Julianna Dodson became executive director for the Hannah Grimes Center for Entrepreneurship in late October, taking the reins from Mary Ann Kristiansen, who founded the Keene-based business incubator in 2006. Dodson, originally from South Carolina, says one of things she loves about her new role is being able to mentor others. “Growing up, I didn’t have a lot of educational and professional support, so it has been fun to provide guidance and support to others,” she says.
Dodson, 35, joined the Hannah Grimes Center in 2021 as director of Radically Rural, an annual summit started by Kristiansen and Terrence Williams, then-COO and president of The Keene Sentinel. The Radically Rural Summit is an annual event held in Keene that brings together hundreds of rural leaders and community members from across the country to discuss innovative ideas and models for revitalizing rural areas.
The Center also includes The Hannah Grimes Marketplace on Main Street in Keene, which accepts vendors up to 150 miles away. It was opened by Kristiansen in 1997 to assist people selling their products and seeking to develop their business skills.
“Over last 27 years Hannah Grimes has become this unbelievably powerful tool providing market access through the marketplace, business connections through the Center, and a national ecosystem platform through Radically Rural,” Dodson says.
Dodson, who worked for a public finance group specializing in tax innovation before coming to Hannah Grimes, doesn’t see herself fitting neatly into a box. “I would describe myself as having an insatiable curiosity and a deep commitment to earth and people,” she says.
Dodson has three daughters ages five, seven and nine, and tries to reinforce the importance of curiosity and community connection with them. “They are a bundle of curiosity and fun and quirkiness,” she says, adding that her oldest daughter joins her at both the Radically Rural Summit and on the Brownfields committee in Spofford on which Dodson serves. “They’re my favorite people to spend time with.”
The Hannah Grimes Center is working on affordable housing issues, including supporting an accessory dwelling unit design (ADU) challenge put forward by the Southwest Region Planning Commission that aims to connect homeowners with architects, students, and building professionals who can provide design services to help homeowners figure out how to incorporate an ADU on their property. The center is also working on programming around shared housing.
Dodson says she is excited about the future and grateful to Kristiansen and all the staff, board members, and community members that have shaped Hannah Grimes over the years. “I wanted to be a part of an organization where innovation and ideas are a part of its DNA and this is what I found at Hannah Grimes,” she says.
