NORTHAMPTON — The end of the fiscal year coincided with the conclusion of a 39-year career at the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office, as Donna Dudkiewicz retired as the organization’s chief financial officer on June 30.
The Hadley resident has worked under four consecutive Northwestern district attorneys, starting with W. Michael Ryan, who hired her in 1986 as the office’s fiscal affairs coordinator.
“I loved it. I have always felt that it was an honor to work in the Northwestern DA’s office,” she said this week. “It’s an agency where everyone who walks through the door is trying to make a difference.”
Dudkiewicz, 61, was named chief financial officer in 1988 and worked as part of the senior management team of current District Attorney David E. Sullivan, who commended Dudkiewicz for her service to the office and the state.
“For nearly four decades, Donna Dudkiewicz has kept our Northwestern DA’s office on the right track. Donna is the best example of a smart, dedicated and caring public servant,” Sullivan said in a statement. “We will all miss her as she starts her new chapter in retirement.”
Dudkiewicz said she has spent her entire life in Hadley and she plans to stay put, while also traveling and spending more time with family.
“Every day is a blank page,” she said. “It’s a change, but it’s a positive change.”
Dudkiewicz’s position has been taken over by Jennifer Perreault, who was able to train with Dudkiewicz for a month.
“I think she’s going to do a wonderful job,” Dudkiewicz said of her successor.
Perreault has taken the helm of the office’s $10.8 million budget following 15 years as controller, chief and contract manager at ServiceNet, one of the region’s largest human services nonprofits. Before her time at ServiceNet, she worked at Crocker Communications, a family-owned business based in Greenfield. She grew up in Greenfield and lives in South Deerfield with her husband and two sons.
The Northwestern District consists of the 47 communities in Hampshire and Franklin counties, as well as Athol in Worcester County.