BIOGRAPHY
Jonathan Griffin serves as Finance Director for the Transylvania County Government. He assumed those responsibilities in October 2018. As Finance Director, he serves as the chief financial officer for the County Government and carries out the legal responsibilities as the County's legally designated finance officer under NC G.S. § 159-25.
Jonathan was previously Transylvania County’s first North Carolina Association of County Commissioners (NCACC) County Management Fellow. The NCACC is committed to helping develop the next generation of career county management professionals and established this program to place recent graduates who have an interest in North Carolina local government into a full-time two year salaried position so that they can gain experience working first hand in leadership at the local government level.
He is a 2016 graduate of the UNC School of Government’s Master of Public Administration program. Before coming to Transylvania County, Jonathan worked at the University of North Carolina Asheville, where he had previously earned a baccalaureate degree from the University of North Carolina Asheville in Economics and Classical Studies. He and his wife live in Pisgah Forest.
Q & A
Q: What are your job duties for Transylvania County?
I maintain and implement the financial management of the County government. During the budget process, I help estimate and coordinate the expenses and revenues of various county functions in order to help advise the Transylvania County Board of County Commissioners on how to best conduct their financial affairs.
Q: What makes Transylvania County so special to you?
I first moved to Western North Carolina over ten years ago and visiting Transylvania County was one of the first things I did when I arrived. Since my freshman year of college, regular visits to the immense natural wonders of Transylvania County and its communities have been a big part of my life. Given its rich history and bright future, I was very excited when I was offered the opportunity to work for this community.
Q: In which ways do you hope to improve Transylvania County?
A career in government was a natural fit for me because I find myself most drawn to service. My sole hope from this experience is that at the end I can point to more than just a few things that I had a role in that have grown Transylvania County economically or culturally. If I can say I made Transylvania County better able to meet the challenges of its future, then I can say that I have done my job well.
Q: Do you have any favorite things that you like to do in Transylvania County?
Most of all, I enjoy going out to lunch during the week at the many restaurants of downtown Brevard. On the weekends, my favorite activity is to take my dogs out into Pisgah National Forest with my wife Katherine.