Former High Level County Employees With Abrupt Departures Reemerge with Madison AI, VOA

Former Washoe County Manager Eric Brown has himself listed on LinkedIn now as the Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer with VOA which contracts with the county to run the Cares Campus,  while Dana Searcy previously the Division Director for Housing and Homeless Services is now listed as a Principal Strategist for Madison AI.

We’ve asked repeatedly for details as to why Searcy left her position on September 19th, 2025, but have never received any details.  

We contacted Madison AI about her duties there but received no response.

After asking the county whether Searcy is currently a contractor for a company the county is now associated with, Bethany Drysdale wrote back: “Not to my knowledge, but I don’t know every vendor with whom the county contracts and who their employees/subcontractors are. If you have a specific program or vendor name, I can look into it, or you can call that vendor directly to find out who their employees or subcontractors are.” 

After stating Searcy worked for Madison AI, Drysdale wrote back “There was a settlement and release agreement with Madison AI approved by the BCC in December,“ referring to the Board of County Commissioners.

On its own page, Madison AI, which says it “unites your agency’s scattered data and systems into knowledge AI to research anything and draft staff reports/memos in minutes,” traces it origin story to Washoe County.

“In truth, we didn’t dream this up. Washoe County did,” it states on its website.

“They came to us with the radical idea: what if government didn’t just buy GovTech, but actually built and owned it? How could it shape the future of AI in local government? Madison AI was co-founded with Washoe County, NV, making them not just a customer, but an equity partner shaping every decision. The result is a platform designed only for local government, by the very people who live its challenges every day.”

Brown meanwhile abruptly retired from his manager position in June 2025  after a review of his office by Raftelis Consulting recommended improved communication at the county leadership level.

“When you get to a point where the kinds of communications challenges that are reflected in this report occur, I think one has to look at themselves and at the situation and say, well, maybe this is no longer the right place for me to be in order to be effective or for the organization to continue to move forward,” Brown said at the time announcing his retirement.  

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