Gerald “Jerry” Gonzales, Jr. earned his Master of Public Administration degree from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas in May of 2008 and his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Texas in San Antonio in August of 2004.  Prior to entering the Management Development Associate (MDA) Program at the City of Dallas, Jerry worked in Development Fundraising as an Annual Fund Assistant Director with St. Mary’s University managing campaigns to raise unrestricted funds. Jerry’s decision to join the MDA Program was due in part to his passion and desire to work in public service and gain exposure and experience in city management.

Since joining the MDA Program in September of 2008, Jerry has been working in his first rotation with the City Manager’s Office serving as an assistant to the Assistant City Manager, Ramon Miguez. Jerry has been working on various projects assisting the Assistant City Manager in responding to high priority, and complex citizen requests which include managing day to day communication, information, with department directors and Mayor and City Council Office. Other duties include attending City Council and Transportation & Environment Committee Meetings and working with the Agenda Office in preparation of the City Council Agenda.  Jerry currently serves on the Educational Enhancements Budgeting for Outcomes Team in the FY2008-09 budget cycle. In addition, he also serves the Mayor’s Southern Dallas Task Force Team as one of the Staff Support Team members in helping to support the redevelopment of southern Dallas communities.

Erica Ferron earned her Master of Public Administration degree from Old Dominion University in 2008 and holds an undergraduate degree in political science from the University of Colorado.  Prior to entering the MDA Program at the City of Dallas, Erica served for six years as a surface warfare officer in the United States Navy.  Erica decided to join the MDA Program in order to learn about municipal government while diversifying her management experience.

Erica joined the MDA program in June of 2008 and is currently in her first rotation in the City Manager’s Office.  During her rotation, Erica has participated in a variety of tasks including overseeing the submission and approval of City Council agenda items for the Housing, Economic Development, Development Services, and Fair Housing departments; managing the administration of the City Council Economic Development Committee and Housing Committee; and supervising departmental responses to citizen and City Council requests for information.  In addition to her MDA responsibilities, Erica is serving on the Public Safety Key Focus Area Team for the FY 2009-2010 budget and is a member of the Southern Sector Task Force Economic Development Working Group.

Michael Martinez earned his Masters in Public Administration degree from the University of North Texas in 2007 and has a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas El Paso. Prior to entering the MDA program, he worked with LOWES inc. as a Service Manager, a Congressional Intern in Washington D.C. and an Administrative Intern with The Salvation Army during Hurricane Katrina. Michael entered the MDA program because it allowed him to continue his passion for public service while giving him the opportunity to understand the mechanics of city government on a large scale.

Michael began the program in December of 2007 with the City Manager’s Office. During his first rotation he worked on special projects that included building a new courts facility, the UNT Law School building project, Minor League Baseball in Dallas and Mayor and City Council citizen requests. His second rotation has been with the Department of Code Compliance where he is working on creating performance measures for the department, helping with the process of creating new geographic response districts, helping to implement ISO 9001 throughout the department, and working with department inventory on technology and communications. While working on these projects he has been able to work closely with the Department of Equipment and Building Services, Strategic Customer Services, Computer Information Systems, Geographic Information Systems, and the Purchasing Department. He has been assigned to several small special projects for the department working with Animal Services and Community Code. Michael is also currently serving on the Mayor’s Southern Dallas Task Force Finance and Funding committee as a scribe.

Tommy Ludwig earned his Master of Science degree in Political Science from the University of North Texas in 2008, and his Bachelor of Science degree in History from the University of Texas, Tyler in 2005.  Prior to joining the MDA Program Tommy worked as a project manager for Argon Medical Inc. while obtaining his undergraduate degree.  He also served as a Graduate Fellow with the Department of Political Science at the University of North Texas while attending graduate school.  Tommy entered the MDA Program in order to gain managerial municipal government experience in one of the largest and most progressive cities in the United States.

Since joining the MDA Program in July 2008 Tommy has served in one rotation with the City of Dallas.  In this first rotation he has been tasked with implementing and managing a new work request system for the Department of Aviation.  In addition to these responsibilities, he also provides support to various aviation projects upon request of department managers and directors.  Tommy is also a member of the Small Business Team in the Mayor's Southern Dallas Task Force, a group devoted to developing and growing small business in the Southern sector of Dallas.   

Ryan Rogers received his Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Kansas in 2008 and his bachelor’s degree in city planning from Missouri State University in 2006.  Prior to beginning the MDA program, Ryan worked for the municipalities of Ozark, Missouri and Topeka, Kansas as a Management Intern.  In May of 2008 he joined Dallas’ MDA program due to his desire to experience multiple working rotations in one of the largest council/manager forms of government in the United States.

Ryan’s first assignment as a Management Development Associate was to assist in the restructuring of Dallas’ Code Compliance Department.  While with Code, his projects focused on coordination of clean-up efforts, development of marketing strategies, and creation of performance measures for the department.  In an effort to expand his budget knowledge, Ryan began a rotation in the Department of Budget and Management Services in November 2008.  In Budget and Management Services he holds the daily responsibilities of a Senior Budget Analyst.  Additionally, Ryan is serving on a Budgeting for Outcomes Team in FY 2009-2010.

Stephanie Coleman earned her Master of Business Administration degree from the Owen Graduate School of Management, Vanderbilt University in May 2001. She earned her Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Houston in 1998.  Stephanie began her career in public service as a Presidential Management Fellow managing a department-wide core competency study and succession plan for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in Washington, DC.  From there, she went on to become a Regional Training Officer of the U.S. Department of Interior.  After a brief stint as a training consultant for Emory University in Atlanta, GA, she decided to move back to her hometown of Dallas, TX to use her skills in local government.

