Shenandoah Valley Social Services announced today that its director, Elizabeth Middleton, is leaving her position on July 31 to lead the Department of Social Services in Orange County, Va.
Middleton, who announced her departure to local social services staff via email on Tuesday, cited personal reasons.
“It is with very mixed feelings that I leave my position, she said. “My decision to seek the position in Orange County was the result of much thought over many months and is based on personal reasons that surround my immediate and extended family members; in particular, a desire to be geographically closer to certain relatives.”
Middleton has been at the helm of Shenandoah Valley Social Services for more than eight years, leading the organization during a period of growth, challenges and transformation.
While announcing her departure, Middleton praised the devoted employees of the organization.
“The team I have worked with at this agency is top notch,” she said. “SVSS has a strong and capable leadership team, and staff at all levels who care deeply about their community, who apply laws and policies with fairness and impartiality, who embrace change, and who in many ways embody the best of the helping professions.”
A native of Virginia, Middleton completed her undergraduate degree at Virginia Commonwealth University, received her Master’s Degree from Hollins University and has taken doctoral coursework at the University of Virginia.
Prior to joining Shenandoah Valley Social Services, she spent four years as the director of Goochland County Department of Social Services. Notably, Middleton served as project coordinator for one of 28 “New Deal 25+ Pilot Projects” in the United Kingdom, under Tony Blair’s administration, from 1998 to 2000. She also previously served on two occasions at Total Action Against Poverty, as Director of Community Development and Outreach, and earlier as Director of Program Development and Planning.
She presently serves as the board chair of the region’s Community Management and Policy Team, which administers the Comprehensive Service Act in Augusta County, the City of Staunton, and the City of Waynesboro. Middleton also is a co-founder of Community Action Partnership of Staunton, Augusta, and Waynesboro (CAPSAW), the region’s community action agency that administers federal and state funds made available annually to designated community action agencies.
Steve Rosenberg, Staunton’s deputy city manager and presiding officer of the SVSS joint administrative board, said: “I, for myself and my counterparts in Augusta County and Waynesboro, thank Elizabeth for her years of caring, compassionate and dedicated service to the people of the region and wish her well in Orange County.”
The SVSS joint administrative board expects to begin recruitment of a new director in the next several days, with the expectation that Middleton’s successor will join the agency at the beginning of August.
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