Catawba County News

Furtado Named Deputy/Assistant Manager of the Year by NCCCMA

Published: February 08, 2021

Catawba County Deputy County Manager Mary Furtado was named 2020-2021 Deputy/Assistant Manager of the Year by the North Carolina City and County Management Association (NCCCMA). The award was announced during the association’s virtual annual conference February 4.

Furtado, who joined Catawba County Government as Assistant County Manager in 2011, serves as the county’s deputy administrator and is responsible for assisting in the management and long-range planning of county government services. She is a key driver of overall budget and policy development and in executing the Board of Commissioners’ strategic growth plan for the county. Furtado also provides executive oversight to a wide range of county departments on a day-to-day basis.

“Mary is the engine that propels our Board’s strategic plan forward,” said Catawba County Manager Mick Berry. “She takes the ambitious goals set for our county and builds the necessary infrastructure to accomplish them. Over the course of her ten years with the county, she has supervised almost all of our departments. This detailed knowledge allows her to work across departments to create high functioning teams and achieve goals that a single department could not accomplish on its own.”

In addition to her work with the county, Mary has served in various leadership roles in the community including current board service with Greenway Public Transportation and Keep Catawba County Beautiful. She also serves as an NCCCMA executive board member and chairs the organization’s Civic Education Committee.

Furtado relocated to Catawba County from Sarasota County, Fla., where her work focused on strategic operations and fiscal policy for Sarasota County Government from 2004 to 2011. She received her Masters of Public Administration from Arizona State University with an emphasis in program and policy analysis. She resides in Hickory with her husband and two children.