Legislature Names Amy Ellis Chief Deputy Clerk

HAUPPAUGE, N.Y. – In a unanimous vote at its 2016 organizational meeting Jan. 4, the Suffolk County Legislature approved the nomination of Amy Ellis of Mount Sinai to serve as the body’s Chief Deputy Clerk.

Ellis will work in partnership with Clerk of the Legislature Jason Richberg, who was re-appointed to his position at the same meeting.

“Amy’s work ethic and attention to detail are unparalleled,” said Suffolk County Legislature Presiding Officer DuWayne Gregory. “We welcome her to our Hauppauge location, where she will work closely with Jason to increase transparency and public access to the records of this body.”

“We in the Clerk’s office are excited about the new energy and enthusiasm that Amy brings,” said Richberg. “Amy is a dynamic and steady person who is a great addition to our leadership team.”

Ellis said she is looking forward to helping the public better understand the workings of the Legislature.

“I’m honored and humbled by the responsibility,” she said. “The sole purpose of government is to serve the public, and I look forward to helping elucidate both the history and the day-to-day operations of the Legislature.”

Prior to her appointment, Ellis served as chief-of-staff for 6th District Legislator Sarah Anker, for whom she had worked since 2011.

“Amy started in my office as our scheduler, and she quickly proved herself immensely competent and hardworking,” said Legislator Anker. “I was thrilled to promote to her to chief-of-staff in 2014, and I’m ecstatic to see her appointed to the position of Chief Deputy Clerk. She will serve the Legislature well.”

Ellis graduated from Mount Sinai High School in 2007 and from Stony Brook University (SBU) in 2011. She is currently pursuing her master’s degree in higher education administration from SBU at night.

Education has always been an interest for Ellis. In 2013, she traveled to Kenya to work in an orphanage operated by Hope Children’s Fund, a Port Jefferson nonprofit that helps fund the educations of the children it houses.

In her spare time, Ellis teaches yoga and meditation classes, and she looks forward to bringing the tenets of both practices to her new position. As a community service project, she recently established a yoga program for inmates at the Riverhead Correctional Facility. She hopes to establish similar programs for various underserved populations.

Pictured Above: The Suffolk County Legislature unanimously appointed Amy Ellis, left, to the position of Chief Deputy Clerk at its organizational meeting Jan. 4 in Hauppauge. Ellis sits with Clerk Jason Richberg shortly before the vote confirming her appointment was taken.