Port Main Street director resigns to take new job

Melissa Schlenvogt Alexander has resigned as executive director of Port Washington Main Street Inc. effective March 19.

Alexander, who has been with Main Street for two years, said she is leaving the organization because she got “a job opportunity I couldn’t say no to.”

She will be working in sales and marketing at Harbor Campus, a senior living facility, in Port Washington. The organization is focused on community outreach, something she’s particularly interested in, Alexander said.

“The past two years have been great. I’ve grown a lot, and I hope the things I’ve done have enhanced Port Washington,” she said of her time with Main Street.

She’s especially proud of the way Main Street has been able to help businesses during the pandemic through programs such as the PassPort program, she said.

Port Main Street President Nate Sherper said Alexander, who was Main Street’s first full-time director, was a stabilizing force for the organization and helped establish some events for the organization.

Whoever the board hires to replace her, he said, “will have a really solid framework to work with.”

While Sherper said Alexander’s tenure was likely shorter than many board members expected, it was productive.

Main Street’s executive committee was to meet Wednesday, March 10, to go over the job description and other requirements with the goal of posting the position by the end of the week.

The board has a couple potential candidates, he said, and hopes to augment that list. Members hope to begin the interview process in the next couple weeks.

The board wants to hire a replacement for Alexander “as soon as possible,” he added. “Hopefully we won’t have too big a gap.”

In the meantime, Sherper said, Main Street Secretary and board member Cathy Hanson will handle the organization’s administrative duties and he will help field calls from the business community.

Much of the planning has already been done for the organization’s next event, the Hippity Hoppity Easter egg hunt it sponsors with the Port Kiwanis Club, Scherper noted, and there’s still a bit of time left to finalize plans for Community Street Fest in May.