Brattleboro hires finance director

SerahRose Bissell is expected to begin later this month and will step into a budget year that started July 1.

The town has filled its finance director post, bringing in SerahRose Bissell after a hiring search overseen by Human Resources Director Sally Cruz Nix.

Town Manager John Potter told the Select Board on Tuesday that Bissell was selected through a comprehensive recruitment effort. She is expected to begin later this month and will step into a budget year that started July 1. The job had remained open since former finance director Kim Frost left in January 2025 for Brattleboro Memorial Hospital. Two months after that, longtime assistant town manager Patrick Moreland also departed, taking a role as executive director of DVFiber.

The town had struggled to land a permanent replacement, leading officials to rely on Bonnie Batchelder of Batchelder Associates in Keene, N.H., during the last fiscal year. While the search continued, Finance Department employees reported to Nix. Board member Isaac Evans-Frantz has previously said restoring the position is part of the work needed to rebuild the town’s financial condition.

Bissell comes to Brattleboro with a background that includes both nonprofit and for-profit work. She founded Aerialist Accounting, a Massachusetts consulting firm that serves nonprofits of varying sizes, and she holds a master’s degree of science in accounting. According to the town’s announcement, she has helped organizations strengthen accounting systems, tighten internal controls, and stay in compliance. In one recent project, she built procedures for a nonprofit that allowed the group to handle its own accounting instead of depending on an outside vendor.

Her experience also includes leadership roles in nonprofit organizations and work guiding businesses through periods of change. Potter said her mix of operational knowledge and financial management experience will add value as the town continues improving its systems. He also credited Batchelder with important work over the past year.

Bissell said one of her main goals will be developing close working relationships throughout town government so she can better understand how the organization functions and how its services connect to the wider local economy. She also said she looks forward to helping explain the town’s financial situation in a way that serves both the Select Board and residents.

Select Board Chairman Oscar Heller said the board is pleased to have Bissell aboard and expects to work with her on next year’s budget, stronger monthly financial reports, and other projects.

Potter said Bissell’s ability to communicate clearly and improve financial processes should benefit the town as it builds on recent progress. Bissell also said she has enjoyed visiting Brattleboro for years and is eager to become more active in the community, drawn by its cultural and recreational opportunities.