Terri Kindberg has left her position as Chautauqua Children’s Safety Education Village executive director, after 13 years with the organization, according to a news release from the safety village’s board.

During her time with the Children’s Safety Village, Kindberg worked with the board to secure TEP funds to build the educational and storage facility which houses all of the cars, bikes and the Safety Village Express train. Kindberg helped create the structure of the village from the beginning and its programsbut all of its programming as well. Since opening in 2010, Kindberg helped the organization grow from offering three safety education classes to nine.

“Since 2005, Terri has played a critical role in the development and success of the organization, and while we will miss her and her leadership, we wish her the best of luck in her new endeavors,” the board said in a news release. “We want to thank her for the 13 years of dedicated service which involved countless hours of work that has led to the growth of the Children’s Safety Village and its programs. “We cannot thank Terri enough for the dedication, passion, enthusiasm and motivation she has given the Children’s Safety Village. She will be greatly missed by the staff, Board, and partners alike.”

Jessica Dayton is the safety village’s new executive director, effective immediately. She has volunteered her time with the Chautauqua Children’s Safety Education Village since 2012 in many volunteer capacities. Dayton was hired full-time in July 2017 as associate director. She was previously the CAPP director for the YWCA of Jamestown. Dayton has served in the non-profit sector since 2003 and holds a bachelor of arts degree with concentrations in human services and social work from SUNY Empire State College.

She serves as a member of the Chautauqua Leadership Network and lives in Lakewood with her family.

The Chautauqua Children’s Safety Education Village is located at 2695 Rt. 394 in Ashville next to Ashville BOCES). It is a not-for-profit organization which was formed in 1996. The DFT Communications Educational Facility, where classes are held, is surrounded by a child-sized village, complete with a business district, paved roads, a railroad station, street signs, sidewalks and everything one would find in an actual village. The purpose of the Safety Village is to educate children, primarily in the areas of traffic, bike and fire safety with the goal of decreasing the number of unnecessary injuries and fatalities of children in the community by allowing them to experience hands-on safety training.