Manus J. O'Donnell was hired in June, 2004. He has over 40 years of experience in private and public sectors, including management positions in the military, manufacturing, education and local government. He most recently spent 28 years in executive level management in Maryland. For 24 years, he served as Howard County's Director of Citizen Services, supervising all aspects of county human service programs.

Manus has been the president of two national associations: National Association of County Human Service Programs and the National Association of County Aging Programs. He has held many statewide and local leadership positions. He currently is on the board of directors and is an officer in several national organizations, including the Board of Directors of the National Association of Counties.

In addition to several state and local awards, Manus won the National Association of Counties Human Services Director of the Year award in 2002 and the Humanitarian of the Year for Howard County in 1998. He has a bachelor's degree from University of Maryland and a master's degree in Business Administration from Loyola College. Manus lives in Northwest Hillsborough County. He has two children who reside in Maryland.

The Human Services Office is headed by an Administrator who provides administrative oversight to following departments:

• Aging Services
• Animal Services
• Children's Services
• Extension
• Health and Social Services
• HIPAA Compliance Office
• Library Services
• Parks, Recreation & Conservation

These departments have 2,780 staff members and a budget of $316.4 million. The Office of Human Services seeks to make Hillsborough County the best in the nation by supporting employees who deliver services to the public, integrating services provided by different departments so that citizens receive the best and most cost-effective service, and promoting teamwork throughout the community.