The Graham County Department of Social Services has a new full-time director, with Amy Seay marking her first day on the job Monday.
Seay comes to Graham County from the Swain County Department of Social Services, where she most recently served as program manager, after serving as a foster care social worker and adult protective services supervisor.
She has worked in mental health in western North Carolina for more than 20 years.
“My mother worked in Graham County for many years, so I’m familiar with the area and I have that sort of connection,” Seay said. “In one of my previous jobs, I worked with some folks from Graham County.”
Seay said she was looking forward to the opportunity to lead the department and lauded former director Cris Weatherford’s leadership of the department.
“I’ve known him for years, and everybody seems very happy and everyone works very hard,” Seay said. “I just really want to continue to have that sort of environment where folks are enjoying what they do, and can depend on one another and can now depend on me.”
Seay said that she was unsure what her goals for the department were since she was just starting out in Graham County. She emphasized that her first few months would be spent learning the department.
However, she said there was always room for improvement.
“I think there first several months are going to be just figuring out where we are,” Seay said. “Of course, there are always going to be things that everybody can do better, so just figuring out where we want to put our energy and what we feel like as an agency, where we feel like we want to start doing things differently or where we feel like there’s things we could do better.”
Prior to her work in Swain County, Seay worked in various mental health and social work capacities including work in Cherokee County and work with regional mental health provider Vaya Health.
A Swain County native, Seay holds a bachelor’s degree in social work from Western Carolina University. She said she was looking forward to becoming a part of the Graham County community.
“I know lots of folks already, but there’s a whole lot of folks I don’t know as well, so I like the opportunity to get to know another neighboring county, and really just become involved,” Seay said.