Erie Mayor-Elect Joe Schember Announces Personnel Appointments

Erie Mayor-Elect Joe Schember announced some of his new key personnel Friday morning.

Mayor's Office

Renee Lamis will serve at Chief of Staff. Lamis previously served as director of Gannon University's Master of Public Administration program.
Niken Astari Carpenter will serve as Executive Assistant and Immigrant and Refugee Liaison. Carpenter is a current member of Gov. Tom Wolf's Advisory Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs.
Michael Outlaw Sr. will serve as Community Liaison, a new position focusing on minority relations, police and Unified Erie.
Kathy Wyrosdick will serve as Director of Planning for the City of Erie, a new position focusing on Implementation of Erie Refocused.

Office of Economic and Community Development

Chris Groner will be promoted to Director of Economic and Community Development. He will focus on external economic development activity. Groner currently works as Economic Development Specialist. Groner will keep his role as the Enterprise Zone Revolving Loan Fund Coordinator.
Debra Smith will serve as Assistant Director of Economic and Community Development. She will focus on internal community program management. Smith is currently the city's Grant Administrator.
Abigail Skinner will become the city's first full-time Grant Writer. She previous worked as the director of grants and research for the Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership.
Schember will also hire a Business Development Officer, which will be a new position.

Changes to City Solicitor’s Office

Edward Betza will serve as city solicitor in a part-time capacity under a fee agreement, which must be approved by Erie City Council. He is an attorney at Elderkin Law Firm, which specializes in municipal and zoning law.

Department Directors and Chiefs

Mayor-elect Schember's inauguration is Jan. 2 at noon in Erie City Council Chambers.