Yardley to retire as CEO of Community Concepts

LEWISTON — Shawn Yardley, CEO of Community Concepts, has announced that he will retire at the end of the year.
“It has been an honor and a pleasure to serve the residents of Androscoggin, Franklin, and Oxford counties and to work with CCI’s dedicated professional staff,” Yardley said. “I’m especially proud of our work over the last few challenging years as we addressed the impact of the pandemic on our residents and dealt with the unprecedented demands placed on our staff to meet community needs.”
Board Chair Donna Karno praised Yardley’s commitment to CCI. “CCI’s mission is to strengthen individuals, families, and communities through promoting economic opportunity for all. Shawn has devoted his career to working with and assisting people in dealing with their challenges to achieving self-sufficiency. No one could have been more committed to our core mission and to serving our people.”
Past Board Chair Tara Jean Davis was involved in the selection process when Yardley was hired. “Shawn was charged with strengthening both CCI’s presence in the community and financial position,” she said. “He accomplished both goals during a time when the agency was challenged to add new pandemic related programming while maintaining existing services, such as Head Start, in a difficult environment. He rose to those challenges.”
While Yardley will step back from his full duties as chief executive 0fficer on June 30, he will continue to assist the board and the organization through the process of transitioning to a new CEO and will continue to work on certain ongoing projects through the end of the calendar year.
Anticipating Yardley’s decision to step down, the Board of Directors formed a transition committee earlier this year and plans to contract with a search firm to assist with the recruitment process for the next CEO. The board anticipates possibly appointing an Interim CEO as the hiring process proceeds.