|
Mayor Mitch Landrieu today announced senior staff members that will lead his administration.
The leadership team includes:
- Andy Kopplin - Deputy Mayor and Chief Administrative Officer
- Judy Reese Morse - Deputy Mayor and Chief of Staff
- Emily Arata - Deputy Mayor of External Affairs
- Cedric Grant - Deputy Mayor of Facilities, Infrastructure, and Community Development
- Lt. Col. Jerry Sneed - Deputy Mayor of Public Safety
- Gregory St. Etienne - Deputy Mayor of Operations
- Ann Duplessis- Deputy Chief Administrative Officer
- Nanette V. Jolivette-Brown - City Attorney
In announcing the appointments, Landrieu stressed the collective breadth of expertise, including federal, state and local experience.
“We have a great deal of hard work to do from day one, and I have full confidence in these experienced individuals – not only in their personal abilities, but in their ability to inspire those working with and for them in the various departments that comprise city government to move this great city forward,” said Landrieu. “Our senior leadership team alone boasts more than 80 years of government service. We’ve also added members with significant experience in the private sector who will be able to give our team insight from outside City Hall.”
In a departure from previous administrations, Landrieu chose the deputy mayor structure in an innovative way to make government more efficient and responsive. The streamlined structure allows for various department heads to report to the deputy mayor who is in charge of their specific policy or program unit. Mayor Landrieu began exploring a deputy mayor system after talking to current and former mayors of other cities during his two-month transition, specifically after meeting with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. In addition to New York, large cities including Chicago, Los Angeles, and Newark, New Jersey, have deployed deputy mayor systems in transforming their municipal governments.
Each deputy mayor will have fewer reporting units and departments than previous systems utilized, which will provide a clear chain of command and a clear line of responsibility.
“I am honored that these talented individuals will serve and lead the dedicated and diverse team being assembled,” said Landrieu. “I know all of them personally and professionally and have admired their competency and talent for some time.”
Andy Kopplin
Deputy Mayor and CAO
Andy Kopplin will serve as Deputy Mayor and Chief Administrative Officer. In this capacity, he will oversee the day-to-day operational functions of City Hall. The Deputy Mayor will also help coordinate and implement innovative solutions to reform city government, as well as being tasked with ensuring the city is fiscally responsible. Kopplin comes from Teach For America, where most recently served as senior advisor to the Founder & CEO. Prior to Teach For America, Mr. Kopplin served for more than two years as founding executive director of the Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA), the agency charged with leading the state’s recovery efforts after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, where he developed the strategy and built the bipartisan coalitions that more than doubled congressional appropriations for Louisiana's rebuilding, from $13 billion to $28 billion. Before heading the LRA, Kopplin was chief of staff to two consecutive Louisiana governors, Democrat Kathleen Babineaux Blanco and Republican M.J. "Mike" Foster, Jr. He joined Foster's staff in 1996 as policy director, and in that role led the pioneering effort to create the state's community college system by building a coalition of Republicans, Democrats, business, labor, educators, and students. Mr. Kopplin holds a bachelor’s from Rice University; a masters in public policy from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, and is a 1986 Harry S. Truman Scholarship winner.
Judy Reese Morse
Deputy Mayor and Chief of Staff
Judy Reese Morse will serve as First Deputy Mayor and Chief of Staff. In this capacity, she will oversee the Mayor’s Office and also be responsible for overseeing policy development and strategic planning for economic development, education, social innovation, international affairs, coastal and environmental affairs, and cultural economy. Ms. Morse most recently served as Co-Chair of Transition New Orleans and as the Chief of Staff in the Office of Lieutenant Governor Mitch Landrieu. Prior to joining the Lieutenant Governor’s Office, she worked at National Public Radio in Washington, DC. There, she served as director of corporate communications, focusing primarily on attracting new audiences as public radio listeners. Her career also includes work on the federal level. Ms. Morse was selected as a Presidential Management Fellow serving at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Resolution Trust Corporation. She also worked on Capitol Hill in the office of former Congresswoman Lindy Boggs as a special projects assistant. Morse has an undergraduate degree in Communications from Loyola University in New Orleans and a Master of Public Administration from American University in Washington, DC.
Emily Arata
Deputy Mayor of External Affairs
Emily Arata will serve as Deputy Mayor of External Affairs. In this capacity, she will oversee the Mayor’s executive office, and the departments of Communications, Intergovernmental Relations and Constituency Services. These units will work to communicate the message of the Mayor, as well as ensure that City Hall is working in collaboration with all of its partners at the municipal, state and federal level. Ms. Arata served as Campaign Manager for Mitch Landrieu’s primary victories for Mayor of New Orleans in 2010 and for re-election as Lieutenant Governor in 2008. She has been with the Lt. Governor’s Office since 2005, most recently serving as Deputy Chief of Staff, overseeing communications, policy, scheduling and operations. Prior to joining Landrieu’s team, Ms. Arata was a partner in High Note Communications, a New Orleans-based firm handling public relations and public affairs work for various clients in the public, not-for-profit and private sectors. Arata is a veteran of several state and local campaigns, as well as two presidential races. At the federal level, Ms. Arata worked on Capitol Hill in the offices of Senator Landrieu and Representative Johnson of Texas. For her dedication to community service, Ms. Arata earned a Presidential Scholarship to Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee.
