Executive Innamorato Announces New Leadership Hires and Promotions

Melissa Swedish, Director of the Allegheny County Parks Department has dedicated the past 16 years to serving Allegheny County Parks, including the last 12 years as Deputy Director of Parks for Fiscal and Administration. During her tenure, she has helped lead the department through a period of significant growth, including the expansion of landscape architecture, recreational programming, fiscal operations, the creation of the Park Ranger program, and the transition of maintenance staff into the Parks Department. Swedish has played a key role in implementing new software systems, advancing capital improvement projects, modernizing animal care operations, identifying new revenue opportunities, and strengthening park operations. As Director, she is committed to enhancing the visitor experience, improving customer service, developing a long-term strategy to maintain the County’s aging park infrastructure, and expanding accessible amenities and programming so all residents can enjoy Allegheny County’s parks. 

Rachel Silver, Chief Information Officer and Director of DIT, joined Allegheny County in 2023 as Chief Technology Officer for the Department of Human Services, focused on building the County’s internal technology capabilities. She established the County’s first in-house product management, user experience, and software engineering teams, helping modernize critical human services systems while strengthening the County’s ability to design, build, and support technology internally. As Chief Information Officer, Silver is leading the County’s efforts to modernize technology infrastructure, strengthen cybersecurity, and build a more responsive, resilient technology organization that partners with departments to improve services for residents and employees. 

Andy Howard, Chief Public Defender, is a career public defender who has served the people of Allegheny County since joining the Office of the Public Defender in March 2015. Prior to serving as Interim Chief Public Defender, he held several leadership roles within the office, including Chief Deputy Public Defender, Senior Deputy of Adult Trial Advocacy, Deputy Director of the Major Felony Unit, and Assistant Public Defender. Throughout his career, he has represented thousands of clients facing the full spectrum of criminal charges, including death penalty cases. Howard also serves as an appointed member of the Pennsylvania Criminal Procedural Rules Committee. He brings extensive knowledge of the local criminal legal system to the role and is committed to improving how the justice system addresses the root causes of over-incarceration. 

Rick Buechel, Director of Facilities, comes to the role after a distinguished 20-year career in the United States Navy, where he held a series of facilities leadership positions. His responsibilities included overseeing maintenance, operations, and construction for major military sites such as Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, the Uniformed Services University for the Health Sciences, Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program laboratories, Naval Special Warfare training sites, and locations throughout Afghanistan and the Middle East. Buechel's extensive experience managing facilities across health care, labs, administration, fleet operations, training environments, recreation, and historic preservation make him exceptionally well suited to lead the County’s diverse facilities portfolio.