County promotes sustainability manager to program director

SARASOTA — Lee Hayes Byron was named the new director of Sarasota County UF/IFAS Extension and Sustainability. 

Byron has worked with Sarasota County government since 2005. According to a press release, she started her career as a land manager in the Environmentally Sensitive Lands Protection program. She has been the county's sustainability manager since 2008. In 2014, the sustainability program merged with the Sarasota County UF/IFAS Extension. As sustainability manager, Byron oversaw the addition of more than $4 million in grand funds to support the county's sustainability education and outreach programs.