PITTSBURGH — Mayor-elect Bill Peduto announced the members of his new administration Thursday, highlighted by chief of staff Kevin Acklin, a partner in the law firm Saul Ewing.
Acklin also will serve as chief development officer, assuming responsibility over City Planning, Urban Redevelopment Authority, Pittsburgh Water & Sewer Authority, Sports & Exhibition Authority and the Stadium Authority.
His other hires include:
• Debra Lam will be chief innovation and performance officer. Previously, she worked as a project manager and policy consultant at Arup, a global consulting and design firm. A statement on Peduto's transition website said she will oversee all technology, sustainability, performance, and innovation functions of city government, with responsibilities over City Information Systems, Finance, Act 47, and the Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority.
• Debbie Lestitian will be chief administration officer. Previously the assistant treasurer of Carnegie Mellon University, she will oversee Personnel & Civil Service, Finance, the Citizen Police Review Board, and the Office of Municipal Investigations, as well as mayoral appointments to all Boards, Authorities and Commissions.
•Valerie McDonald-Roberts, a former Pittsburgh City Council member, will be the chief urban affairs officer, overseeing housing, nonprofit and faith-based initiatives, including the Housing Authority and the Commission on Human Relations. She has served on more than 30 nonprofit boards and organizations.
• Guy Costa will be the chief operations officer, responsible for Public Works, Parks & Recreation, the Parking Authority and the Pittsburgh Water & Sewer Authority. He served more than 15 years with the city as director of Public Works, director of General Services and executive director of the Pittsburgh Parking Authority. He worked 17 years with Allegheny County's Department of Economic Development, Department of Public Works and the Allegheny County Parks Foundation.
• Curtiss Porter will be the chief education & neighborhood reinvestment officer and will oversee all education, workforce training and neighborhood reinvestment initiatives. He will serve as the Mayor's liaison to Pittsburgh Public Schools, together with responsibilities over the Equal Opportunity & Review Commission. He served as CEO and Chancellor for 14 years at Penn State Greater Allegheny.
• Lourdes Sanchez Ridge will be solicitor. She is an attorney at Clark Hill Thorp Reed and former chair of the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
“I feel very fortunate to have assembled the most talented and diverse mayoral cabinet in Pittsburgh's history, and perhaps the entire country,” Peduto said.
Peduoto, 49, a Point Breeze Democrat, on Wednesday asked members of city boards and authorities to resign. He said it was nothing unusual and past mayors have done the same, but everyone could reapply for their positions.
Voters on Tuesday elected Peduto, a city councilman since 2002, in a landslide over Republican Josh Wander and independent Les Ludwig. Mayor Luke Ravenstahl opted not to run for re-election in March, under the cloud of a federal corruption investigation that has reached close to the mayor's office.
This article was written by Channel 11’s news exchange partners at TribLIVE.