Clarendon Hills has wrapped up its recent changing of the guard in its administration and Village Board with the hiring of Mera Johnson as assistant village manager and human resources director.
Johnson begins work in the village July 17 and takes over the position vacated with the July 1 promotion of Zach Creer to village manager. Creer took over for Kevin Barr, who retired after eight years in that position.
“I’m excited to be joining the village,” Johnson said. “The reason I applied to the position is because I felt the dual role of assistant village manager and HR director would be a great fit.”
Johnson currently works as the human resources manager in Geneva and previously worked in the city manager’s office in Montgomery.
“My goal, whether it’s interacting with the Village Board, department heads, employees, residents or other stakeholders, is to provide the best service,” she said. “I’m looking forward to being a part of the leadership team and supporting the Village Board.”
Johnson called Clarendon Hills “a wonderful community” and said she immediately identified with the village’s motto as The Volunteer Community.
“I come from a service-oriented background and was the charter president of the Rotary Club of Montgomery and will be serving as the president again for the 2023-2024 Rotary Year,” she said.
Creer said Johnson was chosen from a field of 25 applicants.
“Mera has a very strong human resources background,” he said. “Many people do not realize the village has around 100 employees — because of the part-time/paid-on-call fire department — and this position provides human resource functions for all 100 employees. Mera was providing the same service for even more employees for the City of Geneva, which also has a paid on-call fire department.”
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Creer said the village hiring team that chose Johnson was impressed by her civic mindedness, particularly starting the Rotary Club in Montgomery.
“We are a hands-on village, working with businesses, the Chamber of Commerce and other community organizations, so it was important for us to find someone that was comfortable directly working with community groups and volunteers,” he said.
Johnson has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh and a Master of Public Administration degree from Northern Illinois University.
She was born in Panama. Her father is a United Methodist Missionary, who has served in Panama, Belize, Jamaica, Guyana and New England. Johnson lives in Montgomery with her husband, Chris, two children, 14-year-old Dylan 11-year-old Mila and her cat, Limestone.
Johnson’s hiring follows the employment of Ed Cage as the new community development director and the election in April of a new village president, new village clerk and four new Village Board members.
Chuck Fieldman is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.