San Andreas, CA – Michelle Patterson will step into the role of OES Director for Calaveras County following the January resignation of the former Director, Will Downs. In January, Mr. Downs announced that he would be returning to New Mexico due to personal reasons. Will had been in the OES position since October 2017. When the recruitment was conducted for a new OES Director last year, there was a strong list of candidates vying for the position. Fortunately, the other top applicant in the recruitment process, Michelle Patterson, was still interested in the position in Calaveras County and is set to start on February 20, 2018.

The County got very lucky in having a second, equally strong candidate such as Ms. Patterson. She brings with her a strong background in emergency response and preparedness, community engagement, communication and training. Most recently, she was employed with the El Dorado County Health & Human Services Agency as an Emergency Preparedness and Response Supervisor, where she provided oversight and coordination of emergency response, preparedness and community training in El Dorado County. Ms. Patterson also possesses a Master of Public Health and is certified by the FEMA Emergency Management Institute, having completed over 20 courses on disaster response training, coordination and preparedness. Her starting salary will be $98,530.

Inquires may be directed to the County PIO, Timothy Lutz, at 209-754-6025.

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