Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz has promoted two existing county employees to fill director vacancies in his administration.
Social Services administrator Jacqueline N. Hall has been named director of Workforce Development and Veterans Services, and administrator Felice E. Krycia will be director of the Erie County Veterans Service Agency. Both will start in their new jobs next week.
Poloncarz said both women have been assets to county government and instrumental in developing policies and programs that have directly benefited local residents.
“Their knowledge and expertise about county government and creative proposals shared during the interview process represent the type of leadership I need in order for my administration to continue successfully serving our community,” he said in a statement.
Hall replaces former Lackawanna Mayor Geoffrey M. Szymanski, who resigned in August after 2½ years as executive director of the Erie County Workforce Investment Board. Peter Anderson, spokesman for the county executive, said Szymanski resigned "citing burnout from the pandemic and a desire to seek other employment."
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The Buffalo and Erie County Workforce Investment Board is responsible for developing, coordinating and overseeing publicly funded workforce development/training initiatives. Erie County pays for the executive director position.
Hall currently serves as an assistant deputy commissioner for the Department of Social Services and executive director of Family Independence. She has worked for the county since 2014. Prior to that, she worked as the program director for the WNY Women’s Foundation and was an employee of Kaleida Health, serving as a social worker at Women & Children’s Hospital of Buffalo. She holds a master's degree in social work from the University at Buffalo.
In her new position, Hall will receive a raise from $111,952 to $122,054.
Krycia, who currently works as an assistant service officer in the county's Veterans Services Office, is being elevated to director. She replaces Shawn Lavin, who now serves as deputy commissioner for the Personnel Department.
Krycia is a Vietnam-era veteran with the United States Air Force and an American Legion certified veterans service officer who has served as a mentor with the Buffalo Veterans Court and worked with local military veterans seeking assistance at the Veterans Outreach Center. Prior to joining Erie County, she worked for nearly two decades as an award-winning Southtowns journalist and editor for The Sun and Gowanda News.
In her new role, Krycia will receive a pay increase from $63,771 to $83,539.
