LTC 138-2024 Interim Personnel AppointmentsMIAMI BEACH
OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
LTC# LETTER TO COMMISSION
TO:
FROM:
DATE:
SUBJECT:
Honorable Mayor Steven Meiner and Members of the City Commission
Rickelle Williams, Interim City Manager f2J.i)
April 12, 2024
Interim Personnel Appointments
The purpose of this Letter to Commission (L TC) is to announce several important interim personnel
a pp o in tm e n ts w ith in o u r organization. As you know, the City is experiencing/anticipating vacancies
at the senior management level. One of the most important responsibilities I have as Interim City
Manager is to identify the necessary staff resources to ensure efficient operation of our City. After
an assessment of current needs, thorough consideration, and discussions with our Executive
Leadership Team, it is clear that filling these vacancies is critical at this time.
City Manager's Office
I am pleased to share that David Martinez will join the City Manager's Office and serve as Interim
Assistant City Manager (ACM) effective Monday, April 15, 2024. David will oversee the Office of
Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) in addition to the majority of my previous ACM portfolio
in cl ud ing E c o n o mic Development, Housing and Community Services, Parking, Planning, and
T ra n s p o rt a tio n a n d M o b ility . David began his 13-year ten ure with the City of Miami Beach in 2011,
wi th 11 ye ar s serving as CIP Director and 2 years serving as Assistant CIP Director. Prior to joining
the C ity , D a v id w a s a S e n ior Project Manager with Miller Construction and Director of Construction
at T ri-C C o n struction . David's engineering and construction industry experience spans over 38
ye a rs a n d in cl ud e s o v e r 19 ye a rs ded ic a ted to public service in high level and executive roles. He
ho ld s a m a ste r's deg ree in bu s in e ss ad m in istra tio n fr o m N o v a S o u th e a ste rn U niv e rsity an d a
ba c he lo r's deg re e in civ il e n g in ee rin g fr o m F lo rid a In te rn a tio n a l U n iv e rsity . H e is re g iste re d as a
P ro fe ssio n a l E n g in e e r in the sta te of F lo rid a .
D u rin g the in te rim pe rio d , D a v id G o m e z , C IP D iv is io n D ire cto r, w ill se rve a s In te rim C IP D ire cto r.
B e fo re jo in in g the C ity in 20 15 , G o m e z se rved as Project Manager with RDC Design/Build and as
an Architect with PBS&J Constructors (now Atkins North America). Maria Cerna will continue to
se rve as C IP A ssis ta n t D ire ctor and has been a senior member of the department since 2011.
A s pa rt of th e re o rg an iz a tion , A ssista n t C ity Manager Mark Taxis will absorb the Tourism and
Culture Department to promote synergy with the Parks and Recreation Department.
Building Department
In a n effort to provide strong leadership following the departure of Ana Salgueiro, the City's Building
D ire cto r/B u ild in g O ffic ia l, D ep u ty C ity M a n a g e r E ric C arpenter will also serve as Interim Building
D ire cto r eff e ctiv e M o n d a y, Ap ril 15 , 2 0 2 4 . M a sh ae r Is m a il w ill con ti nu e to se rve as B uild ing O ffi c ia l.
B e fo re jo in in g the C ity , M a s h ae r w o rke d a s the A ssista n t B uild in g O ff ic ia l/A ssista n t B uild in g
D ire cto r fo r th e C ity of Pla n ta tio n a n d as the A ssistan t Building Official for the City of North Miami
138-2024
Beach. Mashaer holds two bachelor's degrees in civil engineering and construction management,
respectively. N atasha D iaz w ill continue as A ssistant D irector for the department, a role she has
held since 2019 after joining the Building D epart m ent in 2016 as A dm inistrative Services M anager.
N atasha has held several positions during her alm ost 20-year tenure w ith the City, incl uding
A dm inistrative S ervices M anager in Tourism , C ulture, and Econom ic Developm ent and S r. B udget
A nalyst and Interim Budget O ffi cer in the O ffice of M anagem ent and Budget. S he holds a
bachelor's degree in business and econom ics and a m aster's degree in public adm inistration.
Economic Development Department
Econom ic Developm ent D epart m ent A ssistant D irector Heather Shaw w ill serve as Interim Director
fo r the depart m ent effective M onday, A pril 15, 2024. Heather joined the City in 2018. Prior to
becom ing A ssistant D irector of Econom ic D evelopm ent in 2022, Heather served as A ssistant
D irector of the fo rm er Tourism , Culture and E conom ic D evelopm ent D epart m ent and the current
T ourism and Culture D epart m ent, serving tw o periods as Interim D irector respectively. P rior to
joining the City, Heather w orked as G eneral C ounsel fo r N ew Y ork City D epart m ent of Business
S ervices, Chief of Staff and S pecial Counsel fo r N ew Y ork City's M ayor's O ffi ce, D irector of
Corporate S ocial Responsibility at T im e W arn er Inc., and S enior D irector-C orporate
Com m unications M iddle E ast & A fr ica at H ilton W orldw ide. She holds a juris doctor degree fr om
How ard U niversity S chool of Law and a bachelor's degree fr om M ichigan State U niversity. Luis
W ong, A dm inistrative S ervices M anager, w ill serve as the Interim A ssistant D irector. Luis has
w orked w ith the C ity since 2000, w ith 13 years of service w ith the O ffi ce of the M ayor and C ity
C om m ission, fo llow ed by ro les w ithin the Finance and Tourism , Culture and Econom ic
D evelopm ent depart m ents.
