position of director of community relations in the new office of Community and Regional Affairs, where she will represent the University throughout the community, namely outside of governmental and regulatory venues. She also will oversee the University's community auditing and continuing education programs, and will continue to serve as a special assistant to the vice president and secretary.