LeeAnn Plumer, the director of the Annapolis Recreation and Parks Department for the past 12 years, has announced she will step down from the job on Jan. 6.

Plumer said in a press release that she is leaving to spend more time with her family.

“LeeAnn’s leadership has transformed our recreation and parks department into one of the premier departments in the region,” Mayor Josh Cohen said in the release.

Cohen said an interim director would be named before Plumer leaves and officials are conducting a national search for a replacement.

Plumer was hired as director by former Mayor Dean L. Johnson, according to the release.

“The hallmark of LeeAnn’s tenure will no doubt be our beautiful ‘Pip’ Moyer Rec Center,” Cohen said in the release. “She has been its guiding light from its inception and design through to its construction and programming.”

He also said she created the program guide, a quarterly, 16-page document listing all of the department’s programs and events.

Plumer also was instrumental in the completion of Back Creek Nature Park, the recent re-opening of Waterworks Park, and the transformation of several street-end parks, according to the release.

“LeeAnn has given so much to our city, and while we will dearly miss her talents, passion, and good humor, I wish her and her family nothing but the best for the future,” Cohen said in the release.