Montpelier, VT- Vermont Gov. Phil Scott announced two leadership appointments on Wed. in what he calls key positions.

Sarah Clark, from Waterbury, will be the new Deputy Secretary of the Agency of Administration, and Alex Farrell, of So. Burlington, will be the next Commissioner of the Dept. of Housing and Community Development.

Farrell replaces Josh Hanford as the former commissioner. Hanford left the position last month for a job in the private sector.

Sarah Clark replaces Doug Farnham who will now be the state’s Chief Recovery Officer in response to the summer’s floods.

“Sarah continues to demonstrate a deep commitment to public service, and her extensive budgeting and management experience in both the legislative and executive branches make her a perfect fit for this critical role,” said Governor Scott

Clark has worked for the state for almost 20 years, according to a release announcing the appointments.

Clark will coordinate and support all state government agencies and departments with primary responsibilities related to human resources, revenues, accounting and budget management, physical plant, and contracting and general services.

In the release on the appointment, Clark said, “I care greatly for responsible budgeting and financial management and look forward to working with colleagues within the Agency of Administration and across state government.”

Farrell was most recently the deputy commissioner of the Dept. of Housing and Community and also served on the Board of Commissioners of the Vermont State Housing Authority for four years.

He posted to ‘X’ in response to this article saying, “My title just got a little shorter, but the same work continues. Progress has been made over the last couple of years. Still, we have a long way to go. We MUST act boldly and keep working beyond the same old solutions if we are going to overcome our housing shortage.”

In the same post Farrell went on to say, “This will be an effort that will involve many partners and will require all of us to do things in a way that may create some discomfort – change is hard. If we want to see a thriving and healthy Vermont, we need to make drastic change now.”

Farrell steps into the role at a time when areas of Vermont are struggling to stay on pace when it comes to building new affordable housing.

In the initial press release, Farrell said, “We are at a pivotal moment in Vermont’s history in which we can choose to make Vermont more welcoming, strong, and safe.”