SWAMPSCOTT — Julie DeLillo, Human Resources (HR) director, is now the town’s first disabilities coordinator and liaison to the Disabilities Commission.
The Melrose native was appointed the joint position by the Board of Selectmen at a meeting on Oct. 3. She was hired as the HR director three months ago and quickly developed a positive relationship with the town. With disability-oriented experience working in non-profit organizations and the Perkins School for the Blind, the board and the commission felt she was the right fit.
“We’ve just been waiting for Julie to show up,” said Trisha Malphrus, chair of the Disabilities Commission.
Malphrus said her professional background, knowledge, and passion for making sure rights for those with disabilities are fulfilled are major qualifications for the role she’s been appointed to. DeLillo will be the glue that helps move all the commission’s ideas forward, according to Malphrus.
DeLillo said she feels the position is perfect for her, given her passion for advocating for those with disabilities. She said the last three months as HR director have been filled with nothing but support from the town and that has helped make her feel right at home. Her main goal is to bring in a new perspective that bridges the gap between the school and the town and makes them into one entity.
“In any town, taxpayer dollars are critical and we have to show efficiencies in how we use those dollars,” she said. “If we can show that through a combined position, then we can gain those efficiencies. It’s not the town versus the schools; it’s one budget, one town.”
DeLillo started her career in finance as a bank auditor before taking the same position with former retail store Filene’s. She quickly rose to an HR position with the retail chain and continued to prosper with the company over the next few years. Her non-profit and disability work started at Vinfen in Cambridge, a human services agency for adults with psychological and developmental disabilities, where she left as the director of HR.
Her work advocating for those with disabilities really helped her hit the ground running when she became the director of HR for the Perkins School, where she spent the last six and a half years.
“She brings a professional approach to her responsibilities,” said Town Administrator Sean Fitzgerald. “As a commission, they deal with a number of issues that families, citizens, and employees with disabilities deal with in terms of getting protections assured by law for equal access. She will be a terrific resource for everybody to turn to in the event certain needs or requirements need to be met.”
