Debra Linn Talley was sworn in as the Director of the Office of Equal Opportunity. The goals of the Office of Equal Opportunity are to increase participation for program enterprises in procurement of City contracts and to evaluate the workforce of all contractors to determine compliance with affirmative action goals. The Office also administers and monitors the City's Minority and Female-Owned Business Enterprise program.

Natoya J. Walker was sworn in as Special Assistant to the Mayor, Public Affairs. In her position, she will oversee the following departments:

. Community Relations, whose Board is responsible for improving cross-cultural relationships throughout Cleveland and implementing proactive activities that promote diversity and unity.
. The Office of Consumer Affairs which enforces all provisions of Cleveland's 1972 Consumer Protection code and strives to achieve the ultimate goal of creating a legal conscience in the marketplace.
. The Department of Aging is committed to ensuring that Cleveland is an elder-friendly community by enhancing the quality of life for seniors through advocacy, planning, service coordination, and the delivery of needed services.
. The Department of Public Health seeks to improve the quality of life in the City of Cleveland by promoting healthy behavior, protecting the environment, preventing disease, and making the City a healthy place to live, work, and play.

Barry A. Withers was sworn in as Special Assistant to the Mayor, Employee Services. He will oversee Personnel & Human Resources and The Civil Service Commission. Personnel & Human Resources seeks to establish and maintain a high-quality, competent, and loyal workforce for the City of Cleveland, provide ongoing training and support services to the staff, and to provide and coordinate access to a variety of workforce development services and programs for the workforce area customers seeking education, job training support services, job placement, and retention. The Civil Service Commission ensures qualifications, certifies, and monitors the progress of personnel in the classified services for the City of Cleveland.

Mayor Jackson stated that the experience and history of public service that these three individuals possess will benefit the city and its people, and help us in our mission to make Cleveland great again.

Brief biographies for these new members follow.

Debra Linn Talley, Director of the Office of Equal Opportunity
Debra is a native of the city of Cleveland and lives on the city's east side. She is an attorney and joins the city after nine years with the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office.

Debra has a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and received her Juris Doctorate from Case Western Reserve University. She previously worked six years in the banking industry with both retail banking management and operations responsibilities. Debra's legal background includes general representation of governmental agencies, municipal bond work, and general litigation. She is a current Board member of the Cleveland Area League of Women Voters among a variety of other volunteer efforts.

Natoya J. Walker, Special Assistant to the Mayor, Public Affairs
Natoya joins the city of Cleveland to oversee Community Relations, Consumer Affairs, the Department of Aging, and the Department of Public Health. She previously served as Deputy Executive Director for HOPE VI/Development and Resident Services with CMHA, a Special Assistant in the Office of the Mayor of the City of Cleveland and as Interim Executive Director for the Non Profit Clinic Consortium (Washington DC). Ms. Walker currently serves on the Boards of several organizations including the YMCA, the Multicultural Business Center of the Urban League of Greater Cleveland, the Cleveland Treatment Center and MOTTEP.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Toledo, a Master of Public Administration from the City University of New York, and an Executive Certificate in Non-Profit Management from Georgetown University. Further, Ms. Walker is a an alum of Cleveland Bridge Builders, Cleveland State University's Leadership Academy and a graduate of the Cleveland Public Schools.

Barry A. Withers, Special Assistant to the Mayor, Employee Services
With more than twenty years serving the City of Cleveland, Barry will now oversee Personnel & Human Resources and the Civil Service Commission. Barry's work has most recently been for the Cleveland Division of Water and the Cleveland Cuyahoga-County Port Authority. Prior to this, he worked as a Senior Advisor in the Office of the Mayor, the Director of Personnel & Human Resources, and also spent ten years working in the Department of Public Safety.

Barry graduated from the Program for Senior Executives at Harvard University. He received his Masters in Public Administration from Bernard Baruch University and his Bachelors of Science in Social Welfare from Florida Atlantic University. Additionally, Barry served as a Sergeant in the United States Air Force in Vietnam. He enjoys coaching for the Golden Knights Baseball League and is an Advisory Board Member of the Fatima Community