VALDOSTA – City Manager Richard Hardy has announced the promotion of Deputy City Manager Catherine Ammons to assistant city manager.

Ammons has been deputy city manager of administration since November 2021 and held key roles with General Electric, Jack Welch Management Institution and Ohio’s Department of Labor.

Hardy and Ammons worked together for more than two years as deputy city managers.

In this role, she oversaw all administrative functions of the city, including human resources, finance, community development, planning, zoning, main street, and inspections.

Before being promoted to deputy city manager, she was the human resources director for the city.

Ammons has more than 30 years of experience providing human resources leadership for various companies. Before joining the City, Ammons served as the director of human resources at Wild Adventures Theme Park, where she focused on implementing human resources strategies and managing and developing human resources operations.

Hardy said her experience makes her well suited to the new position of assistant city manager.

“Catherine is an invaluable asset to the City of Valdosta, our citizens and our employees. Her ability to lead through change, champion and implement strategic initiatives, and always put people first makes her uniquely qualified for her new role,” he said.

Ammons earned a bachelor of public administration from Fayetteville State University, a master of organizational leadership and development from Grand Canyon University, a master of industrial and organizational psychology from Walden University and a doctorate in business administration with an emphasis in human resource management from Liberty University.

She is a certified senior human resources professional and senior certified professional. She was vice president of diversity and inclusion for the Cleveland Society of Human Resources Management. Ammons is multilingual in four languages.

Having acquired experience from across the country, Ammons calls Valdosta home and said she is eager to tackle the challenges of her new role.

“We’ve had a few challenging years but our employees put their heart and soul into providing the services expected of us as a municipality. Our citizens are second to none and I am honored to serve all of them as we continue to grow Valdosta,” she said.