Dane County Department of Human Services Candidates Town Hall

media release: Three finalists have been named by Dane County Executive Melissa Agard for the position of the Director of the Dane County Department of Human Services. After a thorough search and review process, the County has identified three highly qualified candidates to lead the largest Dane County Department.

The three finalists are:

•          Astra Iheukumere, interim director, Dane County Department of Human Service

•          Amy Everett, chief operating officer and executive vice president of operations, Mind Springs Health and West Springs Hospital, Grand Junction CO

•          Robert B. Williams, director of pperations, Hobson & McReynolds

These candidates will now move forward in the hiring process, with one of the steps being a community town hall, which will give all county residents the opportunity to listen, hear, and provide feedback on the candidates.

The town hall is scheduled for Tuesday, January 7 at 6:00pm in the City-County Building room 354 (210 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, Madison).

The town hall will include a moderated question and answer session with each candidate. Residents are invited to submit questions to the candidates in advance by visiting: http://www.danecounty.gov/humanservices

"I am dedicated to fostering open and transparent government, ensuring the public is engaged in shaping the future of Dane County,” stated County Executive Agard. “The opportunity for residents to meet and learn about these three highly qualified finalists reflects our commitment to involving the community in important decisions. Human services are vital to Dane County’s mission of building strong, equitable, and thriving communities, and this role is critical in advancing that goal.”

The county will carefully review submitted questions and use that information to construct the questions to each candidate. The county is asking the community to please submit their questions by Friday, January 3, 2025.

A short synopsis on each of the finalists will also be available on the linked website above. The county executive will carefully review public feedback, as well as the insights gained during the interviews and evaluations of the finalists. The county executive will then nominate an individual, who will then go through the county board’s approval process.