DeKalb County hires new human services director

DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond has announced the hire of Damon Scott as director of Human Services. Scott, a human services executive with more than 24 years of experience and a behavioral healthcare background, has served as director of Human Development Services with The Housing Authority of the city of Atlanta.

At DeKalb County, Scott will oversee the Human Services department and its 31 employees who address many quality-of-life needs of DeKalb’s more than 700,000 citizens. Divisions of the department include the Office of Aging, Office of Youth Services and Office of Grants and Human Services Administration. He will also oversee DeKalb’s two multipurpose senior centers and four federally-funded neighborhood senior centers.

Scott earned his Bachelor of Arts from Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., and a Master of Social Work from New York University. He is an advisory board member for Literacy Action and a graduate of Leadership Charlotte. Previously, Scott was a charter board member for Rickey Smiley Foundation and on the board of advisors for The Relatives, a Charlotte, N.C., organization that provides resources to help children and youth find shelter and support.