Suffolk County’s economic development chief, Theresa Ward, is leaving for a technology post in New York City, she said in an email sent Friday to her staff.
Ward was appointed commissioner of economic development and planning in 2016 by County Executive Steve Bellone. Her appointment to the $173,000-a-year job was confirmed by the county legislature.
She subsequently was named a deputy county executive.
Ward also was elected chair of the county’s Industrial Development Agency in March 2017. That post doesn’t come with a salary.
She succeeded Joanne Minieri, who left county service for a job with RXR Realty in New York City in 2016.
In her email to staff, Ward said on Friday, “I have accepted a new position in the tech sector in New York City. Chief Deputy Commissioner Natalie Wright will step in as acting commissioner effective end of day on July 17th.”
Ward said she would continue to own a home in Suffolk. She joined county government in 2015 as chief deputy to Minieri.
