New board members are Flo Nicolas, co-founder and COO of DEI Directive, who will be chair of the coalition’s Equity Advisory Committee; Heather McGrail, president and CEO of the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, who has supported NextGen’s communications since last fall; and Shannon MacLeod, who as former Mayor Joyce Craig’s chief of staff helped lead the city’s application to the federal Economic Development Administration’s Build Back Better Regional Challenge.

The NextGen Manchester Resiliency Council supports the Build Back Better Regional Challenge coalition’s strategy for inclusive growth and sustained economic development, sparked by the city’s award of $44 million in BBRC grants in 2022 to create jobs in the biomedical manufacturing field, particularly production and distribution of regenerative tissue and organs. Its mission is to foster the progress and growth of Manchester and southern New Hampshire by creating family-sustaining jobs and expanded opportunity through the development of the biofabrication industry.