Don Shea, Jacksonville Civic Council executive director and member of the City Downtown Investment Authority, will leave Jacksonville in January to become the first director of economic development for St. Tammany Parish in Louisiana.
Shea is the inaugural executive director of the civic council, a group of Jacksonville business leaders formed to improve Duval County. He began Sept. 13, 2010.
In a resignation letter to outgoing civic council Chairman Peter Rummell, Shea said the change is “based solely on family considerations.” He said Friday that he and his wife are from New Orleans and their son is still there, with the move being “strictly personal.”
Shea served as the executive director of the Shreveport Downtown Development Authority in Louisiana.
University of North Florida President John Delaney will lead the search for Shea’s successor at the civic council.
Delaney said Friday the committee had yet to be formed but it will include general members of the civic council.
He said the search will start in January after the holidays.
“I imagine it will take a couple of months,” he said in an email referring to the timeframe of finding a replacement.
“We are looking for a public policy think-tank type individual with experience running a member-oriented institution,” he said, but noted the candidates could come from other backgrounds. He said the search also could overlap with the JAX Chamber search for its next CEO.
Shea served as an executive-on-loan and transition staff director to Mayor Alvin Brown during much of Brown’s first year in office.
He also served as a point person for the three-part economic development reform introduced in March and finalized last month.
“Don Shea provided vision, leadership and dedication to make our city a better place. He offered insight and guidance that has helped build momentum to reinvigorate Downtown,” Brown said in a statement.
“Don has also provided valuable input to improve our broader policy for the urban core, such as recently approved projects in Brooklyn. I wish him the best in his new position, which allows him to be closer to family and continue helping a community as he has impressively done here,” Brown said.
Shea transitioned back to the civic council full-time in May.
Shea also is a founding member of the nine-member Downtown Investment Authority. He said he will resign from the role.
City Council President Bill Bishop appointed Shea to the authority and said he was instrumental in the economic development reform.
Bishop said Shea formed a relationship with Council during his time as an executive-on-loan.
Bishop said he learned a lot from Shea.
“Our loss is their gain,” he said.
Bishop said he will replace Shea on the authority as soon as possible, with the hope of having someone in place by mid-January. He said he had no one in mind to replace him.
JAXUSA Partnership President Jerry Mallot worked with Shea on the economic-development reform and said Shea’s departure is “disappointing but understandable” given his reasons. Like Shea, Mallot also was an executive-on-loan to Brown during his reorganization and reform.
“He’s done a lot of great things since he’s been here in his two-plus years,” Mallot said Friday. “We were lucky to have him.”
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