Mary Furtado '00 is the new assistant county manager of Catawba County, NC. She will be responsible for overseeing the management of particular departments and county activities. 

"My early plans in Catawba County involve getting to know the community priorities and the employees throughout the organization," Furtado said. "I'll be listening a lot and learning how I can support them, with the primary goals of building solid relationships and determining how and where I can add the greatest value moving forward."

Furtado has nine years of experience in local government.  Most recently she served as executive director of strategic operations for Sarasota County, FL, where she instituted countywide goals, improved the county's business processes and departmental restructuring, and managed the Geographic Information Services department.

At Hamilton, Furtado majored in philosophy and anthropology. She went on to earn her masters degree in public administration from Arizona State University in 2004.