POUGHKEEPSIE – Assistant Dutchess County Executive Ron Hicks is leaving government service after 30 years of public service. Hicks has decided to leave the government sector, but is not planning to leave the workforce, noting that several options are available to him.
Hicks started in government as a college intern for the Speaker of the New York State Assembly, where he learned the importance of constituent service. Helping that constituent who had exhausted all other options, Hicks said, was “life-changing” and set him on his lifelong commitment to public service. Hicks believes that “government has an obligation to serve all people, create opportunities rather than obstacles, and improve the general welfare of the community.”
“I am grateful to County Executive Sue Serino,” Hicks said. “Sue and I share a deep alignment in our principles, our approach to public service, and our ethics—an alignment that has been both rare and profoundly meaningful to me. It is with genuine sadness that I am ending my long career in government so early in her term, knowing how much I valued the opportunity to serve alongside her. We share so many core values, and beyond that, she is a better listener, more authentic, and more compassionate than anyone I could hope to work for. It has been an honor and a privilege to serve the people of Dutchess County, to work for Sue, and to stand alongside a trusted and incomparable team of coworkers.”
Serino praised the work Hicks has done and offered kind words as he transitions away from county service. “Although Ron is retiring from government service, he will remain in Dutchess County—his lifelong home and the community where he is a fourth-generation resident. While we will miss his daily presence, insight, and leadership, we are deeply grateful for his decades of service to the people of Dutchess County, the Mid-Hudson Region, and New York State. We look forward to working with him in this next chapter and wish him every success and happiness in his well-earned retirement from government service.”
The assistant county executive developed his focus on economic development during his tenure with the Dutchess County Economic Development Corporation and Tourism Promotion Agency. There, he discovered he could continue helping people in meaningful ways—particularly entrepreneurs, small business owners, and even visitors—while expanding opportunities that strengthened the broader community and advanced the county’s economic vitality.
His growing passion for economic development stayed with him as he went on to serve in a wide range of leadership roles in and outside of New York at the city, county, and state levels, including District Director for the late Assemblywoman Eileen Hickey; Deputy County Clerk of Dutchess County; Regional Director for former Governor George Pataki; Regional Director for Empire State Development; and, most notably, in his longest tenure with the Office of the Dutchess County Executive.
Hicks says his most rewarding positions were his time with Governor Pataki and in his current role as Assistant County Executive, which dates back to 2012. After returning to the Dutchess County workforce, he transformed the county’s economic development program, forged strong and productive partnerships with community-based, economic, and educational organizations, and led the establishment of the Dutchess County Economic Development Advisory Council and the Think Dutchess Alliance for Business. Among his most impactful and proudest achievements, he says, was his collaboration with , which led to the creation of workforce development pipelines such as the Aviation Education Center and the Mechatronics Lab. These initiatives provide individuals across the region with a low-cost pathway to careers that make it possible to live and thrive in Dutchess County.
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