Kirk Ritchey
Board President of Eastern Catskills CLT

In 2022, Kirk founded, Eastern Catskills CLT (ECCLT), a 501(c)3 nonprofit Community Land Trust. As President, Kirk leads WHA to become a provider of affordable rentals and shared-equity home ownership for year-round residents in Woodstock and the surrounding rural communities.

A Woodstock resident for 32 years, Kirk’s recent volunteer work included chairing the committee that authored the Town of Woodstock’s Comprehensive Plan, which resulted in its adoption in 2018, the first master plan adopted by the town board in 56 years. He was co-chair, for four years, of Woodstock’s Housing Committee that has been the incubator of local housing ideas that resulted in now Family’s HomeShare Ulster program and the formation of a local Community Land Trust. Kirk was also the co-chair of Woodstock’s Housing Oversight Task Force that overviewed the proposed new housing code updates, the first revisions in 40 years, and currently is under review.

Briefly, while an advisor for Chronogram Media, Kirk provided consulting to Bard College in its operations strategic planning process, and RUPCO developing a model for determining occupants of a commercial property. He also, advised Chronogram Media on the launch of “The River”, a Hudson Valley newsroom, now in its 7th year.

Kirk, for 23 years, worked in the corporate digital technology industry. His roles included business development executive, account and project manager, and team leader delivering, for global organizations, enterprise-wide technology projects in supply-chain optimization, data warehouse and business intelligence development, and centralized IT project management planning. 

Before his technology career, Kirk applied his leadership skills in heavy construction project management, specializing in infrastructure renovation in New York City. Projects included Grand Central Station Mezzanine Level and Penn Station expansion.