The Darien Board of Selectmen have hired Laurie Dunn, the director of employee and labor relations for the state Board of Regents, as director of human resources for Darien town government.
Laurie G. Dunn will be joining Darien town government as director of human resources on Monday, Sept. 12.
About a year ago, in July 2015, the town hired W. Lee Palmer Jr. for the same position. Palmer was not mentioned in the announcement about Dunn’s appointment.
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UPDATE, Wednesday, 9:35 a.m.: W. Lee Palmer Jr. left his job as Darien director of human resources after about a year to become finance director for New Milford’s town government, according to an article in the Danbury News-Times. Palmer had previously worked for Norwalk Public Schools for about a year. According to the article:
[New Milford Mayor David] Gronbach said after Monday night’s [Town] Council meeting that Palmer explains the brevity of his recent stints on turnover above him. He was recruited to the Norwalk position by a school superintendent who then left, he said, and then the same thing happened with the town manager who hired him in Darien.
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Here’s the announcement from First Selectman Jayme Stevenson:
I am pleased to announce that Laurie G. Dunn will be joining the Town of Darien as Director of Human Resources on Monday, Sept. 12. Ms. Dunn’s extensive experience in Human Resources will be an asset to the Town.
Ms. Dunn has spent much of her career in the State of Connecticut Higher Education system, including her most recent role as director of employee and labor relations of the Board of Regents for Higher Education.
Prior to her service to the Connecticut State Board of Regents, Ms. Dunn served as human resources administrator for Central Connecticut State University (2008-2013) and held positions of labor relations manager, associate for human resources and labor relations and associate for personnel and labor relations for the state university system (1997-2008).
Throughout her tenure as a human resources professional, Ms. Dunn has developed, implemented and managed a wide variety of human resources policies, procedures and programs in the areas of labor relations, compensation management, legal compliance, affirmative action, recruitment, training and development and ethics.
Ms. Dunn is a graduate of Central Connecticut State University, magna cum laude. She has earned the designation of Senior Certified Professional from the International Public Management Association for Human Resources and was recently honored as the 2016 IPMA-HR Connecticut Chapter Member of the Year.