The District of Houston has appointed Madelaine Swift as the new Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) after Michael Dewar left to take on a similar position with the Town of Smithers.
Swift was born in Hazelton and was excited to move closer to home when the Deputy Director of Corporate Services and Grant Writer role opened in 2021.
She then became the Director of Corporate Services for the District and said she feels these experiences will aid her moving forward.
“There is a lot of connection to the CAO’s role and that of the corporate officer. That connection with council, the community, the Human Resources aspect of it as well,” she explained.
Houston Mayor Shane Brienen said in a news release, “We are extremely pleased to be able to hire Madelaine as an internal candidate. This speaks well to the district’s succession planning that trains and allows staff to progress through the organization.”
Swift also brings with her a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Northern British Columbia and a comprehensive certificate in Public Administration from Coast Mountain College.
With the new title also comes several projects she looks forward to working on, with one standing out.
“One of the ones that I’m most excited about is the opportunity to showcase Houston during our co-hosting of the North Central Local Government Association convention for 2024,” she said.
“We’ll be doing a town tour in May, and it will be an excellent opportunity for Houston to gain some visibility and show people what we have to offer.”