Contact: Sean Madigan, (202) 615-2029 (cell); Feras Sleiman, (202) 251-8829 (cell)
(Washington, DC) – Mayor Adrian M. Fenty today named Valerie Santos as his Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development.
“We’ve got more than $13 billion worth of development in the District’s development pipeline and we need to ensure that during these tough economic times we do everything we can to keep that investment flowing so that we can keep building great neighborhoods, a vibrant downtown and world-class waterfronts as well as continue to keep providing new affordable housing and job opportunities,” Mayor Fenty said. “In Ms. Santos, we not only have a steady hand who knows the job, we have someone who is a consummate professional who will bring private-sector talent to get the job done.”
Santos is replacing Neil O. Albert, who was promoted to City Administrator in late May. Previously, Santos served as Albert’s chief operating officer where she oversaw the day-to-day execution of Mayor Fenty’s economic development strategy, including coordinating its public-private development, affordable housing, business attraction and retention, and neighborhood revitalization initiatives.
The office is charged with bringing federal, nonprofit and private and community partners together to expand the District's tax bases, attract and retain businesses of all sizes, bring good-paying jobs for residents and strengthen business climate. Projects within the office’s portfolio include the $2 billion Southwest Waterfront redevelopment, the $1 billion redevelopment of the 10-acre former Convention Center site and more than $70 million worth of waterfront parks and infrastructure projects. The portfolio also includes various housing and mixed use projects of all sizes located throughout the Districts including the O Street Market in Shaw, the redevelopment of the Minnesota-Benning Metrorail Station site and the New Communities Initiative.
The Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development is the District’s lead agency in coordinating business and economic development issues and oversees a cluster of agencies that include the Department of Small and Local Business Development, the Department of Housing and Community Development, the Office of Planning and the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs.
Prior to joining the District government Santos was a vice president at Jones Lang LaSalle, where she specialized in urban public-private development. Previously, she was a manager with Ernst & Young’s real estate group and an associate with Hamilton Rabinovitz & Alschuler. She is a graduate of Santa Clara University and earned her MBA at Harvard Business School and a Masters in Public Policy at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.