As expected, post-election, the Bowser Administration announced several changes in key agency appointments. See below press release and Washington City Paper Article.
Mayor Bowser Announces Key Appointments
Thursday, November 8, 2018
(Washington, DC) – Today, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced a series of appointments in her Administration:
Reverend Thomas L. Bowen, to be Interim Director of the Mayor’s Office on African American Affairs.
Mr. Bowen currently holds an appointment as Director of the Mayor’s Office of Religious Affairs, to which he shall remain duly appointed. Mr. Bowen has dedicated much of his life to serving the faith community including his role as the Director of Office of Religious Affairs in the Executive Office of the Mayor. In addition to his current role, Mr. Bowen has held several positions in the advocacy and nonprofit communities including Senior Religious Advocate for the Children’s Defense Fund and Senior Field Organizer for its Black Community Crusade for Children, Project Coordinator for the Urban Child Research Center, and more. Mr. Bowen is a graduate of Morehouse College, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in history.
Keith Anderson, to be Acting Director of the District Department of General Services.
Mr. Anderson has had a wealth of experience leading District agencies, including 12 years at the District Department of Environment (now Department of Energy & Environment, DOEE) where he served in many positions, including Director. He most recently served as Director for the DC Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR). Prior to his tenure at DDOE, Mr. Anderson served as a senior budget analyst for the Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO), Mr. Anderson earned his Bachelor of Arts degree at Hampton University in Virginia.
Greer Gillis, to be a member of the District of Columbia Public Service Commission.
Ms. Gillis is a senior professional engineer and project manager with more than 20 years of leadership experience in transportation planning, logistics and utilities, who has led several large-scale infrastructural projects with regional jurisdictions. Previously, Ms. Gillis served as the Director of the District’s Department of General Services (DGS). Prior to her role at DGS, Ms. Gillis served as the Deputy Chief Engineer and Deputy Director for the DC Department of Transportation (DDOT). Additionally, Ms. Gillis was the transportation lead for the 2009 Presidential Inauguration. Ms. Gillis holds a Master of Science in civil engineering with a concentration in transportation, and a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering, both from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Ga.
Willie L. Phillips as Chairman of the District of Columbia Public Service Commission.
Mr. Phillips has served as a member of the Public Service Commission since 2014, and is an experienced regulatory attorney combining over a decade of legal expertise with an extensive background in the areas of public utility regulation, bulk power system reliability, and corporate governance. Commissioner Phillips has a Juris Doctor degree from Howard University School of Law and a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Montevallo. He is also a member of the District of Columbia Bar and Alabama State Bar Association
Delano Hunter, as Interim Director of the Department of Parks and Recreation.
As the Director of Serve DC since 2015, Mr. Hunter has successfully led the Bowser Administration’s effort to engage and increase volunteerism across the District of Columbia Mr. Hunter was appointed in December 2015 as Chief Service Officer for the District of Columbia Mr. Hunter also worked for Nike Inc in Beaverton, Oregon, as a member of the Retail Development Program Mr. Hunter earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from the University of Delaware, and studied abroad in Europe and Africa. He received his Masters of Business Administration at Johns Hopkins University’s Carey School of Business.
Andrew Trueblood, as Interim Director of the DC Office of Planning.
Mr. Trueblood has nearly 15 years of public service in the District Columbia and federal government, including work at the DC Housing Authority and the US Department of Treasury. He most recently served as Chief as Staff to the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development. Mr. Trueblood is an alumnus of both Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he earned a Master of City Planning and Princeton University where he completed his undergraduate studies.
Kathryn Roos, as Interim Director of the District’s Office of Public-Private Partnerships.
Ms. Roos is currently the manager of public-private partnerships and streetlights for the District Department of Transportation. Before joining the District, Ms. Roos spent four years as Chief of Staff to the Mayor of South Bend, Indiana. Ms. Roos brings a wealth of experience in city management, leadership and team building. A trained architect, Ms. Roos also has experience in building design, construction and financing.
