County Administrator

The County Administrator is the chief operating officer for Montgomery County, Ohio. This position reports directly to the County Commissioners and is responsible for the day-to-day operations of county government, which includes Human Services, Administrative Services, Business Services, Environmental Services, Office of Management and Budget, Strategic Initiatives, and Human Resources. View the full Table of Organization (PDF).

Michael B. Colbert, Montgomery County Administrator

Michael B. Colbert previously held the position of Assistant County Administrator and Director of Montgomery County Development Services, which encompasses Workforce Development, Community and Economic Development, and the Business Solutions Center. He started his county service as the Assistant Director of Workforce Development which, at the time, was a component of Jobs and Family Services. He has done extensive work to strategically integrate Workforce Development and Economic Development to align job seekers and businesses. In April of 2017, Development Services received the 2016 Jonathan Dayton Public Partner Award, from the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce. In 2021, he was elected Vice-President of the National Association of County Administrators (NACA) for the Midwest Region through 2022.

Prior to coming to Montgomery County, Michael was the Vice President of Sivic Solutions Group SSG LLC, responsible for client relations and development of new products, specializing in Medicaid payment and claims processing, cost allocation planning, grants management, eligibility systems (SNAP, TANF, Medicaid, and Child Care), Special Education tracking and reporting, and web-based systems using custom software development.

Colbert is the former director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS), a $23.6 billion agency with approximately 4,000 employees. ODJFS is responsible for supervising the state's public assistance, workforce development, unemployment compensation, child and adult protective services, adoption, child care, child support, and Medicaid programs

Prior to joining Governor John R. Kasich's cabinet, Colbert served as the ODJFS chief fiscal officer under Governor Ted Strickland for almost three years. In that role and throughout his service as director, he has worked to give counties more fiscal flexibility, to support their modernization efforts, and to leverage technology to ease their administrative burden as much as possible. Under his leadership, ODJFS received a "Recognition Award for Excellence in Human Services Technology" from the American Public Human Services Association, in recognition of the success of Collabor8, an innovative modernization effort involving multiple Ohio counties joining forces to create a virtual call center.

As ODJFS director, Colbert led the launch of a new Medicaid Information Technology System, which processes approximately $1.5 billion in claims each month for 100,000 Ohio Medicaid providers. He also led the launch of the Employer Resource Information Center, a web-based unemployment tax system for employers that can process more than $1 billion in revenues each year. He brought the state back into compliance with work participation requirements for the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, launched a statewide collaborative with the Dave Thomas Foundation to find adoptive homes for older children who have been lingering in foster care, and greatly improved assistance provided to young people aging out of the foster system, to help them find jobs, further their education if they choose and live on their own.

Before joining ODJFS, Colbert was Senior Audit Manager for the Ohio Auditor of State, where he worked for 15 years and earned a Distinguished Service Award. He also is a U.S. Army veteran and a graduate of Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio, where he earned a bachelor's degree in finance and accounting. In April 2012, the Central State College of Business honored him with an Alumnus of the Year Award for his dedication to the university and its students. Additionally, Colbert is the Midwest At-Large Director by the National Association of County Administrators.

In 2010 Michael and his wife Marquetta, an independent nurse practitioner, opened Colbert Family Health and Wellness, a full-service health practice located in Trotwood, Ohio, that provides health care to those in need throughout the Dayton area.

A Xenia native, he is a strong supporter of his hometown and a proud inductee into the Xenia Community Schools Foundation Hall of Honor. He also was named a "Top Ten African American Male" by the Parity, Inc., organization in Dayton and has received recognitions from the Ohio Job and Family Services Directors' Association, the Ohio Grandparent Kinship Coalition, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Ohio, the Farmworker Agencies Liaison Communications Network, and the Ohio Latino Affairs Commission. One of his greatest honors is an Adoption Advocacy Day award he received from the Ohio Adoption Planning Group, for his leadership in promoting adoption and making finding permanent homes for children a priority. Additionally, Michael also received the Central State College of Business Alumnus of the Year Award and the Ohio CSEA Directors' Association OCDA "The Power of One Award".

Assistant County Administrators

Geraldine (Gerri) Pegues is the Assistant County Administrator for Human Services for Montgomery County, Ohio. She is responsible for the oversight, acquisition, and delivery of human services programs. She oversees approximately $305 million in funding and 1,150 staff who support Montgomery County Job and Family Services, to include Family Stability, Benefits Eligibility, Child Welfare, and Child Support Enforcement. She leads or is a member of several boards to include the Human Services Levy Council, Family and Children First Council, Homeless Solutions Policy Board, Stillwater Center, and numerous community initiatives.

Gerri has been a Montgomery County employee since 1992. She began as a college intern with the Juvenile Court and over her career has served in various leadership roles in Job and Family Services and Human Services, working her way up to Director of Human Services Planning and Development, before becoming an Assistant County Administrator.

She has received numerous awards and recognitions, including the Dayton Business Journal Forty Under 40 award, and the Ohio Children Trust Fund - Western Ohio Regional Prevention Council, Chair 2016-2021. Gerri has a Bachelor's and a Master's degree from Wright State University. She is a graduate of the Leadership Dayton Class of 2002 and a Licensed Social Worker. She is also an active member of Beta Eta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated and Dayton Chapter of The Links, Incorporated.

Chris Williams is the Assistant County Administrator for Business Services for Montgomery County, Ohio. In this role, he oversees all operations in Workforce Development (BusinessFirst!, OhioMeansJobs, Workforce and Innovation Opportunity Act, Youth Career Services, and The Business Solutions Center), Community and Economic Development (Community Development Block Grants, Micro Enterprise Grants, and Dayton Regional Israeli Trade Alliance), Information Technology, and the Animal Resource Center.

Chris has been with Montgomery County since 2016. He previously worked as the Director of the Montgomery County Coroner's office and as the Director of the Miami Valley Regional Crime Lab. Prior to working for the County, Chris worked with the Dayton Police Department for 26 years, rising to the rank of Major and serving as the Superintendent of Investigations and Administrative Services.

Chris has a Bachelor's Degree from Wright State University and an Associate Degree from Sinclair Community College. He is also a graduate of the FBI National Academy. He also serves on the Workforce Investment Board.

Tyler Small is the current Assistant County Administrator for Administrative Services for Montgomery County, Ohio. Tyler has been with Montgomery County since 2015 and oversees operations for Strategic Initiatives, Facilities Management, Risk Management, Emergency Management, Materials Management, Safety, Purchasing, Parking and Fleet Services.

Prior to his current role, Tyler has nine years of strategic sourcing experience in the healthcare industry in positions with Premier Health, Kettering Health, and Reid Health.

Tyler received his Bachelors in Business Administration from Indiana University East in 2010. Tyler currently serves on the Dayton Chapter Red Cross Board of Directors and is a graduate of Leadership Dayton Class of 2019.