Procurement Department
W ith the depart ure of A lex D enis on A pril 30, P rocurem ent C ontracting M anager K risty B ada w ill
serve as Interim C hief P rocurem ent O ffi cer effective M ay 1, 2024. K risty joined the City in 2015 as
a Contracting O ffi cer II and has since been pro m oted tw ice. O ver the years she has led com plex,
high-profile pro curem ents including those related to design-build contracts and public-private
part nerships. P rior to joining the City of M iam i Beach, Kristy w orked fo r the V illage of Palm etto B ay
leading m any public w orks contra cts and later all city pro curem ent solicitations. S he holds a
M aster of P ublic A dm inistration fr om Florida Intern ational U niversity and is cert ified by the N ational
Institute of G overn m ent P urchasing and the U niversal Public P ro curem ent C ertification Council.
M aria Estevez w ill continue to serve as the depart m ent's A ssistant D irector, a ro le she has held
since 2011.
Recruitment Update
A dditionally, I w ould like to em phasize that our H um an Resources D epart m ent, along w ith an
executive staffing firm , has been aggressively recruiting and planning fo r the Building D irector,
Econom ic D evelopm ent D irector, and Facilities & Fleet Management Director positions and will
continue to do so to ensure that we attract or promote the most qualified candidates to fill these
ro les. T he Building Director advertisement closed on March 18. The Economic Development
Director advertisement, which was previously advertised in 2023, is currently open with first review
of applicants anticipated fo r A pril 22. T he Facilities & Fleet Management Director position was
previously advert ised in 2023, and the new advert isem ent closes today, A pril 12.
T he P rocurem ent D irector position w ill be advert ised beginning today. In addition, the City is
currently in the recruitm ent pro cess fo r the Parking D irector and Chief of Legislative & Extern al
A ffairs ro les. T he Parking D irector position w as advert ised on M arch 11 an d is also scheduled to
close today, A pril 12 . N ote that the applications fo r the Chief of Legislative & E xtern al A ffairs role
w ithin the C ity M anager's O ffice are currently under review .
These interim appointm ents, coupled w ith our ongo ing recruitm ent effort s, de m o nstrate our
com m itm e nt to m aintaining continuity in leade rship and de livering vital city services to our reside nts
and stakeholde rs. P lease join m e in tha nking our capable and com m itted team fo r ste pp ing up to
bolster our effort s during this transitio nal period. E ach of these individuals bring a w ea lth of
experience and expert ise in their respe ctive fie lds - m a king the m w ell suited to le ad staff . T he ir
dedicatio n to service and com m itm ent to the betterm ent of M iam i Beach are qua litie s that w ill
undoubtedly serve us w ell in the m o nths ahead.
I am confident that w ith the support of these interim directors and the collective eff ort s of our entire
team , w e w ill navigate this transitio n successfully and continue to uphold the hig he st standa rds of
service that our reside nts, businesses and stakeholde rs expect and deserve.
Should you have any questio ns or require furt her info rm atio n regarding the se ap po intm e nts,
please do not hesitate to reach out to m e directly. I loo k fo rw ard to continuing to w ork clo se ly w ith
each of you as w e serve the M ia m i Beach com m unity.
Attached: O rganizational C ha rt
I I
I
ACTING CITY ATTORNEY CITY CLERK
Ricardo I. Dopico Rafael G rana do
RESIDENTS
l
e!----------------------1 OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL
~. . JosephCentorino
ITV OF MIAMI BEACH
Mayo r & Comm ission
MARKETING & C OMMUNI CATIONS
Meiss a Berthier
RICKEL LE WILLIAMS
Intenm Cty Manager
PO LUCE DEPARTMENT
Wayne Jones
FIRE DEPARTMENT
Virgil Fernandez
CHIEF RNANCIALOFFICER
FINANCE
Joson Greene
MARK TAXIS
Assistant City Manager
ERi C CARPENTER
Deputy City Manager
DAVID MARTINEZ
Assisto nt City Manager - Interim
CHIEFOflNTERGOVERNMENT AL
ANDO EXTE FN AL AFF AIRS
VACA NT
GRANTS MANAGEMENT CODE COMPLIANCE
Hernan Cardeno BUILDING
Eric Carpenter - Interim
CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS
David Gomez- Interim
EDUCATION &
PERFORMANCE
INITIATIVES PARKS & RECREATION
John Rebar
PUBUC WORKS
Joe Gomez
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Heather Shaw - Interim
OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT
&BUDGET
Tameka Otto Stewart
TOURISM & CULTURE
Lissette Arrogante
FACILITIES & FLEET MANAGEMENT
Elizabeth Miro - Interim
FINAN CE & ECONOMIC
RESILIENCY COMMITTEE
HOU SI NG & COMMUNITY AFFARS
Aba Tare
INF OR MATION TECHNOLOGY
Frank Quintana
CHIEF RESIU ENCY OFFICER
ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAIN ABILITY
Amy Knowles
PARKING
Monica Beltran
HUMAN RESOURCES
Marla Alpizar
GO BOND/ MBCC HOTEL
Maria Hernandez
PLAN NING
Thoma s Mooney
PROCUREMENT
Kristy Bada - Interim
LAND USE &
SUSTAINABILITY COMMTTEE
TRANSPORTATION & MOBILITY
Jose Gonzalez
NEIGHBORHOOD &
QUALITY OF UFE COMMITTEE