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Philly Mayor Cherelle Parker announces 10 new hires for her administration

The hires included Kristin Bray as chief legal counsel, Danielle Gardner Wright as chief integrity officer, and Dominick Mireles as director of the Office of Emergency Management.

Mayor Cherelle Parker signs executive orders in her new office on Jan. 2. She announced 10 new hires to her administration on Thursday.
Mayor Cherelle Parker signs executive orders in her new office on Jan. 2. She announced 10 new hires to her administration on Thursday.Read moreMonica Herndon / Staff Photographer

Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker announced a series of appointments to senior roles in her administration Thursday.

Several of the roles Parker announced are new to her administration and signal how she intends to reshape city government. They include:

  1. Kristin Bray, who will be Parker’s chief legal counsel, is currently the city’s first deputy city solicitor. Bray’s role is new, and it is distinct from the city solicitor, who leads the Law Department and serves as the top legal adviser for the executive and legislative branches. Bray will serve the Mayor’s Office and lead a new initiative to better integrate city services.

  2. Aparna Palantino, previously a deputy commissioner in the Parks and Recreation Department, will lead Parker’s new Office of Capital Projects and will lead major initiatives, including Rebuild, Kenney’s signature program to improve the city’s public spaces.

  3. Hassan Freeman will lead the new Office of Neighborhood and Community Engagement, including initiatives aimed at engaging children, Black men, women, and other demographic groups.

  4. Kafi Lindsay will be Parker’s director of strategic partnerships. According to Parker’s administration, Lindsay’s office will “take a comprehensive view of the city’s needs and resources, and then to mobilize support of the private, non-profit and philanthropic sectors in the Philadelphia region.”

  5. Casey Kuklick will be the city’s deputy director of Clean and Green Initiatives and will work under Carlton Williams, who will head the office and is currently serving as Streets Commissioner on an interim basis.

Others hires filled roles that existed under former mayors, including:

  1. Danielle Gardner Wright will be the city’s new chief integrity officer, replacing current CIO Sarah Stevenson. The chief integrity officer is responsible for ensuring compliance with city ethics laws. Gardner Wright is currently a staff member at the city’s Board of Ethics.

  2. Chief Administrative Officer Camille Duchaussee will lead the offices that handle human resources, records, procurement, and technology. She was formerly deputy director in the city’s Department of Labor.

  3. John Mondlak will serve as the interim director of the Department of Planning and Development. He formerly worked in the Commerce Department.

And two of the people Parker appointed Thursday were retained from Kenney’s administration. They are:

  1. Vanessa Garrett Harley, who formerly led the Department of Human Services and then was a deputy mayor, will now serve as the director of the Office of Children and Families. She’ll oversee DHS, Parks and Recreation, and the Free Library of Philadelphia, as well as initiatives like pre-kindergarten and after-school programs.

  2. Dominick Mireles, the director of the Office of Emergency Management, which coordinates the city’s response to major disasters and develops public safety plans for big events.