NOW Executive Director Talyer Shea

Northeast Opportunities for Wellness, Inc. (NOW) is proud to announce the promotion of Tayler Shea as Interim Executive Director. Shea has been a part of the NOW organization since May of 2018, first serving as an intern before accepting a Wellness Leader position in September of that year. Most recently, Shea was promoted to Programming Coordinator, leading all NOW outreach programs in the community before being tapped to take on the Interim Executive Director role. Shea is a graduate of Eastern Connecticut State University (’19), Summa Cum Lade, with a degree in Child Psychology. In addition to her time with NOW, Shea has had extensive experience working with children in clinical settings, has been published in multiple scientific research journals, and is a member of the National Psychology Honor Society (PSI CHI).

Shea will step into the position following the departure of the organization’s first Executive Director, Sarah Wolfburg. Over the past month, Shea and Wolfburg have been working closely to prepare for the transition of responsibilities. Wolfburg, who has served as Executive Director since 2015 stated, “As I move on to new opportunities, I could not be happier to see Tayler take on the Interim Executive Director role with NOW. Since her time as an intern, Tayler has continued to impress both me and our board of directors with her professionalism, hard work, optimism, creativity and connection to the NOW mission of promoting youth wellness in our community. Tayler has grown so much and I look forward to seeing her lead this organization in the months and years to come.”

NOW President Gene Michael Deary shared his thoughts on Shea’s promotion, “Tayler has proven herself to be a dynamic talent. The depth of knowledge Tayler possesses about NOW programs and scholarships will be an asset to her as she becomes the new face of NOW.”

As Interim Executive Director, Shea will hit the ground running beginning December 1, 2020. She will begin managing the organization’s day-to-day operations and will continue to expand wellness programs to serve more children and families in Northeastern Connecticut. One such program that will expand over the coming months into 2021, is a whole-body wellness outreach program in conjunction with local schools and fellow non-profit organizations. NOW will produce monthly educational and activity packets focused on a variety of wellness topics, including general nutrition, snacking on a budget, hygiene, fitness, mindfulness, managing emotions, and more relevant topics.

Shea expressed her excitement to take on this new role with NOW, “It has been a wonderful experience working for NOW in my previous roles of Wellness Leader and Programming Coordinator. My time working directly with the youth population NOW serves has allowed me to see the positive impact our programs can have on children in our community. I am thrilled to become Interim Executive Director and to work together with the NOW board of directors to expand the number of children and families NOW can reach with new programs, education, and scholarships.”

NOW is a non-profit human services organization focused on youth wellness. NOW provides children with the opportunity to participate in area wellness activities and athletics programs, offering scholarships to the youth of the community with up to 95% of the cost being subsidized by NOW. The mission of the organization is to provide ALL children, regardless of financial resources, equal opportunities to achieve & maintain youth wellness, beginning at an early age.