Dane County Executive Parisi Announces Astra Iheukumere as Deputy Director of Human Services

August 13, 2019
Ariana Vruwink 608-267-8823
County Executive

Position was Created in the 2019 Budget

Today, Dane County Executive Joe Parisi announced that Astra Iheukumere will serve as Dane County’s new Deputy Director of Human Services. The position was created in the County Executive’s 2019 budget and will focus on communications, policy and procedure development, long-term planning, and institutional practice and process development related to equity. Iheukumere previously worked for the Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD) as the Director of Strategic Partnerships.

“I look forward to having Astra serve as Dane County’s first Deputy Director of Human Services,” County Executive Joe Parisi said. “Astra’s experience with building strong community relationships and expansive knowledge in public affairs will serve our Department of Human Services well.”

In Iheukumere’s role as Director of Strategic Partnerships for MMSD, she monitored the district’s Partnerships Policy and procedures, managed the Strategic Partnerships Team, and coordinated the implementation of various large-scale tutoring partnerships. Iheukumere also supervised the development and implementation of district-wide systems to support volunteerism in schools.

“I’m excited about this opportunity to serve the community I am from and consider it a privilege to have the chance to impact such a broad portfolio of policies and programs,” said Iheukumere. “I look forward to supporting the work of the fabulous team at Dane County Human Services.”

Prior to her work at MMSD, Iheukumere served as the Assistant Director of Community Networks and National Partnerships for UW-Madison’s County Health Rankings & Roadmaps Program. While there, Iheukumere was the primary liaison to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-funded national partners. She helped determined effective community mobilization strategies between local communities and partners to create engagement opportunities around public health improvement.

For three years, Iheukumere served as Deputy Mayor and Public Safety Liaison to the Mayor of Madison, where she helped coordinate community outreach, policy development, and program management. She has also held multiple positions in state agencies, including Outreach Director for the Department of Revenue, Medicaid Benefit and Fiscal Policy Analyst for the Department of Health Services, and Assistant Affirmative Action Officer for the Department of Natural Resources. Iheukumere’s start date is September 3.