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The city of Roanoke Rapids has hired David Wise as its new planning and community development director and Carmen Johnson as its new finance director.

Wise 

For the past decade, Wise has dedicated his professional career to community development with his most recent positions including assistant city administrator for the city of Walsenburg, Colorado, and executive director of the Monmouth Area Chamber of Commerce.  

Prior to 2012, he was president and owner of a private sector corporation that specialized in using historic preservation tax credits to rehabilitate 19th and 20th century properties to spur local tourism and economic development.  

His extensive post-graduate educational achievements with the University of Colorado include a Masters of Urban and Regional Planning in 2018; a Masters of Historic Preservation in 2019; and a Masters of Public Administration in 2021.  

He is currently working towards his Economic Development Certificate at the University of Oklahoma’s Economic Development Institute and his Masters of Tourism Management at Colorado State University.  

He has relocated to eastern North Carolina from Moline, Illinois. 

Johnson

Johnson brings over 13 years of state and local government finance experience to the city.

She is currently the accounting manager for Trillium Health Resources where she oversees all daily operations of the finance department, maintains all accounting and reporting systems pursuant to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and Governmental Accounting Standards Board standards, and has consecutively achieved a clean audit for the last four years of her tenure.  

Prior to Trillium Health Resources, she worked for the North Carolina Department of Revenue as a revenue field auditor and as a plant controller for a Fortune 500 company.  

She graduated with honors from Meredith College with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting in 1996.  

She is an active member of Meredith College’s Accounting Association. She is a native of Northampton County and currently resides in Jackson.

“I am excited to welcome David as our new planning and community development director and Carmen as our new finance director,” said City Manager Kelly Traynham. “David is a proven professional that can effectively engage city leaders, civic boards and local stakeholders to build consensus on planning and community development issues. Carmen is an experienced leader that is well-versed in federal, state and local government finance statutes and procedures. Both bring innovative ideas, invaluable experience and a wealth of knowledge to our organization.”

Wise joined the city Thursday. Johnson will begin work April 25.