The Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities has a new leader, the northern Michigan nonprofit announced Thursday. Jim Bruckbauer, a longtime member of the Groundwork team, will take the reins as the organization’s first-ever CEO.

The news marks the second major leadership shakeup at Groundwork in the last two years. In May 2024, Hans Voss announced that he would be stepping down as the nonprofit’s executive director after nearly 30 years with the organization. Voss departed Groundwork at the end of that year, at which point Elizabeth Palchak stepped into the executive director role.

“[Palchak] has asked to step back from her position as executive director for family reasons,” Groundwork announced in a press release sent out late Thursday afternoon. “In response, the Groundwork board has appointed Jim Bruckbauer to lead the organization with the title of chief executive officer and has assigned Elizabeth to the newly created position of chief strategic partnerships officer. The board is so pleased to be able to tap Jim’s extensive experience with Groundwork, while also shaping a position that leverages Elizabeth’s skills so well for Groundwork’s future.”

Bruckbauer joined the Groundwork Center in September 2010 as a transportation policy specialist. He’s held numerous job titles with the organization in the intervening 15 years, including deputy director, transportation and community design program director, and, most recently, program director. Thursday’s press release noted that Bruckbauer has “worked across nearly every part of the organization…helped shape some of Groundwork’s most important initiatives, and built strong relationships with partners across Michigan.”

“This role is deeply personal for me,” Bruckbauer said of the promotion. “I found Groundwork in 2006 when a college professor handed me Going to Town, a report that captured the spirit of the organization’s early work and its belief that people can shape the future of the towns they live in—building places that are walkable and connected. I drove up to Traverse City from Grand Rapids to learn more about this amazing advocacy group. Soon thereafter, I applied for a job and was honored to join the staff in TC.”

As CEO, Bruckbauer now “guides Groundwork’s vision, strategic direction, and team as the organization works across Michigan to strengthen local food, energy, and transportation systems,” according to the nonprofit’s website. Palchak’s new role, meanwhile, “will focus on expanding partnerships with nonprofits, foundations, businesses, and national networks that can amplify our work happening here in Michigan.”