'The passion, the care and drive:' Madison native becomes Cambridge Main Street executive director

CAMBRIDGE — Cambridge Main Street’s new Executive Director Christina Wingate-Spence knows downtown Cambridge.

Many of the businesses that line the downtown streets are ones that Wingate-Spence — who hails from Madison and has lived on the Eastern Shore for her entire life — has been eating and shopping at for years.

“When I saw this job opportunity present itself, it excited me because it gave me an opportunity to take the community that I’ve grown up in and really work to help build and grow that even further,” she said.

Cambridge Main Street is a nonprofit with the goal of revitalizing Cambridge’s downtown.

Twenty years ago, Wingate-Spence doesn’t remember seeing as much growth and development in downtown Cambridge as there is now.

“Coming back after college and as an adult, to just see how it is now a thriving community, I was really excited at the prospect of being a part of that,” she said.

According to a news release from Cambridge Main Street, Wingate-Spence has experience in sales, marketing and communications within the health care field. She said she is excited to use the skills she gained in her career for something new.

Cambridge Main Street’s Board President Abby Messick said that Wingate-Spence has “the passion, the care and the drive” that is needed to bring the nonprofit to “the next level.”

“While she may not have been directly employed in the nonprofit sector, she certainly has contributed volunteer hours on various boards, on fundraising events,” Messick said. “And her work life has been one that was centered around people, which is the key component to a volunteer and community-driven organization like Cambridge Main Street.”

Messick said that Wingate-Spence’s passion for the city and its downtown is a huge asset for Cambridge Main Street.

“She just really cares about bringing back the historic value of creating a community that is welcoming,” Messick said. “And she wants to see things continue to get even better.”

For Wingate-Spence, downtown is the heart of a community. Five years from now, she hopes to see every building in downtown Cambridge with a thriving business in it.

As she takes on this position, Wingate-Spence hopes to bring more of a presence to local business owners.

“I’m hoping to just be visible for the organization and really work with the local businesses to promote more folks coming down here, whether that be through events or opportunities for further tourism,” she said.

One of Wingate-Spence’s first orders of business: pounding the pavement.

“My goal in the next couple of weeks is to just get out on the streets and go business to business, introduce myself and just really see what we as an organization can do for those local businesses that decided to make Cambridge their home,” she said. “So just trying to dive right in.”