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Our members are the local governments of Massachusetts and their elected and appointed leadership.
Joanne Faust, Burlington’s human resources director, was presented with the Massachusetts Municipal Personnel Association’s 2011 Emil Skop Award during the association’s 56th Annual Meeting, held in Plymouth on Sept. 15.
The award, in its 25th year, is given in recognition of outstanding contributions made in the field of municipal human resources management. Faust was recognized for superior contributions to her community and the MMPA.
Faust began her public-sector career in 1998 at the Manchester Public Schools, the largest school district in New Hampshire, where she worked until 2002. She was the human resources administrator in Bedford for five years before taking her current job in 2007 in Burlington, where she directs the personnel functions for both the schools and the town. Faust is one of just a few municipal human resource directors in Massachusetts who work for both the school and town.
“Joanne Faust has done an incredible job navigating the often-turbulent waters between the town and the school district,” said Burlington Superintendent of Schools Eric Conti. “We pride ourselves on our ability to work together and communicate. Joanne is an important factor in maintaining this relationship.”
Faust was elected to the MMPA Board of Directors nine months after starting her career in Massachusetts. The following year, she was elected to an officer position on the board as secretary, a position she served in for two years. She has also been vice chair, followed by three years as chair of the board. Faust continues to serve as a board member as well as a member of the association’s program planning committee and benchmark committee.
The MMPA praised Faust for her outstanding organizational, leadership and fiscal management skills, and for her work in transitioning the MMPA’s compensation survey collection from a paper survey to a web-based searchable database. Colleagues commended Faust for her willingness to share resources, innovations and ideas beyond her own community.
“She is truly a unique individual who has the intellectual capacity, patience, and calm demeanor to prioritize competing interests,” said Burlington Town Administrator Bob Mercier. “I am amazed by her skill set involving planning, scheduling and organizing tasks for not only the town administrator, but also for the superintendent of schools.”
Emil S. Skop, for whom the award is named, was one of the founding members of the MMPA and served as its first executive secretary. He is remembered for his tireless efforts and dedication to the field of human resources.