Since joining the Program in April 2008, Stephanie has managed projects in Convention and Event Services and the Dallas Farmers Market.  Specifically, she is an active member of the Dallas Convention Center Hotel Project team managing the project’s website and information flow; and she is an officer of the Dallas Convention Center Hotel Development Corporation.  In addition, Stephanie is energetically working with Dallas Farmers Market staff to recruit vendors for its newly renovated indoor market facility; and she is currently serving on the FY 2009-10 Budgeting for Outcomes Team and the Mayor’s Southern Dallas Task Force initiative.

Matina Garrett received her Master of Public Administration degree from the University of North Texas in 2008 and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from the University of Texas-Arlington. Prior to entering the MDA Program, Matina held an internship with the North Central Texas Council of Governments as a program coordinator in the Environment and Development Department.  Matina’s decision to join the MDA Program was due to a desire to gain significant managerial experience in a progressive municipality and participate in multi-department projects within a nationally recognized City.

Since joining the program in 2008, Matina’s first rotation has been in the City Manager’s Office serving as an assistant to the Executive General Manager of Special Projects. She has worked on a number of projects, which includes the development of the University of North Texas Law School in downtown Dallas and assisting in the potential development of Elgin Robertson Park. Matina also assisted in drafting a Council-approved ordinance, the development for the Request for Proposals, and in negotiating the subsequent vendor service contract.   In addition to her MDA responsibilities, Matina serves on the Mayor’s Southern Dallas Taskforce and the City Manager’s Budget Brainstorming Team.

John Johnson earned his Master of Management degree in 2007 and his Bachelor of Business Administration degree in 2006 from Texas A & M University-Commerce. Prior to entering the MDA Program at the City of Dallas, John worked in the financial industry, focusing on Business Development for American National Bank.  John was drawn to the MDA Program in part for the extensive on the job training provided, in addition to the vast range of opportunities it affords participants.

Since joining the Management Development Associate Program in July of 2008, John has worked on a number of projects with fellow participants.  John serves on the Customer Service Initiative tactical team which is responsible for developing citywide customer service standards as well as planning and executing the City’s annual employee recognition awards ceremony, the “W.O.W.i.e.” awards.   In addition to CSI-Dallas, John also serves on the Mayor’s Southern Dallas Task Force, and assists with the Trinity River Corridor Project Committee.   He also served on the Budgeting for Outcomes Team for the FY 2009-2010 budget. While in his first rotation with the City Manager’s Office, John is currently the assistant to Assistant City Manager Jill Jordan.

Shanika Brooks received her Master of Public Administration degree with a concentration in Local Government Management from the University of North Texas in 2007 and a Bachelor of Science degree from Texas Christian University. Prior to joining the City of Dallas, Shanika worked for the City of Dickinson, as the Assistant to the Public Works Director. She also participated in the NCTCOG Urban Fellowship Program and worked for the cities of Grand Prairie and Oak Point. Shanika was attracted to the MDA Program out of her desire to work in a large organization and her commitment to serve the public sector. 

Shanika joined the MDA Program in April of 2008, with her first rotation in the City Manager’s Office. She assisted in the development of the amended smoking ordinance and oversaw the submission and approval of City Council agenda items. Shanika also managed the administration of the Quality of Life Committee; and supervised departmental responses to citizens and City Council requests for information. Currently, she works as a Senior Budget Analyst for the Office of Budget and Management Services. In addition to her MDA responsibilities, Shanika is serving on the Culture, Arts and Recreation Key Focus Area Team for the FY 2009-2010 budget and is a member of the Southern Sector Task Force.

Kathleen Coats Cervenka received her Masters in Public Administration from the University of North Texas in 2004 and she has a Bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University.  Prior to beginning the MDA program at the City of Dallas, she worked as a Grant Consultant at GrantWorks, Inc. managing Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) projects in communities across Texas.  While she enjoyed consulting, Kathleen began her career in local government with the City of Cedar Hill and wanted to return to a local government team.  The MDA program offered Kathleen the opportunity to be involved in projects that impact the future of Dallas and to learn various aspects of the organization in a brief amount of time.

Kathleen began the program in February of 2007 and was tasked with two process improvement projects associated with city-wide uniforms and the acquisition and management of computers.  Working with a team of fellow MDAs, she met with numerous groups of city employees and managers, conducted research of comparable entities and developed recommendations that were presented to the City Manager’s Office.  Since the approval of the recommendations, the team has moved forward with implementation.  In June 2007, Kathleen began working with the Executive General Manager in the City Manager’s Office on special projects. She performed analysis, coordinated briefings and organized meetings for the Convention Center Hotel project.  She also assisted in the preparation of the Request for Proposals and prepared an assessment of city-owned property available for gas exploration.  The City executed agreements with two gas exploration companies in 2008 with a total lease bonus over $30 million. In February 2008, she rotated to Budget and Management Services where she first worked as a Senior Budget Analyst and then served as the Interim Debt Manager. Her responsibilities included the issuance of bonds and commercial paper, coordinating debt service payments and developing the FY08-09 Debt Service Budget.  In August 2008, Kathleen moved to the Department of Code Compliance where she currently serves as the Quality Management Representative for ISO 9001, coordinates the Code Academy and is responsible for the analysis of business processes and reports, including the Management Review Report, Code Accountability Report Card and Minimum Housing Standards Property Catalog.  In addition to these projects, she served as a facilitator on the FY08-09 E3 Government Budgeting for Outcomes team and as a team member on the Demolition ZIP Team and the Mayor’s Southern Dallas Task Force.