Mayor-Elect Donna Deegan has announced her next round of staff appointments in the Mayor’s Office and Department of Neighborhoods.
They come from many walks of life and both sides of the political aisle, including the City Council as well as media and nonprofits.
In mid-June, Deegan announced 13 people, including former city officials and leaders of her campaign, who will direct her administration when she takes office Saturday. Her latest appointments are what Deegan calls a bipartisan group of leaders that represent the "culture of collaboration, innovation, accountability and transparency" that she says her administration will bring to City Hall.
They are:
- Joe Inderhees, deputy chief of staff. He has had a 25-year career as a television newsroom leader and manager for Scripps News, First Coast News and NBC Bay Area News.
- Kelli O’Leary, deputy chief administrative officer. O'leary, the organizational development director for Liberty Landscape Supply, previously served at the Jacksonville Transportation Authority’s vice president of engagement and the city’s director of employee services.
- Tracye Polson, director of strategic partnerships. A licensed clinical social worker, Polson also led a nonprofit focused on infants and children and has taught at multiple universities.
- Lynn Sherman, executive director of health programs. The executive director of community transformation at Baptist Health, she also was a respiratory therapist.
- Former City Councilman Garrett Dennis, director of boards and commissions. He owns a construction company and a restaurant and served 14 years as director of community outreach at the Duval County Supervisor of Elections Office. He also was a teacher.
- Former City Councilman Scott Wilson, City Council liaison. He is compliance administrator for Total Military Management and previously served as an cxecutive council assistant and City Council vice president and president.
- Former Atlantic Beach Commissioner Brittany Norris, director of intergovernmental affairs. Norris, a communications and design professional, is digital director at Whalebone Media. She also served as Atlantic Beach mayor pro tem and as chair of the Board Member Review Committee.
- Former City Councilman Al Ferraro, director of neighborhoods. He is a small-business owner who founded Ferraro Lawn Service in 1986. He recently co-sponsored a bill making it illegal for people to use roadway medians for “commercial activity,” including fundraising and panhandling, without a permit.
- Joshua Hicks, affordable Housing and community development director. A senior platform administrator at the Colorectal Cancer Alliance, he is a career nonprofit professional who has advocated for housing solutions in Jacksonville.
Staff appointments announced June 14 included Erica Connor as executive assistant, Pat McCollough as chief of staff, new chief financial officer Anna Brosche and Mike Weinstein as interim chief financial officer. Karen Bowling is the new chief administrative officer, while Phil Perry is chief communications officer and Melissa Ross is the new director of strategic initiatives and press liaison.
Former sheriff candidate Lakesha Burton is the new chief of public safety, while Sunil Joshi is chief health officer and Parvez Ahmed is director of diversity and inclusion. Ed Randolph is director of economic development, and Jason Gabriel will chair the Qualification Review Committee. Bob Rhodes serves as interim general counsel.
Deegan's inaugural events included Friday's Prayer Breakfast at the Garden Club of Jacksonville, and her Kick-Off Celebration was scheduled that evening at the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront.
Her swearing-in ceremony, open to the public, will take place at 11:30 a.m. Saturday at the Jacoby Symphony Hall at the Jacksonville Center for the Performing Arts. Her inaugural ball, a ticketed event, will be at 7 p.m. Saturday at The River Club.
