Town of Brattleboro Welcomes SerahRose Bissell as Finance Director
The Town of Brattleboro has named SerahRose Bissell as its new Finance Director. Bissell brings extensive experience in financial management, accounting, and organizational operations through her work as the founder of Aerialist Accounting, a Massachusetts-based consulting firm that supports nonprofits of all sizes.
Bissell, who earned a Master of Science in Accounting, has helped organizations build sustainable accounting practices and improve internal processes to ensure compliance. Among her more recent work, Bissell has developed protocols for a nonprofit that will enable the company to manage its own accounting independently rather than relying on a third-party vendor.
Bissell said one of her priorities as Brattleboro’s Finance Director will be building strong relationships across Town government to gain a full picture of the organization and how its services fit into the broader economy.
“I’m excited to join the Town of Brattleboro because this role combines two things I enjoy about finance: accounting and working with people,” said Bissell. “I’m looking forward to getting to know the team, understanding how I can best support them, and helping communicate the Town’s financial picture in a way that’s useful to the Selectboard and the community.”
In addition to her consulting work, Bissell has held leadership positions in nonprofit organizations and has experience guiding companies through organizational change. She assisted a previous client in managing its financial operations as it expanded to include three affiliated entities, each with its own tax status and reporting requirements. Because the organization received funds from several streams, it added complexity to its compliance needs and ability to forecast. She said that experience translates well to municipal finance, in which multiple funds are managed independently while functioning as a whole.
She said a major throughline of her past work experience has been translating complex financial information into practical guidance that can help organizations make informed decisions and plan for the future.
“SerahRose is an excellent communicator and will bring a fresh perspective to the budget process and the services the Town delivers,” said Town Manager John Potter. “Her experience helping organizations streamline and improve their financial systems will be a huge benefit as the Town continues to build on the great work that financial consultant Bonnie Batchelder has done for us over the past year.”
Bissell said she has long enjoyed visiting Brattleboro and is excited to become more involved in the community.
“I think Brattleboro is a great place to be. It has so many cultural and recreational opportunities,” said Bissell. “I'm very excited to get more involved in that.”