Burlington Mayor Taps New Director in CEDO Shakeup

As part of her plan to reconfigure city government, Burlington Mayor Emma Mulvaney-Stanak is tapping new leadership for one of its foundational departments.

Kara Alnasrawi will serve as director of Burlington’s Community & Economic Development Office, or CEDO, which oversees affordable housing, large-scale redevelopment projects and efforts to improve civic life. Founded in 1983 by former mayor Bernie Sanders, CEDO helped bring Burlington into the modern era.

Alnasrawi, who is currently director of the Church Street Marketplace and the Business & Workforce Development department, will start on July 1.

She replaces Brian Pine, who has led CEDO since 2021. Counting his previous stint as an assistant CEDO director, Pine has spent 23 years working for the department. A former Progressive politician, Pine resigned from the city council when he was appointed as the department’s director four years ago.

The shakeup stems from a planned merger between CEDO and Business & Workforce Development, which is part of Mulvaney-Stanak’s plan to close an $8 million hole in next year’s budget. Eighteen city employees, including five other CEDO staffers, were also laid off last week.

In a press release on Wednesday, Mulvaney-Stanak said Alnasrawi will “offer strong leadership for the re-imagined CEDO” by focusing on economic development. Alnasrawi, in a statement, said she’s up for the challenge.

“I am honored that Mayor Mulvaney-Stanak has asked me to lead CEDO at a time when equitable economic prosperity is under threat,” she said. “The revitalization of CEDO will be a collective effort, and I’m proud to be a part of it.”

A Burlington area native, Alnasrawi joined city government in 2019 when former mayor Miro Weinberger appointed her director of the Church Street Marketplace. In 2022, she was promoted to lead the newly created Business & Workforce Development department. During her tenure, Alnasrawi led efforts to help businesses bounce back post-pandemic and launched a revolving loan fund that officials say has created or retained 100 jobs.

Since Mulvaney-Stanak’s election last year, Alnasrawi’s job description has expanded to include addressing “hot spots” for criminal behavior downtown and leading a city team focused on redeveloping the so-called Memorial Block that includes the historic Memorial Auditorium.

Mulvaney-Stanak’s announcement comes just a few weeks before she’s expected to announce her slate of department heads for the coming year. City councilors will consider the appointments, including Alnasrawi, in early June.

In an interview with Seven Days, Pine said Mulvaney-Stanak informed him a few weeks ago that he wouldn’t be reappointed.

The mayor said “she was going to go a different direction with the department,” Pine said. “This is a dream job for me. I would have loved to continue.”

Mulvaney-Stanak hasn’t addressed why she chose Alnasrawi over Pine, who arguably has more experience, particularly with housing — CEDO’s bread and butter. Pine previously spent nearly 18 years as CEDO’s housing director and worked for nonprofits focused on financing affordable housing and clean energy projects. He’s also the city’s unofficial historian with a known ability to recall important milestones off the top of his head.

Alnasrawi worked as a trader for a German bank and owned a boutique in downtown Burlington before moving to the public sector. She recently earned a certificate in economic development from the Harvard Kennedy School, according to the press release.

Alnasrawi did not immediately respond to an interview request on Wednesday. Joe Magee, the mayor’s deputy chief of staff, said Mulvaney-Stanak wasn’t available for additional questions.

In the press release, the mayor acknowledged Pine’s years of service.

“Burlington has directly benefited by his hard work in a number of areas, including the protection of low-income housing and evolving our Housing Trust Fund to be more impactful,” she said, referring to a city fund that supports affordable housing projects. “I thank him for his dedication to our City.”

Pine said he understands why the departments are merging, but he worries that CEDO was cut too deep. Aside from his position, two assistant directors got the axe.

“I want this department to succeed, and I want the new director to be successful,” he said. “I hope there’s a path forward that will allow the department to keep chipping away at its mission and has the adequate staffing and resources to do that.”

Officials say they’ll share more information about the merger in the coming weeks. Councilors must approve a new budget before July 1.