Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms recently announced two appointments to the Administration’s Executive Team, according to a press release. Winfield Ward Murray has been named Deputy Chief of Staff and Vanessa Ibarra has been permanently appointed as Director of International Affairs.
Winfield Ward Murray currently serves as the Associate General Counsel for the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development in Atlanta and, among other accomplishments, negotiated the largest settlement under the Fair Housing Act in Region IV within the last two decades. Prior to his current role, he served as Assistant City Attorney for the City of Atlanta and as an attorney in the Office of the Solicitor for the United States Department of Labor. In addition to practicing law, Murray has served as a professor at his alma mater, Morehouse College, since 2012 - leading the moot court team and teaching constitutional law.
Ibarra has served as Deputy Director of the Mayor’s Office of International Affairs since 2017 and was named Interim Director in January of this year. Prior to that she was the City’s Chief of Protocol. She came to city government from the private sector, where she held positions including Director of International Accounts for international recruiting firm YER USA and North American Trade Advisor for Business France. Ibarra is multi-lingual and has lived in six different countries, including the United States.
Murray’s appointment is effective immediately. Ibarra transitioned into her new position permanently earlier this month.
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