Congratulations and Farewell to Program Director Spencer Bradford

We wish farewell to Spencer Bradford, who has left UMD to become the new executive director of Durham Congregations in Action, and also to devote more time to his post as pastor of the Durham Mennonite Church.

Spencer came to Durham in 2000 as executive director for the Shelter for New HOPE. In his first year, Spencer did an exceptional job at restoring the Shelter to financial solvency and in bringing the Shelter into compliance with several important federal requirements which had been neglected. In his second year, Spencer helped lead the effort to create the new Urban Ministries of Durham through a merger of the Shelter for New HOPE with the St. Philip’s Community Kitchen and the United Methodist Mission Society.

While Spencer is the first to shun fame or praise, we should mention that he has become a real hero for improving services to people in need and for improving Durham’s understanding of the complex relationships between poverty, mental illness, substance abuse, and many other community problems. Durham has been much improved through Spencer’s leadership and efforts, and we are grateful that he will continue serving the community in his new role at DCIA.

– posted by Phil Marsosudiro, UMD volunteer