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County Welcomes New Commissioner of Human Resources

Julie Diescher

Julie Diescher (photo courtesy of Christina Seti)

Monticello, NY – Sullivan County Manager Josh Potosek announces that Livingston Manor resident Julie A. Diescher will become the County’s new Commissioner of Human Resources.

“Ms. Diescher is well-versed in the complex field of human resource management, and I am very pleased to welcome her to the team,” Potosek affirmed. “As leader of our Division of Human Resources, she will initiate and oversee crucial efforts to consistently recruit, retain, train and evaluate employees, so that taxpayers can be confident their money is creating and nurturing the absolute best workforce.”

“Sullivan County has always been my home, so I am thrilled to be able to serve the people of the County through this new role,” Diescher remarked. “Having dedicated my career to cultivating and supporting talented and skilled workers at some of the region’s largest employers, I look forward to sharing my skills with the 1,100 professionals who diligently provide services to the County every day. I also am excited about attracting new, diverse talent, further defining Sullivan County as an employer of choice.”

A summa cum laude graduate of Marist College with concentrations in Organizational Leadership and Psychology, Diescher began her career in the Human Resources Department of the former Frontier Insurance Company in Rock Hill. Over the course of eight years, she quickly rose through the ranks, handling the coordination of benefits, policies, procedures, employee relations and compensation for their workforce.

She became Director of Human Resources for New Hope Community in Loch Sheldrake in 2007, managing not just the HR team but the Purchasing Department, Security, Reception and the Wellness/Fitness Center. In 2014, she was named Director of Human Resources for The ARC of Orange County, headquartered in Newburgh, where she initiated a transformation of the Employee Practices Handbook and developed systems to effect positive organizational changes, saving the nonprofit nearly $200,000 in her first year by reducing hiring lag time and implementing an effective Workers Compensation strategy.

Since January 2018, Diescher has served as the Director of Human Resources for Pestech Exterminating in Ferndale, where she focused on attracting high-quality candidates, in addition to introducing policies, systems and low-cost benefits to increase employee satisfaction and morale.

Throughout her career and across her employers, Diescher has developed reorganization plans saving hundreds of thousands of dollars, decreased turnover by 18%, streamlined application processes, created multiple training and procedural manuals, and developed systems that track vacancies, hires and more in real time.

“I enjoy working with people at every level, demonstrably making their lives better, while living within the constraints of an organization’s budget,” she explained. “I also enjoy putting technology to work in a manner that gains efficiencies and provides continuity. That benefits both the employer and the employee.”

Diescher starts October 15 and will earn $95,000 a year. She is not replacing anyone, as the position has not existed in the County for several years.

“It’s critical that we attract and retain the very best employees, especially during this historic growth we’ve been experiencing,” Potosek explained. “Such growth inevitably brings with it rapid changes and new challenges, and Ms. Diescher will help us ensure we are ready to handle those changes and challenges as they arise.”