City Of New Orleans: City Of New Orleans Announces Key Management Positions In The Department Of Public Works

Press release from the City of New Orleans:

October 29, 2021

NEW ORLEANS — Today, the City of New Orleans Department of Public Works (DPW) announced the promotion of four members of the department into key leadership positions.

Khalid Saleh, PhD, and Katie Rodriguez assumed the roles of Program Administrator and Deputy Program Administrator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)-funded Joint Infrastructure Recovery Response (JIRR) Program, respectively. Together, Saleh and Rodriguez are responsible for overseeing of all aspects of the $1.6B JIRR Program, including implementation of procedural changes to better hold contractors accountable for completing projects more rapidly and lessening the impact those projects have on residents and their homes throughout the city.

Nicole F. Williams was recently named the DPW Contract Administrator responsible for coordinating and administrating all department contracts, and Ingrid Raboteau was promoted to Invoice Team Manager responsible for spearheading all department invoicing processes and procedures. 

“We are thrilled to announce these promotions from within our department,” said Acting DPW Director Josh Hartley. “The women and men of DPW are supporting an unprecedented amount of upgrades work tirelessly each day — Khalid, Katie, Nicole and Ingrid are shining examples of the strong work ethic we need to move our city forward. I look forward to working alongside each of them in these new roles.”

Dr. Khalid Saleh joined DPW in 2018 as a Senior Design Engineer managing and reviewing plans, coordinating with engineering firms and monitoring the progress of all components of FEMA, Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) and bond-funded projects. Previously, Saleh served as a program manager for the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans and as a senior program manager for Three Fold Consultants.  Saleh is a professor and department head in Civil & Environmental Engineering and Construction Management at Delgado Community College. He earned a Master of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of New Orleans and a Doctorate in Environmental Waste Management and Water Quality from Tulane University. 

Katie Rodriguez joined DPW in 2017 as a GIS Specialist in the Project Controls Unit where she was responsible for building maintenance applications; serving as a subject matter expert supporting the construction and maintenance of streets, drainage, utilities and other public infrastructure; and creating a priority area for emergency catch basin cleaning using flooding inundation, 311 and 911 datasets. Rodriguez was promoted to GIS Manager in 2019, overseeing a diverse team of GIS professionals, software developers and analysts. Prior to joining the City, Rodriguez was a GIS Analyst with GCR Incorporated and Compliance Solutions Group, LLC. Rodriguez earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Louisiana State University and a Certification in GIS from the University of New Orleans.

Nicole F. Wiliams joined DPW in 2017 as a Management Development Specialist II, where she was responsible for maintaining contract records and correspondence, reviewing progress reports and tracking the approval process of contracts. Previously, Nicole served in several roles at JP Morgan & Chase Co., including an Information Risk Analyst, as well as an Application Security Administrator for Bear Sterns, Inc. Williams holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business Management from Dillard University and dual Masters in business administration with concentrations in e-Business and Technology Management from the University of Phoenix.

Ingrid Raboteau joined DPW in 2017 as a Program Analyst with more than 15 years of administrative and operational management experience. In that role, Raboteau planned, managed and evaluated documentation related to the daily operations of the department as part of the CDBG, FEMA and bond-funded infrastructure programs. Prior to joining DPW, Robateau worked for the City as an administrative assistant in the Capital Projects Administration and over the $52 million soft second mortgage program in the Office of Community Development. Raboteau previously served as legal assistant overseeing the lot next door program for the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority. She studied electrical engineering at Delgado Community College and has an Appraiser Trainee Certificate. 

Department of Public Works 

The Department of Public Works is composed of five divisions responsible for maintaining approximately 1,547 miles of streets (21 million square yards of pavement) and 149 bridges in the city of New Orleans. This system includes 72,000 catch basins and approximately 8.2 million linear feet of drainage lines. The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development is responsible for maintaining an additional 105 miles of state and federal highways within the city limits.

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About RoadworkNOLA

The City of New Orleans Department of Public Works (DPW) and Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans (SWBNO) are working together to implement an unprecedented program to restore our damaged infrastructure. Using local and federal funds, the $2.3 billion program is the most comprehensive that our region has seen in a generation. 

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT ROADWORKNOLA

• More than $2.3 billion worth of DPW / SWBNO work across the City

• • Includes FEMA-funded roadwork work via the approximately $2 billion Joint Infrastructure (JIRR) Program
  • $250 million FEMA-funded Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) projects
  • $141 million HUD-funded National Disaster Resiliency Competition (NDRC) grant projects
  • SWB-funded Sewer System Evaluation and Rehabilitation Program (SSERP) (sewer consent decree)
  • City-funded bond project work

• Nearly 200 individual projects -- every neighborhood will feel this positive impact
• Economic opportunity for the City’s small and disadvantaged businesses
• Proactive communications so that residents are well informed throughout the program

This press release was produced by the City of New Orleans. The views expressed here are the author’s own.