DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond has appointed Tracy Hutchinson director of the Sanitation Division. Hutchinson is the first female director to lead sanitation, the largest division within the county’s public works department.

Hutchinson joined the sanitation division in 2004 as assistant director of processing and disposal services. Since September 2016, Hutchinson has served as interim director, and is responsible for managing the division’s day-to-day operations, which includes 641 employees and five operational areas. Hutchinson also oversees the Seminole Road Landfill, the only county-owned landfill in the state of Georgia.

The division services more than 178,000 households weekly and leads the county’s environmental sustainability efforts, including the recently launched glass recycling program.

Hutchinson is a 20-year solid waste industry veteran, and prior to joining the sanitation division, was the first African-American female to serve in a senior management role within the engineering department at Waste Management Inc. She was also the first female African-American president of the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA), Georgia Chapter.

Hutchinson holds a bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering from Savannah State University, serves as an American Public Works Association Public Works Leadership Fellow, and holds professional SWANA certifications in landfill operations, collection systems and recycling systems.