Ehde Made Permanent Head of Neighborhood Services

MANATEE COUNTY – After serving nearly a year as an interim director, Ava Ehde has been confirmed as the Director of Neighborhood Services for Manatee County.

Ehde manages a $22 million budget and oversees 135 staff members across Probation, Human, Veterans, Healthcare and Neighborhood Services divisions, as well as the Public Library System. She also serves as a liaison with the Health Care and Children's Services advisory boards, Public Safety Coordinating Council, and Library Board of Trustees.

Ehde previously served as Manatee County's Library Services Manager since 2011 and was named Librarian of the Year by the Florida Library Association in 2017. Under her leadership, the library system focused on expanding educational programs, technological resources and special events.

This earned the Florida Library Association’s 2013 Library Innovation Award and the 2016 Library of the Year and several awards for the Library's Recycled Dreams Teen Fashion Show and Mana Con special events.

Ehde received her master's degree in Information and Library Studies from SUNY Buffalo in 1997, where she began her career. She has 23 years of experience working in various roles in libraries in New York and Florida. During her 16-year tenure at Manatee County, she also served as Adult Services Reference Librarian at Central Library and the Island Branch Supervisor.