Elishia Hayes, the county’s new CAO

Three months after the County of Humboldt bid farewell to its previous county administrative officer, Amy Nilsen, the Board of Supervisors is set to name her replacement, and they didn’t have to look very far.

At Tuesday’s supes meeting, the board is set to appoint Elishia Hayes to the position that has been likened to being CEO of a company. Hayes has been serving as the acting CAO since Nilsen’s departure, and the board must be pleased with her performance. They’re set to appoint her to the full-time gig without conducting a search for other candidates.

“I am honored and humbled the Board of Supervisors has the confidence in me to lead the county,” Hayes said in a statement provided to the Outpost. “I can’t thank the board enough for the opportunity as I am thrilled to continue working with each one of them. While I am no stranger to hard work or long days, our employees truly set the example.”

Hayes earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and finance from Humboldt State University in 2002 and spent nearly six years as an account manager for Security National, according to her LinkedIn profile.

Since 2011 she has climbed up the career ladder within the CAO’s office, starting as a revenue recovery officer and advancing through the ranks to become a senior administrative analyst, deputy CAO and, in 2020, the chief operating officer/assistant CAO.

According to the county staff report, Hayes has completed the LEAD Program at the University of Virginia Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service as well as the senior executive credential program from the California State Association of Counties and the Cascadia Center for Leadership in Humboldt County.

Hayes’s starting salary will be an eyebrow-raising $197,038 per year, plus benefits. A new compensation schedule for all county employees went into effect last month. The base salary for her new position starts at that level and goes as high as $222,914 per year. 

Nilsen, the previous CAO. was the third-highest-paid county employee in 2019, the most year for which data is available through Transparent California. She made $279,063 in salary and benefits, including $196,029 in regular pay.

Of the 18 other county administrative officers whose salaries we found listed on Transparent California, Nilsen’s ranked 12th from the top, below the likes of CAOs in Fresno, San Benito and Monterey counties but above those in Take, Inyo, Trinity and Glenn. The closest county to Humboldt population-wise on the list is Kings County, whose CAO made a bit more than Nilsen with a base pay of $203,506.

Hayes passed along one more paragraph regarding her promotion:

“Our community now more so than ever needs strong leadership from the county, and I intend to continue working with the Board, departments, local organizations, state and federal partners and the people of Humboldt County to help our area thrive in the short- and long-term. I was raised in Humboldt County and I plan to do everything I can to make this an even better place to live and work.”