The Wellesley Council on Aging Board on Monday voted unanimously to ratify action by the town’s human resources department to place COA Director of Senior Services Deb Greenwood on paid administrative leave (see Wellesley Media recording of this 21-minute meeting).
The Board, as the hiring authority for the COA director, had called a special online meeting for the purposes of taking the vote.
The meeting agenda also included an item to discuss the effect of the HR action on COA operations. One is that Assistant Director of Senior Services Kathy Savage becomes the acting director, per her job description.
COA Board Chair Kathleen Vogel stated during the meeting that “HR received information last week of questions regarding Deb’s management and record keeping. Those questions are being investigated.” Vogel added that she had no further information on this, but that once investigations are complete, the Board will schedule a meeting with Greenwood in executive session (aka, behind closed doors) to discuss the results and determine if any discipline is appropriate.
Greenwood was placed on paid administrative leave on April 22, Vogel said during the meeting.
Greenwood was introduced as the Wellesley COA director at the start of 2023, and has been credited by members and co-workers for having led growth in program attendance and an improved atmosphere at the Tolles Parsons Center.
The Board also discussed how to go about informing staff and patrons about the director’s status. This will entail working with town counsel.
We reached out to the town’s HR director on Monday night for further comment, and will update this post if we hear back.
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Please report on what happened to the previous director at COA
Hi Jon, not sure if you’re referring to Heather Munroe? The story from COA was that they knew she’d be heading back into the town administration field at some point, as she did.