Cedric S. Grant
Deputy Mayor of Facilities, Infrastructure and Community Development
Cedric S. Grant will serve as the Deputy Mayor of Facilities, Infrastructure and Community Development. In this capacity, he will oversee the City’s capital development, infrastructure projects, and community development initiatives. By coordinating the efforts of the Capital Projects Administration, the Department of Public Works, Property Management, and the Project Delivery Unit, the Deputy Mayor will enhance the city’s recovery effort and help integrate both the rebuilding of roads and buildings as well as their ongoing maintenance. By also overseeing the city’s ongoing efforts at community development, the Deputy Mayor will connect the recovery with ongoing projects to help build the strongest neighborhoods possible for all citizens. Mr. Grant comes to City Hall after serving as Chief administrative officer of Ascension Parish, Louisiana, where he was responsible for management and oversight of all governmental operations. In 2004, Governor Blanco appointed Mr. Grant as Deputy Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, where he served until 2008. Prior to his appointment, Mr. Grant was employed by Parsons Corporation in Atlanta, where he managed road and highway infrastructure projects. Prior to his Parsons employment, Mr. Grant held numerous managerial and administrative positions in government over thirty years, most recently with the City of New Orleans as Chief Administrative Officer. Mr. Grant also served as Planning Manager for the Port of New Orleans and Director of Capital Projects for the New Orleans Downtown Development District. Mr. Grant served his country in the U.S. Army and completed 23 years of active and reserve service, retiring in 1995 with the rank of major.
Lt. Col. Jerry Sneed
Deputy Mayor of Public Safety
Lieutenant Colonel Jerry Sneed will serve as Deputy Mayor of Public Safety. In this capacity, he will oversee the City’s public safety departments including NOPD, NOFD, EMS and Emergency Management with the goal of providing coordinated safety and security to citizens. By coordinating both internal city functions as well as external relations with other criminal justice entities, the Deputy Mayor will help limit duplicative efforts and maximize the effectiveness of all facets of the system. Most recently, Lt. Col. Sneed served as the director of the City of New Orleans Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness where he oversaw the City Assisted Evacuation Plan. Lt. Col. Sneed served over 30 years of active duty in the United States Marine Corps.
Gregory M. St. Etienne
Deputy Mayor of Operations
Gregory M. St. Etienne will serve as Deputy Mayor of Operations. In this capacity, he will oversee the delivery of city services, the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Information Officer. Helping to enhance both the efficiency of service delivery as well as general customer service throughout city hall, the Deputy Mayor will help streamline government and coordinate city agencies. Most recently, St. Etienne served as chief executive officer of Citizens United for Economic Equity, a New Orleans based nonprofit community development loan fund (a certified Community Development Financial Institution) specializing in lending to small businesses. Prior to joining Citizens in December 2007, Mr. St. Etienne was the Managing Director of FFC Capital Management, a local SEC registered investment advisory firm. The bulk of Mr. St. Etienne’s career has been in the banking industry. Mr. St. Etienne serves on the boards of a number of nonprofit organizations including FirstLine Schools, Inc., the Minbanc Foundation in Washington, D.C., the Delgado Community College Foundation, and Liberty House. Mr. St. Etienne has an undergraduate degree in Accounting and an MBA from Loyola University in New Orleans.
Ann Duplessis
Deputy CAO
Ann Davis Duplessis will serve as Deputy Chief Administrative Officer. In that role, she will manage departments that deliver city services from Safety & Permits to Parks & Parkways. Ms. Duplessis is currently the Louisiana State Senator for District 2 serving New Orleans East, Holy Cross, and the Lower Ninth Ward communities. Initially elected in 2002 in her first run for public office, she currently serves as Chairman of the Commerce, Consumer Protection and International Affairs Committee, Member of Judiciary C, Education, Select Committee on Hurricane Recovery, Select Committee on Women and Children and is an ex-officio member of the Senate Committee on Insurance. Nationally she currently serves as Vice Chair of the Communications, Financial Services & Interstate Commerce Committee of the National Conference of State Legislatures. She will continue to serve until the end of the 2010 legislative session. Ms. Duplessis has worked tirelessly on various civic, community, political and professional boards to improve the quality of life in her community; her board involvement includes: Chairman of the Louisiana Serve Commission, Board of Trustees for the LSU Graduate School of Banking, Louisiana Utilities Restoration Corporation (LURC), State of Louisiana Small Business Development Center Advisory Board, The Working Uninsured Task Force, Total Community Action and Mayor-Elect Mitch Landrieu’s Transition New Orleans Economic Development Task Force. Ms. Duplessis currently holds the position of Senior Vice President of Liberty Bank and Trust.
Nanette V. Jolivette-Brown, J.D., LL.M.
City Attorney
Nanette V. Jolivette-Brown will serve as city attorney. In that role, she will be responsible for directing and supervising the legal affairs of the City of New Orleans including providing legal advice to the Mayor, the Council, and other city offices, departments, and boards. Ms. Jolivette-Brown was most recently a partner with Chaffe McCall, L.L.P., where she had a diverse legal practice representing individuals and a variety of business and commercial interests in litigation as well as in transactional matters. She has been lead attorney in matters before state and federal courts in several jurisdictions and specifically in several precedent-setting environmental permit appeals in Louisiana as well as point-person in negotiations regarding settlement and other forms of dispute resolution. As a Law Professor, she has taught Federal Civil Procedure, Sale and Lease, Conflicts of Law and Professional Responsibility, Environmental Law, Environmental Justice, and Toxic Torts. Ms. Jolivette-Brown also has over 20 years experience representing parties in mediation and mediates commercial matters and a variety of other disputes. She was a member of the American Arbitration Association/Louisiana Department of Insurance Hurricane Mediation Program as a mediator where she mediated hundreds of insurance related disputes after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Ms. Jolivette-Brown also served as Director of New Orleans’ Sanitation Department from 1994-96. She was a founding member of the Mediation Section of the Loyola University College of Law, Law Clinic & Center for Social Justice where she initiated criminal restitution mediations, helped revive pro bono domestic mediations in Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans and trained student mediators in federal court and state small claims mediations.
|
