Joy Rich has been a public servant all her adult life, rising through the ranks of local government to become the first female County Manger in Maricopa County’s 150-year history.  Since her appointment in 2016, Joy has pursued organizational changes and process improvements that lead to better customer service and increased efficiency.  Joy is responsible for 40+ departments and works with the elected Board of Supervisors to implement a strategic plan that prioritizes safe, healthy communities in our fast-growing region.  Prior to her appointment, she held various positions in the organization including Deputy County Manager, Assistant County Manager, and Planning & Development Director. Before joining the County, she worked for both the cities of Phoenix and Glendale as a planner and neighborhood programs manager. Ms. Rich holds Bachelor of Science in Geography and Master of Public Administration degrees from Arizona State University. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners, American Planning Association, Arizona Planning Association, Arizona City/County Management Association, and the Arizona State University School of Public Affairs Academic Advisory Council.

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Mike has served as the Director of the Flood Control District of Maricopa County since 2018, and as the Deputy Director of Maricopa County Air Quality Department from 2015 to 2018.

Prior to his service with Maricopa County, for over 27 years Mike worked in a variety of roles at the State of Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, including service as the Water Quality Division Director overseeing the state drinking water, clean water, aquifer protection, water quality monitoring and compliance programs.

Mike is an Arizona native and holds a Bachelor of Science in Forest-Watershed Management from the University of Arizona.

Robert Rowley is currently the Director of the Maricopa County Department of Emergency Management (MCDEM) and has been in this position for over 5 years. Prior to Maricopa County, Robert was the Emergency Management Director for Coconino County from 2012 to 2017. From 2006 to 2012, he was the Deputy Director of Emergency Services for Siskiyou County in far northern California. During his 15 years as an emergency manager, Robert has dealt with winter storms, floods, wildfires, long-term power outages, hazardous materials incidents, and worldwide pandemics.

Robert is a Certified Emergency Manager by the International Association of Emergency Managers, a Certified Emergency Management Specialist by the State of California, a FEMA Master Exercise Practitioner, and a graduate of Cohort VI of the National Emergency Executive Academy at the Emergency Management Institute. In 2017 he received his master's degree in Emergency Management and Homeland Security from Arizona State University and now teaches in that program.

Prior to his Emergency Management career, Robert spent 14 years in law enforcement with assignments in corrections, patrol, community policing, marine patrol, field training officer, detective, and search and rescue coordinator. During this time, he also served concurrently in the Army Reserve and the California Army National Guard as a Psychological Operations Specialist, Russian Translator/Interpreter, and Combat Engineer.

Director Maricopa County Parks and Recreation Department

R.J. Cardin is the director for Maricopa County’s Parks and Recreation Department, one of the largest regional parks systems in the United States. Maricopa County’s regional park system is made up of over 120,000-acres of pristine Sonoran desert landscape and houses hundreds of miles of trails, campgrounds, nature centers, nature and recreation programs and an environmental learning center, otherwise known as the Desert Outdoor Center at Lake Pleasant.While the park system itself is vast, Cardin operates the 10 regional parks with a lean crew of 86 full-time employees and uses a multitude of park hosts and volunteers in every aspect of operations to keep operating costs low, while providing exceptional outdoor recreation opportunities. Prior to leading Maricopa County’s Parks and Recreation Department, Cardin was the assistant director for the city of Glendale’s Parks and Recreation Department where he was responsible for parks and trails, capital development and operations.Cardin has more than 25-years of diverse parks and recreation experience which includeslocal, county and state government, commercial recreation and the non-profit sector.Cardin holds a Masters degree from Arizona State University focusing on outdoor recreation and tourism. In addition, he also holds Bachelor’s degrees in both Business Administration and Recreation Management from Morningside College located in Iowa. Over the past two years, Cardin has been inducted as a Fellow into the American Academy for Park and Recreation Administrators, has served as the President of the National Association of County Park and Recreation Officials and has been appointed to the Arizona State Parks Board. Cardin strongly believes that through responsible stewardship and the ability to connect the community to nature via quality parks, trails, programs, services and experiences, it is possible to inspire an appreciation for the Sonoran desert’s beauty and create life-long users and advocates for public lands.

Dr. Finch began serving the Deer Valley Unified School District community as Superintendent in 2017; DVUSD has 41 schools, 32,600 students, and 3,500 employees. His quest for educational excellence began at an early age in Alaska with his mother as a school bus driver and father as the school district’s maintenance director; the school system was the center of the small rural community. Dr. Finch received a BA in Secondary Mathematics and a minor in Language Arts, a MA in Administration, and a PhD in Education. After starting as a secondary math and English teacher, Dr. Finch spent the next 25+ years in educational administration at the Middle School, High School, Superintendent, and ISD levels. The 20+ years as a Superintendent has afforded him opportunities to shape educational issues at the state and national levels, testifying before legislatures, and serving on local, state, and national educational committees to influence improvement in K-12 public education.