Vaira Harik, Deputy Director of Barnstable County Department of Human Services, is Named Assistant County Administrator
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Information from: Barnstable County Regional Government of Cape Cod
Vaira Harik, Deputy Director of Barnstable County Department of Human Services, is Named Assistant County Administrator
August 18, 2021 (Barnstable, MA) – The Barnstable County Board of Regional Commissioners is pleased to announce the appointment of Vaira Harik as Assistant County Administrator.
Since 2013, Ms. Harik has served as Senior Program Manager and Deputy Director at Barnstable County Department of Human Services.
Throughout the pandemic, Ms. Harik was an integral part of the Incident Command structure at Barnstable County and has filled the role of County epidemiologist, providing daily regional COVID-19 statistics, and explaining the epidemiological facts that underlie transmission. She has also been a member of the Cape Cod COVID-19 Response Task Force (formerly the Cape Cod Reopening Task Force) and reported to the media weekly since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This past year, Ms. Harik was recognized as a 2021 Commonwealth Heroine.
Before her positions at Barnstable County, she was the Director of the Cochise County Health Department in Bisbee, Arizona, where she managed 70 staff members and was responsible for the strategic direction and management of a $5M budget, developing and implementing critical health policies in accordance with community needs.
Ms. Harik holds a Master of Science in Health Policy and Management from the Harvard University School of Public Health and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania.
“We’re exceptionally pleased that Ms. Harik has accepted this position,” said Elizabeth Albert, Barnstable County Administrator.
Barnstable County Chairman Ronald Bergstrom said, “In my time, certainly as County Commissioner, and maybe even as far back as my service on the Assembly of Delegates, there has never been more pressing issues than right now at this moment”… “and I’m very happy that our County Administrator now has someone who will be working with her who has the experience, knowledge, and dedication to the County, who can lift some of this burden. We all have tremendous confidence in Vaira.”
“I’m delighted to be able to continue my service to Barnstable County in this role and thank our County Commissioners and County Administrator for their confidence, “said Ms. Harik.
About Barnstable County Regional Government of Cape Cod: Barnstable County is one of the last functioning counties in Massachusetts, with departments serving the 15 towns of Cape Cod. Barnstable County government consists of a legislative branch (Barnstable County Assembly of Delegates) and an executive branch (Barnstable County Commissioners). Learn more at www.barnstablecounty.org
###
