Philadelphia Mayor-elect Jim Kenney is filling some key positions in his administration with some longtime civil servants.
Deputy Mayor and Parks and Recreation Commissioner Mike DiBerardinis will serve as the city's Managing Director come January. DiBerardinis worked as Pennsylvania's Secretary of Conservation and Natural Resources under Gov. Ed Rendell and held top posts at the Campaign for Working Families and the William Penn Foundation.
Jane Slusser, Kenney's campaign manager, will stay on as Chief of Staff in his administration. Besides helping lead the mayor-elect to a victory after a late start, she previously worked for Equality Pennsylvania, the Human Rights Campaign and both of Barack Obama's presidential campaigns.
South Philadelphia High School (Southern) principal Otis Hackney will lead education efforts for Kenney as the city's Chief Education Officer. Hackney started his career as a math teacher at Germantown High School. He held administration posts at Overbrook High and Springfield Township High. He's led Southern since 2010.
Kenney's former council chief of staff, Debbie Mahler, will act as his go-between with City Council as the Deputy Mayor of Intergovernmental Affairs. A former school teacher, Mahler worked in council for nearly 20 years and most recently was a senior advisor on the Kenney mayoral campaign.
They join First Deputy Commissioner Richard Ross, Jr. who was tapped on Wednesday to lead the police department in the new year.
Kenney will make the formal appointments during a news conferece Friday afternoon.
