EASTON, Pa. — Incoming Northampton County Executive Tara Zrinski has announced an eight-member committee to oversee her transition into leading county government.
“Elections mark the beginning of change, but real leadership is about thoughtfully and transparently shaping what comes next,” Zrinski said in a statement released Monday.
“Residents expect innovative ideas backed by a careful transition and strong follow-through on the promises they supported this fall.”Incoming Northampton County Executive Tara Zrinski, in a statement
“Residents expect innovative ideas backed by a careful transition and strong follow-through on the promises they supported this fall.”
The committee, which will appoint key advisors and set policy priorities for the nascent Zrinski administration, will be chaired by Glenn Reibman, who was county executive from 1998 to 2006.
Zrinski also appointed two other senior leaders to help oversee the process.
Mark Aurand, an attorney who currently assists Zrinski as deputy controller, will serve as transition chairman.
Megan Beste, previously a staffer for former U.S. Rep. Susan Wild who now works for Bethlehem consulting firm Taggart Associates, will be the committee’s senior advisor.
The job of managing communications for the committee falls to Kelly Prentice, an Easton resident who works as a writer and marketing strategist.
Four additional members round out the group: Nazareth School Board member Brandon Faust, Northampton Community College environmental studies professor Anita Erdős Forrester, former Colonial Intermediate Unit supervisor and county election commissioner Margie DeRenzis, and controller’s office solicitor Steve Goudsouzian.
Road map for first 100 days ahead
With Zrinski, the eight-member body will develop a short list of appointees to fill the new administration, according to Zrinski's statement.
The group also will appoint members to a handful of subcommittees focused on seven policy areas.
On Jan. 9, all of the subcommittees will gather for an “executive summit” at which each will develop strategies for their respective areas of focus.Incoming Northampton County Executive Tara Zrinski, in a statement
They are: health and human services, housing and homelessness, economic development, infrastructure, public safety and criminal justice, equity and environmental issues.
In all, the resulting advisory body could grow to include more than 90 people drafted from the worlds of organized labor, finance, law, social services, small business, nonprofits and public advocacy.
On Jan. 9, all of them will gather for an “executive summit” at which each subcommittee will develop strategies for their respective areas of focus.
It will culminate in a report laying out planned appointments, policy priorities and a road map for the Zrinski administration’s first 100 days, her statement said.
