San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones has chosen a fellow U.S. Air Force veteran with federal legislative affairs experience to serve as her chief of staff.
The chief of staff position is a top adviser in the mayor’s office, managing staff and making policy recommendations.
The hire comes as Jones’ first chief, former campaign manager Jordan Abelson, resigned just weeks into the job.
New chief of staff Jenise Carroll most recently oversaw strategic personnel management initiatives for the Senior Executive Service with the FBI.
She also served as a legislative affairs director for the Commander of U.S. Central Command, and retired from the U.S. Air Force as a colonel.
“Dr. Carroll brings a wealth of executive leadership experience, both in and out of uniform,” Jones said in a statement Monday.
Jones has framed her June victory over conservative candidate Rolando Pablos as evidence San Antonio wants to be a beacon of “compassion” and inclusivity in an otherwise challenging political environment.
Carroll previously served as an adviser to the Pentagon’s Director of Diversity Management and Equal Opportunity, before being named Wing Commander at Hill Air Force Base in Utah.
In a 2020 interview Carroll described her work “breaking down barriers” at the Pentagon to build a new generation of leaders.
“We were looking at many things [across] the Department of Defense and right now as our nation is looking at starting a dialogue with all things racial and the racial disparity, inclusion, opportunity — it’s all about the dialogue,” she said at the time.
Andrea Drusch writes about local government for the San Antonio Report. She’s covered politics in Washington, D.C., and Texas for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, National Journal and Politico.
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