Under Minn. Stat. § 383B.102(c)(3) and the County’s policy on Open and Unclassified Service Appointments, the county board approves appointments of personnel in the unclassified service.

Following an extensive internal recruitment process, the County Administrator is recommending Suzanne Copeland be appointed as the Director of Resident and Real Estate Services (RRES), effective 9/11/2022.

The Director will lead the following divisions within RRES: Survey, Recorder and Registrar of Titles, Property Tax, Business Technology Solutions, and Strategy & Support and will play a critical role in shaping the future of the way the county delivers services for our residents. This position will report to the Assistant County Administrator of Resident Services and will lead efforts to reduce racial and other disparities in our systems.

From an organizational structure perspective, the RRES Director will be well-positioned to partner with other government jurisdictions, community, professional, and citizen organizations on departmental and county initiatives.

Ms. Copeland has worked for Hennepin County since 2002 and has been in leadership in RRES since 2014.  Most recently, Ms. Copeland served in dual roles as Deputy Director of RRES and the Strategy and Support Division Manager in RRES. In her role as Deputy Director, she provided back up to the department director on a wide range of projects and initiatives, and was responsible for RRES data compliance, overseeing conflicts of interest and coordination of the Real Property Group (RPG) Leadership team. As Strategy and Support Division manager she oversaw a wide range of strategy and organizational development programs and the department’s budget. Prior to managing the Strategy and Support division, Ms. Copeland served as RRES Strategy and Change Manager, managing strategy, planning and organizational developments projects, employees, and resources.

On an organizational level, Ms. Copeland supported project leads and facilitators to become Racial Equity Impact Tool (REIT) champions and formed a strategic RPG REIT cohort to promote and support the use of REIT.  In addition, she worked with the Office of Digital Experience to incorporate the REIT framework into the Service Center automated chat project and their digital services navigation planning.

Ms. Copeland received a BA in Anthropology from the University of Minnesota, is a Certified Change Practitioner, has a post-baccalaureate certificate in Essential Project Management from the University of Minnesota, and is in the process of completing her Master of Interdisciplinary Studies at Metropolitan State University.

As required by the Open and Unclassified Service Appointments Policy, a list of final applicants who interviewed for this position is on file with the Clerk of the County Board.

Current Request: The County Administrator requests the board approve the appointment of Suzanne Copeland as the Director of Resident and Real Estate Services, effective 9/11/2022.