NewBoCo has announced that Jill Wilkins, who has been serving as the organization’s interim executive director since April, has now been named to the position on a permanent basis. Wilkins succeeds Aaron Horn, who stepped down in April to take a new position. Wilkins spent 10 years with the Cedar Rapids Downtown District and the Metro Economic Alliance, where she led the newly established Downtown Farmers’ Market, the announcement said. She joined the NewBoCo team in 2016 and became chief operating officer in 2020. “Throughout my time at NewBoCo, I have been inspired by the numerous entrepreneurs and innovators we work with who act on their ideas and work to better their community,” Wilkins said in a prepared statement. “This nonprofit was founded by visionaries who were not afraid of the big ideas, and who saw how a group of smart, driven people can make change. I am excited for us to continue to embrace that mindset as we move into this next chapter in the organization. And I look forward to supporting our staff as they grow our entrepreneurial and computer science education communities throughout Iowa.”