Chester County has hired its first-ever chief experience officer (CXO), a position aimed at improving how residents interact with county government. Megan Moser, who began work Aug. 11, will earn $164,000 a year, not including benefits.
The Board of Commissioners voted 2-1 in July to approve Moser’s hiring. Commissioners Chair Josh Maxwell and fellow Democrat Marian Moskowitz supported the move, while Republican Commissioner Eric Roe voted no.
Roe praised Moser’s qualifications, calling her résumé “to knock your socks off,” but questioned the timing and cost. With federal grants declining under the Trump administration, COVID relief funds drying up, and the state budget still unresolved, Roe said the county should avoid adding to its payroll. He noted that commissioners had recently asked department heads to cut five percent from their proposed 2026 budgets.
Maxwell, however, welcomed Moser warmly. “She’s a smart woman and hardworking,” he said, adding that concerns aired in public “could hurt somebody’s feelings.”
The creation of the CXO post drew sharper criticism from Joseph Lorusso, a corporate financial advisor and Republican candidate for county controller. Lorusso pointed to the 13.47 percent real estate tax hike approved in June and the addition of two other executive positions — chief executive officer (CEO) and chief operations officer (COO) — in recent years. Together with benefits, he said, the three posts will cost taxpayers nearly $500,000 annually.
“It’s like out of Disneyland,” Lorusso said. “They’re actually hiring a CXO — it’s to make you feel you had a good experience living in Chester County. It’s like a Mickey Mouse government.”
According to county budget records, the payroll has grown from $183 million in 2021 to $220 million in 2025. Lorusso said those increases hit hardest in less affluent communities and among seniors on fixed incomes. “Not everybody is rich,” he said. “People struggle to pay their taxes.”
“The Chief Experience Officer (CXO) roles are emerging in many operations for the same reason corporations use these – to make sure any touchpoint is easy, consistent, and positive and to assure “customer” (or resident) satisfaction,” said Mary Conran, a Temple University Fox School of Business marketing professor and associate dean at the university’s Rome campus.
“The evolution of the CXO Role signals that an organization (here, a county) is treating its residents like valued customers, aiming to make services more seamless, less bureaucratic, and more transparent — which can also improve trust and efficiency,” she said. And people have high expectations from interacting with companies like Amazon or Apple.
County officials say Moser will oversee departments with a public-facing mission, including Health, Human Services, Libraries, Open Space Preservation, Voter Services, Water Resources, Workforce Development, and Pocopson Home, the county’s long-term care facility.
In a press release, County CEO David Byerman called the CXO role “possibly the first in the nation at the county level” and said it represents a renewed focus on constituent engagement and public service excellence. “Our residents deserve outstanding service, and we are so fortunate to have someone with Megan’s talents to help us raise the bar,” Byerman said.
Moser previously served as director of customer experience for the U.S. General Services Administration’s Technology Transformation Services Centers of Excellence. She has also worked for the City of Philadelphia and the Wharton School of Business. She earned her Master of Public Administration from the University of Pennsylvania’s Fels Institute, completed post-baccalaureate studies at Penn’s School of Arts and Sciences, and holds a bachelor’s degree in human services from Chestnut Hill College.
Lorusso said if he wins in November, he would work to rein in spending and increase transparency, including forming an advisory board with volunteers from each municipality. “Chester County will be a very different place in five years from now,” he warned. “We’ll lose it. That’s why I’m running. I’m looking to right the ship.”