The City of Ellsworth is thrilled to share some exciting news about new leadership roles within our team. The below department director promotions, which were approved by the City Council this evening, reflect the dedication and excellence of our staff members and their commitment to serving our community.
Tina Vanadestine – Social Services Director
I am pleased to announce the promotion of Tina Vanadestine to Social Services Director. Tina will now take on a larger leadership role, managing all social services and overseeing election processes for the city. Tina is a Hancock County Leadership graduate with 20 years of experience with the City, 27 years as a certified City Clerk, a history of excellence as a Certified Maine Welfare Director, and recognition as the Welfare Director of the Year in 2021. In addition to her expanding role with social services and elections, Tina will also be partnering with Sue McLean on ensuring the highest level of customer service in our front office operations at City Hall. One of the things that most impresses me about Tina is her ability to mix compassion for our citizens with an incredible knowledge of governmental policies and procedures to get people the help they need quickly. Tina’s expertise and leadership will continue to be invaluable to our team.
Sue McLean – City Clerk
Congratulations to Sue McLean on her promotion to City Clerk. Sue joined Ellsworth City Hall as a Tax Clerk in September 2020 and has since made significant contributions, including restructuring the tax liens and foreclosures process. Her background includes roles as Deputy Clerk/Deputy Treasurer at the Gouldsboro Town Office and extensive experience in insurance. Sue is also a graduate of the Hancock County Leadership program and has incredible forward-thinking ideas on how to optimize our business and customer service interactions to provide best in class operations for the front office teams. Sue’s strong work ethic is coupled with the ability to offer myself and other members of our team advice on just about any topic. She’s always the first to offer to help when a new issue comes across our radar. Sue’s commitment to the city and her innovative approach will be key assets in her new role.
Mike Harris – Public Works Director
Mike Harris has been promoted to Public Works Director. Mike is a dedicated professional with a rich history in wastewater management and environmental services. His career began at the Hampton Roads Sanitation District in 1989, and he has been the Wastewater Superintendent at the Ellsworth Wastewater Department since 2005. He is a graduate of Mt. Ararat High School in Topsham, Maine as well as the Norfolk Vocational Technical Institute Apprenticeship program. He was a critical leader during the expedited city budgeting process this year, helping to consolidate an incredible amount of departmental line items into Excel workbooks and then a new budgeting software. Mike has a foundational understanding of how our city infrastructure works but also has a passion and vision for reimagining that infrastructure to meet the growing demands of this growing city. His attention to detail and hyper focus on getting quantifiable results for the city are going to be invaluable skills to our team as we look to re-establish and prioritize a comprehensive short and long-term infrastructure plan for Ellsworth. Mike’s extensive experience and passion for the field will greatly benefit our Public Works Department.
