Mecklenburg County manager announces upcoming retirement

CHARLOTTE — Mecklenburg County Manager Dena Diorio announced this week that she’ll be retiring after more than a decade in the role.

Diorio told county commissioners Wednesday night that she would retire on July 1, 2025.

She was the first female county manager in Mecklenburg County when she was hired in December 2013. Before that, she served as the county’s chief financial officer.

Diorio says she’s proud of her efforts to prioritize sustainable initiatives in county-owned buildings, and she helped create the MECK PreK program, which gives eligible four-year-olds access to free preschool education.

“My goal was to leave Mecklenburg County a better place than when I arrived, and I believe I have accomplished that,” Diorio said in a statement. “When I became County Manager, a national study showed that we were 50 out of 50 in economic mobility. We are now 38 out of 50, I know the County made great efforts to do our part in moving that needle in the right direction.”

Diorio says she’ll help the Board of County Commissioners search for her replacement.

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