City government promotions include assistant managers, directors

 Special to the Outlook 

 Manager Reese Goad, Tallahassee’s City Manager, recently announced the promotion of several employees.

According to a news release last Thursday, the promotions are intended to further efforts toward the city’s strategic goals. It added that the staffing changes reflect an investment in employee excellence, focus on diversity and providing exceptional service to citizens.

The promotion of new leadership team members will enhance internal efficiencies without any increase to the budget or positions, the release said.

“Change is rapid in today’s world, and we must keep pace to ensure organizational effectiveness as outlined in our five-year strategic plan,” Goad said. “This includes supporting succession planning to ensure the continuity of operations, working to reflect the community we serve and remaining agile to meet rising needs, while remaining fiscally responsible.” 

Dr. Karen Jumonville, who began her career with the city in 1999 after working for both Leon County and the City of Quincy, is now the Assistant City Manager responsible for the areas of environmental services, growth management and underground utilities and public infrastructure.

Since 2010, Jumonville has served as the director of growth management, making her the first female to hold the position. 

Abena Ojetayo, who started with the city in 2017 as its first Chief Resilience Officer, is now the Assistant City Manager responsible for the areas of fleet, housing and community services, human resources and StarMetro.

Most recently, Ojetayo served as the director of housing and community resilience. Prior to her tenure with the City, she worked internationally and nationally on sustainability, resiliency and development projects, including at Cornell University and Florida A&M University. 

Christian Doolin, who joined the city in 2016 as its first director of strategic innovation, is now the Assistant City Manager responsible for the areas of financial services, grants and enterprise resources, procurement, resource management, strategic innovation and technology and innovation.

Doolin coordinated the development of the City’s five-year strategic plan and led fiscal and management process improvement efforts. He has an extensive background spanning 25 years in business strategy development, financial and economic modeling, organizational change and process improvement. 

Dr. Kimball Thomas, who joined the city in 2018, has taken on the director role of the newly combined Department of Housing and Community Resilience and Department of Community Services.

Prior to this, he was director of community services, overseeing the TEMPO and TFLA programs and collaborating on affordable housing and homelessness support. Thomas has more than 30 years of experience in the fields of public education and public service. 

Veronica McCrakin, who joined the City in 2020, has been promoted to the director of procurement. She has more than 20 years of experience in procurement. 

In prior roles, she has served as a procurement attorney, deputy general counsel and governance manager for several state departments, as well as procurement manager for the Citizen Property Insurance Corporation.

Roberta McManus has been promoted to the director of Grants and Enterprise Resources. With more than 36 years of experience, she joined the city in 1991, working in auditing and purchasing. After a 10-year tenure at Florida State University, she returned to the city in 2017. She then helped develop two new divisions – Enterprise Resource Planning and Grants Management, both within the Department of Financial Services. 

John Powell, who has been with the city for 20 years, has taken on the new role of Director of City Construction.

During his tenure with the city, he has managed several high-profile projects, including remediation of the Cascades Park superfund site. He is currently managing the demolition of the former Northwood Mall facility and construction of the new police department headquarters building. 

He is a Florida Bar licensed attorney, registered professional engineer, state certified general contractor and certified facilities manager.

Ubie Brantley, who joined the City in 2020, has been promoted to the director of facilities. Prior to his work with the city, Brantley spent 27 years in the United States Navy, where he enlisted as a maintenance technician, earned a commission and rose to the rank of Lt. Commander. 

Following his time in the military, he served as operations manager for the Tallahassee-Leon County Public Safety Complex and then deputy director for real estate at the Florida Department of Management Services. 

Alissa Meyers, who joined the city in 2016, now serves as the director of environmental services. Meyers previously served as the Environmental Regulatory Compliance Administrator, supervising environmental regulatory compliance matters and managing the city’s highly acclaimed Brownfields Program. 

Meyers began her career in public service with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, where she served for nearly 15 years. She is an attorney licensed to practice in the Florida and a Florida Supreme Court Certified Circuit Mediator.

“I’m excited about Tallahassee’s future,” Goad said. “These talented, highly-skilled professionals have helped accelerate the City’s progress toward its strategic goals, and now, each will provide higher-level leadership and focus that I am confident will ensure we remain a leader in the delivery of public service and cultivate an even stronger, more vibrant community.”