The director of the Allegheny County Department of Human Services is departing to work for New York City’s new mayor.

Erin Dalton, who has worked in the county department for 18 years, was tapped for a new role as commissioner of the Department of Social Services under Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Mamdani, who took office in January, said Dalton’s experience — particularly her work reducing homelessness in Greater Pittsburgh — was key to her selection.

The New York department is the largest such agency in the country and recently dealt with a string of weather-related deaths in the city under former commissioner Molly Waslow Park.

“Erin Dalton has spent decades making government work better for those who need it most — expanding housing access, strengthening social services, and protecting our most vulnerable neighbors,” Mamdani said in a release announcing Dalton’s hiring. “I’m proud to work alongside Commissioner Dalton to build a city that is more just, effective and accessible for all.”

Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato also hailed Dalton’s local accomplishments.

“While we are terribly disappointed to lose Director Dalton, we know Allegheny County’s loss is New York City’s gain,” Innamorato said. “I’m proud of the work we’ve done together to house our neighbors, support people with substance use disorder, and reimagine public safety and mental health response.”

Dalton will be succeeded in the interim by Alex Jutca, deputy director of the Department of Human Services, while the county conducts a nationwide search for a permanent successor.

In the announcement, the Allegheny DHS highlighted a broad range of accomplishments under Dalton. These include her work on Innamorato’s signature 500 in 500 initiative to find unhoused Pittsburghers permanent homes, an expanded winter shelter network for periods of dangerous cold, a $50 million violence prevention program, and childcare initiatives including the Hello Baby program.

Dalton, 51, who previously worked at the National Institute of Justice, RAND Corp. and the Obama Foundation, has a master’s in public policy and management from Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College.

She said it has been an “extraordinary honor” to serve as DHS director.

“Whether facing a global pandemic, a funding shortfall, or a fire at our largest shelter, the people of Allegheny County show up for one another — and that collective commitment is our greatest strength,” she said. “I will always have deep admiration for Allegheny County — a community that invests in its government and expects it to deliver.”

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