NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC – Jessica Loeper has been selected to serve as Assistant County Manager for New Hanover County beginning Tuesday, April 4. Loeper has been the county’s Chief Communications Officer since 2019 and has worked for New Hanover County Communications & Outreach since 2016.
“Over the last seven years, Jessica has been at the forefront of guiding our county in communicating the initiatives, resources and ongoing projects that serve and enhance the quality of life in our community,” said County Manager Chris Coudriet. “Her leadership and breadth of knowledge about the work of New Hanover County is unmatched and we are excited to have her serving in this new role as an Assistant County Manager.”
Loeper will work alongside Coudriet with current Assistant County Managers Tufanna Bradley and Lisa Wurtzbacher to manage the departments and services offered by New Hanover County. She will oversee Planning & Land Use, Soil & Water, Parks & Gardens, Arboretum, Recycling & Solid Waste, Cape Fear Museum and Public Library. An updated organizational chart for New Hanover County management can be found here.
Loeper’s promotion to Assistant County Manager will fill the vacancy resulting from Deputy County Manager Tim Burgess’ retirement at the end of March. Burgess worked for New Hanover County for 11 years, with 27 total years of service in the state. He was instrumental in numerous process improvements for county services, helped lead the county’s emergency response through hurricanes and other crises, and was influential in the design of the county’s new Government Center through his dedicated focus on providing the best customer service.
“Tim’s knowledge, compassion and leadership will be missed a great deal, and I am forever grateful to him for his many years of service as we worked side-by-side accomplishing the mission of the county,” Coudriet said. “He has been a true public servant, a convener, and has changed the way this county operates and serves its citizens for the better.”
Loeper is a Wilmington native, graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a B.A. in Journalism and Mass Communications, and has a background in communications and nonprofit development working in Wilmington and Charlotte. She is a graduate of WILMA's Leadership Institute, the UNCW/NHC SERVE Professional Development Academy, and UNCW's Academy for Strategic Management.
In 2019, she was honored as WILMA Magazine’s Women to Watch Award recipient in the public service category. That same year, she was also selected by the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce and StarNews as a “40 Under 40” honoree.
“I am humbled to have this opportunity to continue serving our Board of Commissioners and the citizens of New Hanover County as an Assistant County Manager,” Loeper said. “For the last seven years, I’ve been fortunate to develop relationships with so many people throughout our community and within our organization, as our communications team collaborated to share the important work going on in the county. I look forward to continuing to build those relationships and work alongside our amazing county staff to provide our citizens with the best resources and services available.”