Interim Directors Now Run Much of Multnomah County

Heather Mirasol, director of behavioral health for Multnomah County, says she plans to leave her position this month.

Mirasol took personal leave earlier this year to care for her children in the wake of a “difficult and long” divorce and the loss of her mother, she wrote in a June 2 email to county staff first reported by The Oregonian. Mirasol is leaving to develop a “plan forward for me and my children that allows them to have the best of me for the years ahead,” she wrote.

Her departure leaves the county with yet another interim leader just as it finalizes its budget for the coming fiscal year.

Anna Plumb will become interim head of the county’s homeless services bureau when Dan Field retires on June 13. Trisa Kelly is interim director of the Office of Diversity & Equity.

Behavioral health, in particular, is rife with interim leaders. Anthony Jordan, who was interim leader of the division while Mirasol was on leave, will remain in that position. He has two interim deputy directors, Jessica Jacobsen and Jay Auslander.

Multnomah County Health Department director Rachael Banks acknowledged the turnover in an email to staff about Mirasol’s move.

“I understand change can be challenging and we have seen a lot of it,” Banks wrote June 2. “Please know that I appreciate your persistence and commitment to serving our community, especially during times of transition.”

Correction: An earlier version of this story said that Anna Plumb was interim head of the Multnomah County’s homeless services bureau. She will become interim head when Dan Field retires on June 13. WW regrets the error.