*Georgia- Barbara Bender has been appointed the mayor of Snellville after the resignation of Tom Witts. Bender had to resign her council seat to take the mayor's post and a special election will be held March 19 to fill that seat. Bender is the owner of an accounting firm and is the president of the Snellville Entrepreneur Council.
*Ohio- Seth Timmerman, currently the manager of the Darke County Airport, was named manager of the Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport. Timmerman plans to take over as airport manager Jan. 30. Timmerman has served as Darke County airport manager for two years. He holds a pilot's license and a certificate to fly unmanned aerial systems. Timmerman replaces Don Smith, who retired in late October after serving the airport for about four years.
*Georgia- Michelle Nguyen was named the Economic Development Department (EDD) director for Athens-Clarke County (ACC). Nguyen, who has served as interim director since Sept. 1, began her new position immediately. Nguyen has served on the EDD since July 2017. Before that, she served as a human resources professional in the ACC Human Resources Department.
*Oregon- Matt Garrett, director of the Oregon Department of Transportation, announced that he plans to retire June 30. During his 13-year tenure, Garrett oversaw the implementation of a 2017 law that allocated $5.3 billion for transportation projects across the state and the formation of local commissions to plan transportation projects. The Oregon Transportation Commission has the authority to hire a new director.
*Connecticut- David Levinson has announced he will be retiring as president of Norwalk Community College (NCC) and as vice president of Community Colleges for the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities system (CSCU). His official retirement date is June 30. Levinson has been the president of CSCU for 15 years and the vice president for eight years. Cheryl DeVonish will serve as the NCC interim campus chief executive officer, with responsibility for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the campus beginning July 1.
*Arkansas- Dawn Stoyanoff has been named the new associate vice chancellor of Information Technology Services and chief information officer at the University of Arkansas, effective Feb. 25. Stoyanoff is currently the higher education and academic practice director for a technology research and advisory firm in Austin, Texas. Prior to this position, she was an executive director with the University of Texas System Administration for 10 years.
*California- Palo Alto Deputy City Manager Rob de Geus is leaving next month after 19 years to become the city manager of Westlake Village in Los Angeles County. De Geus has worked for the city since 2000, when he was hired as a recreation coordinator in the Community Services Department. He was promoted to community services director before becoming deputy city manager in 2017.
*Pennsylvania- After two years with a private company specializing in self-driving vehicles, Maurice Bell came to Pittsburgh to take a position as the Port Authority's chief of operations. Bell will replace Bill Miller, who retired in December after 25 years with the agency. Bell was a paratransit driver in Sacramento, then rose through the ranks to positions overseeing transit operations in Florida and Dallas, where he was vice president of bus operations and general manager of paratransit services.
*South Carolina- L.J. Roscoe was sworn in Jan. 18 as the Goose Creek's new chief of police, replacing Harvey Becker, who retired last year after more than three decades of service. Roscoe has worked for the Dekalb County Sheriff's Office in Georgia since 1991. She began her career as a detention officer there. In 1994, Roscoe was promoted to deputy sheriff and in 2014 was promoted to the rank of major and transferred to her current position of Field Division commander.
*Pennsylvania- The Chester County Commissioners have appointed Michael Murphy Jr. as director of the Department of Emergency Services. Murphy was formerly platoon leader for the county's 911 operations. Murphy replaces Robert Kagel, who served as director of the department for four years before his appointment as Chester County Administrator. John Haynes, deputy director of 911 Operations, has been serving as interim director since Kagel moved to the Commissioners' Office.
*California- Mark Hartwig, the San Bernardino County fire chief, will take on the same position in Santa Barbara County. His last day in San Bernardino County will be Feb. 15. He'll start on the new fire chief on the coast Feb. 18. Hartwig, a firefighter for 27 years, has been fire chief since 2011. He served six years with the Rancho Cucamonga Fire Protection District, where he was promoted to the rank of deputy chief, before being named San Bernardino County fire chief. Former county chief Michael Dyer has been interim fire chief since Chief Eric Peterson retired in October.
*Maryland- Chris Ryer will become the next director of the Baltimore Department of Planning. Ryer will begin his new positions Feb. 11 where he will oversee a collection of planners and panels that help guide land use in the city. The department has a hand in approving specific developments and projects and planning for others. He will take over for acting director Laurie Feinberg.