After a little over a month in office, Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee has unveiled the people who will work for her administration.
Lee already made two of her most important hires weeks ago: her chief of staff is Miya Saika Chen, who previously worked for former Councilmember Nikki Fortunato Bas. The mayor also hired Justin Phillips, a former San Francisco Chronicle columnist, as her communications director.
- Erica Astrella, director of data and technology transformation. According to her Linkedin, Astrella previously worked as the head of technology for Parkwood Entertainment, a music production and artist management company founded by musician Beyoncé. Astrella also served as the chief technology officer for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and as the director of engineering for the tech company GitHub
- Rev. Damita Davis-Howard, public safety director. Davis-Howard has also served as director of ministries, assistant pastor at First Mt. Sinai. She also worked as the director of Oakland’s Ceasefire anti-gun violence program. And Davis-Howard previously worked at SEIU Local 1021
- LaNiece Jones, director of community engagement. Jones was brought on as a deputy mayor by Interim Mayor Kevin Jenkins. Jones was previously a stakeholder in the African American Sports and Entertainment Group, a developer trying to purchase the Coliseum site from the city and Alameda County to pursue a redevelopment project
- Cesar Macias, special assistant, community relations and state and federal affairs. According to his Linkedin, Macias previously worked as a senior district representative for State Senator Scott Wiener. Prior to that, he was a congressional aide to Barbara Lee
- Liz Valdez, executive assistant. Valdez is Lee’s scheduler
- Brittany Garza, administrative and operations coordinator. Garza previously worked under the Thao administration. Before that, she worked as an assistant to Councilmember Noel Gallo
- Mary Olsen, receptionist. Olsen has worked as a constituent liaison for the mayor’s office
Lee’s team also includes three people who are part of the Bloomberg American Sustainable Cities program, which partners with local governments to offer a variety of resources. Lee has three people working in the Mayor’s Office of Innovation: Director Visraant Iyer, Civic Designer Patricia Price, and Data Analyst Manager Lindsay Moore.
This roster reflects Lee’s key hires, but additional people may come aboard as the administration takes shape, Phillips told The Oaklandside…