Bowser Administration Shuffles Cabinet, Ousts Multiple Agency Chiefs
3 mins read
Darrow Montgomery
That didn’t take long.
Just two days after her general election victory, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced several shake-ups among her administration’s top officials. These changes in the Bowser administration involve at least 2 people, and span nine agencies. Several of the new appointees will serve in “interim” or “acting” positions, while the Bowser administration vacated other positions with no immediate replacement. It’s uncertain when those temporary statuses could change and when the vacancies could be filled, according to the mayor’s press secretary LaToya Foster.
“They will be filled when we find the appropriate person,” says Foster, who characterized the shake-up as an indication of “growth” at the end of Bowser’s first term “We’re probably going to see several more changes coming down the pike. This is probably the first round.” Bowser has consistently touted the work completed by many of the officials who were booted on Thursday.
Greer Gillis, the director of the Department of General Services, will become an appointed member of the District of Columbia Public Service Commission, according to the news release.
City Paper reported earlier this year that Gillis’s DGS hired a construction company that did not functionally exist at the time of its hiring to build homeless shelters in Warda 7 and 8, and later considered terminating that contract after a sense of delays threatened the timely completion of the projects. The agency itself has also been plagued with low morale and high turnover, as City Paper also reported this summer.
“[The turnover] is problematic because, not just that the top has seen turnover but also through the upper ranks as well. It’s a big agency with a big budget,” Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh, who chairs the Council committee with oversight over DGS, tells City Paper.
Keith Anderson, the current director of D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation and former director of the Department of Energy & Environment, will take over for Gillis as an acting director of DGS, the news release says. (Of Anderson’s new post, Cheh says, “I think he’s proved to be a good manager. Actually, it causes me to have a little bit of hope. Maybe he’s somebody who can get his arms around this very big agency.”)
Anderson will vacate his position at DPR, and Delano Hunter will take his place as interim director.
Hunter will leave his seat as director of Serve D.C., also known as the Mayor’s Office of Volunteerism, with no immediate replacement, says Foster.
Willie L. Phillips is appointed as the chairman of the Public Service Commission, the news release says. He’s replacing Betty Ann Kane, who is retiring, Foster says.
Seth Miller Gabriel is leaving his job as the director of the Office of Public-Private Partnerships, and Kathryn Roos, a manager in the District Department of Transportation will take his place as “interim” director, according to the news release
Foster could not say whether Gabriel was forced out or whether he is leaving on his own accord. And Roos’ position in DOT will remain vacant. There is no definite timeline for replacing her, Foster says.
Finally, Rev. Thomas L. Bowen will take over as interim director of the Mayor’s Office on African American Affairs. The former director, Rahman Branch, is leaving government work entirely, though Foster could not say why Branch is being removed.
Bowen is currently the Director of the Mayor’s Office of Religious Affairs, and he will continue serving in both roles, Foster says. The news release detailing the administration’s shuffling and ousting of these individuals came in after 6:15 pm. Foster says all 12 people involved were notified before the press release was issued.
Earlier Thursday, news broke that Eric Shaw, chief of the Office of Planning, was getting the axe, and that Andrew Trueblood, currently chief of staff to the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, would serve as the interim OP chief.
And already this year, Courtney Snowden, Deputy Mayor for Greater Economic Opportunity, HyeSook Chung. Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services, and Tommie Jones, director of the Mayor’s Office of Community Relations and Services, all left their posts. (Jones now works in the Department of General Services.) In September, the Bowser administration changed leadership at the Department of Employment Services, too, installing Unique Morris-Hughes as interim chief.
Asked whether any of the individuals leaving government work completely have been the targets of any complaints or been accused of inappropriate behavior, Foster says she is not aware of any issues.
An hour after her communications staff issued a press release detailing these changes, Bowser attended an awards ceremony at the National Council for Adoption, where she was photographed with a glass trophy.
Cuneyt Dil contributed reporting.
