by Valerie Hurley ·
Friday, July 3, 2026
Julie Doucet. (Photo by Lisa Aciukewicz)
Longtime Town Hall employee Julie Doucet has been promoted to the position of assistant town administrator and human resources director, assuming the dual role as of July 1. Doucet fills the job vacated by Dawn Dunbar, who was hired last week as town administrator by the Select Board after serving as interim administrator since February.
“We make a good team,” Dunbar told the Press, describing Doucet as deserving of a rise in the ranks. “She is diligent, hardworking, and pays attention to the details,” Dunbar said. Select Board Chair SusanMary Redinger echoed Dunbar’s praise. “Julie, you are the backbone of Harvard’s daily operations,” Redinger told Doucet after her promotion was announced at the board’s June 30 meeting. She added: “With Julie’s knowledge of town operations and Dawn’s solid leadership and communication skills they make a strong, dynamic team, which is exactly what Harvard needs to meet the challenges that lie ahead.”
As the public face of the town administrator’s office and a 21-year town employee, Doucet has a head start in learning her new roles. As administrative assistant to the office of town administrator and the Select Board, she has long served as the point of contact for both residents and for town volunteers. “A lot of people are already familiar with me … everyone comes to this office with questions.”
The greatest challenge, she said, will be in managing the human resources department, which involves overseeing benefits for both town and school employees. Shifting responsibilities between all three jobs in the administrator’s office will also take time, “because I do so much in this role,” she said, particularly with managing the website and town volunteers, and handling licensing and scheduling for events. The search for a new administrative assistant began this week.
In other staffing news at the June 30 meeting, Redinger announced that the board had agreed to terms of employment with Dunbar, who signed a contract, renewable after the first three years, at an annual salary of $185,000. The contract stipulates yearly performance reviews in a public meeting.