Austin City Manager Announces Finalists For Assistant City Manager Positions On Mobility And Safety

Austin City Manager Spencer Cronk has announced the finalists for the second group of Assistant City Manager positions.

The two positions being hired now are the Assistant City Managers who will oversee the City’s efforts around Safety and Mobility, two of the strategic outcomes that are part of the City’s Strategic Direction 2023.

“I am excited to continue filling my executive team with individuals that will champion the City’s Strategic Direction and work closely with our community,” said Cronk.

Last summer, Cronk issued a memo outlining the restructuring of the City Manager’s Office around the outcomes in the Strategic Direction 2023. It also detailed the process for an open recruitment for four Assistant City Manager positions and one Deputy City Manager. 

The process began in Fall 2018 with the recruitment of the first two ACM positions overseeing economic opportunity and affordability, as well as health & environment and culture & lifelong learning. The two candidates hired for these positions, Rodney Gonzales and Chris Shorter, were announced in late December. 

The City released a survey asking the community what skills and characteristics they felt were most important for City leaders to possess. The responses to the survey helped build the job posting and candidate profiles.

Cronk also solicited additional feedback from the quality of life commissions and with community groups related to the areas of responsibility of each Assistant City Manager.

“The online feedback and the meetings I had in person were critical in developing the profiles and the process for selecting these leaders,” said Cronk. “Thank you to everyone who participated and shared their thoughts with me throughout this process.” 

Interviews with the finalists for the two Assistant City Manager positions will occur in the coming weeks. The recruitment for the Deputy City Manager, overseeing the priority Strategic Outcome called Government That Works For All, started earlier this year.

Safety Assistant City Manager Finalists

Rey Arellano

Rey Arellano currently serves as an Assistant City Manager for the City of Austin and oversees the Public Safety service group that includes Police, Fire, Austin-Travis County EMS, Office of the Medical Director, Austin Code, Homeland Security & Emergency Management, Watershed Protection and the Downtown Austin Community Court. His previous assignments include Deputy City Manager & Chief Information Officer (CIO) at the City of Tacoma WA and the City of San Diego CA. Rey earned a Master of Science in Information Management from Marymount University, Arlington, VA; and a Bachelor of Science in Physics from the United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD.

Genaro “Chip” Iglesias

Genaro “Chip” Iglesias serves as Managing Partner and chair of Ballard Partners Local Government Practice representing a diverse client portfolio in governmental and public affairs. Prior to joining Ballard Partners, Mr. Iglesias served 33 years in public service within county and municipal governments. His distinguished career included several key senior level positions, including Deputy Mayor/Chief of Staff of Miami-Dade County where he oversaw the Office of the Mayor as well as employees in the Police, Fire-Rescue and Emergency Management, Corrections and Rehabilitation, Medical Examiner and Community Information and Outreach Departments.

Gina Montes

Gina Montes is the Assistant City Manager for Operations for the City of Avondale, Arizona, a full-service, charter city in the Phoenix metropolitan area. She currently oversees public safety, operational departments and internal services. With nearly 25 years of local government experience, including 13 years as an executive, Gina enjoys working for cities and supporting an outstanding quality of life for residents. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in history and political science from Texas Christian University, and a Master’s degree from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, the University of Texas at Austin.

Ronnelle Paulsen

Ronnelle Paulsen is currently the Assistant Director at the Austin Fire Department. She manages the Finance, Human Resources, Business Technology, Research and Planning, and Administrative Support functions. Ronnelle has coordinated a variety of department projects including a robust Budget Committee that provides for broader involvement in budget decisions. Prior to the Fire Department, Ronnelle worked at the Austin Police Department as the Division Manager over Planning, Crime Analysis and Records. Ronnelle has a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Arizona and she started her career as an Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at Austin.
 

Mobility Assistant City Manager Finalists

Greg Canally

Greg Canally has 15 years of executive-level municipal management experience and is currently the Deputy Chief Financial Officer for the City of Austin, overseeing the Purchasing Office, Capital Contracting Office and Treasury Office. Greg has led the City’s financial strategies on economic development, transportation initiatives, facility master planning, and a variety of information technology issues for the City during his career. Greg holds a BS in Economics from Villanova University and a MS in Economics from the University of Texas at Austin.

Chris Chen

Chris Chen is currently the Assistant Director of Engineering Services at Austin Water for the City of Austin. As part of the City’s Executive Team, he provides oversight to the Utility’s capital improvement program (CIP) with an annual budget of ~$200 million. Chris has 30 years of diverse professional engineering and management experience including 18 years in executive leadership positions in both private and public sectors across several major cities. He holds two Master Degrees, one in Civil Engineering from NJIT and the other in Technology Management from HKUST.

Gina Fiandaca

Gina N. Fiandaca serves as Commissioner of the City of Boston Transportation Department (BTD) appointed by Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh. In this role, Gina oversees a staff who work together to ensure safe, efficient and equitable access on Boston’s street system for all users of the city’s 850 miles of roadway. This is accomplished through a combination of transportation planning, engineering, management, operations and enforcement efforts. Gina received a bachelor’s degree from Suffolk University and an MBA from Boston University. 

Richard Mendoza

Richard Mendoza is the Public Works Director for the City of Austin and is responsible for building and maintaining our city’s roadways, bridges, sidewalks, and urban trails. The department designs, manages, and inspects major capital improvement projects; promotes bicycle, pedestrian, safe routes to school, and urban trail projects; and maintains the City’s network of trails, roadways, and bridges once they are built. A registered Professional Civil Engineer, Mendoza earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Natural Gas Engineering from Texas A&I University-Kingsville and a Master of Public Administration from Texas State University-San Marcos.

Michael Rogers

City of Dallas Transportation Director, Michael Rogers, is dedicated to improving the quality of life of all by providing a safe inclusive transportation system through Empathy, Ethics, Excellence, and Equity. As Director, Mr. Rogers has provided organizational leadership which has changed the philosophy of planning and delivering public infrastructure by aligning mobility projects and programs with the city’s strategic priorities. Originally from Michigan, Director Rogers has an MS in Civil Engineering from Michigan State University and a BS Construction Engineering degree from Lawrence Technological University.

Robert Spillar

Robert Spillar serves Director of the Austin Transportation Department. Under his supervision, transportation professionals oversee all aspects related to transportation operations, planning, and project development; the Austin Vision Zero program; transportation demand management; special events management; traffic engineering; transportation development review; signals, signs and markings design and installation; parking management; and active transportation programs. Robert holds advanced degrees in Civil Engineering from the Universities of Texas and Washington and is a Registered Professional Engineer.