SOUTH HADLEY — South Hadley will hold a swearing-in ceremony for its new town administrator, Lisa Wong, on Monday.
Wong was hired by the Select Board in July and will succeed Michael Sullivan, who served as South Hadley’s town administrator since 2013 until his contract expired this year.
The ceremony, hosted by the Select Board, will take place at the South Hadley Council on Aging at 9 a.m. to celebrate Wong’s much-anticipated arrival.
Along with her experience as town manager of Winchester and mayor of Fitchburg from 2008 to 2016, Wong is recognized as the first Asian American woman to ever serve as a mayor in Massachusetts.
Wong began her career in local government working on Fitchburg’s redevelopment authority as a 22-year-old graduate of Boston University. In an interview with the Gazette earlier this year, Wong said she will continue to enjoy the work that goes into economic development and planning as a town administrator.
She said her experience working at her family’s Chinese restaurant during her upbringing taught her the importance of providing good service, a mentality she intends to bring to local government while serving South Hadley.
In the final year of his contract, Sullivan earned $119,000 a year due to his reduced four-day workweek. Wong will earn $156,000 during the first year of her contract that lasts until June 2024. Over the next two years, Wong’s pay will increase to $165,000 and then to $175,000.
Sullivan said in an interview earlier this year that this salary is a fair “market rate” for the work Wong will be doing.