NEW: Pawtucket Names New Finance Director
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Returning to the city where she once served as chief accountant, Joanna L’Heureux has been named by Mayor Donald R. Grebien as the city’s new finance director.
L’Heureux will succeed Ronald Wunschel, who is retiring from that post after 14 years but has offered to assist with the transition.
L’Heureux served as Pawtucket’s chief accountant in the Finance Department, under Wunschel, for a nearly four-year span ending in January 2001, after previously working as a staff accountant for the Pawtucket School Department.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTShe later worked as town auditor for the town of Stoughton, Mass. before moving into private industry as senior accountant for more than eight years with Parmelee, Poirier & Associates, LLP, in Warwick, where she managed and supervised financial and single audits of several cities and towns, school departments and nonprofits for compliance with federal and state regulations. Her tasks also included incorporating major changes in government accounting standards that began taking effect during that period, as well as consulting on budgeting and financial statements issues.
Most recently she has been the business manager for the West Bay Collaborative, where besides managing budgets her responsibilities included long-term planning and management.
“Joanna brings the perfect blend of public and private sector background, along with her detailed knowledge and experience with how budgets work for local governments as well as school departments. Her management experience, along with her hands-on familiarity with both the city and schools budgets in Pawtucket, made her an almost ideal candidate,” Grebien said. “She will be able to hit the ground running and I am looking forward with much enthusiasm to working with her as we continue to tackle the financial challenges we face in Pawtucket.”
“It is a privilege and an honor to return to the city where I got my start and serve in an administration that has already begun setting a new course for fiscal responsibility,” L’Heureux said. “I feel I have a lot of helpful skills to offer and I can’t wait to get started.”
L’Heureux, a Seekonk resident, holds a bachelor of science degree in business administration from Bryant University, where she majored in accounting. She will officially assume her duties in January 2012.
