Three finalists to replace Lori Boyer as the Downtown Investment Authority CEO are scheduled for panel interviews June 9 with the DIA board.
The finalists are:
• Danny Chavez, former chief economic development officer for the city of Waco, Texas. He served from April 2024 to December 2024.
• Lara L. Fritts, division director of the Frederick County Department of Economic Opportunity in Maryland.
• Colin Tarbert, president and CEO of the Baltimore Development Corp.
Boyer is retiring effective June 30, 2025.
She was named DIA CEO in 2019 after serving as a Jacksonville City Council member and president. In her Council role, she helped create the legislation that founded the DIA in 2012.
The board interviews are scheduled for 10 a.m., noon and 1:30 p.m. and are scheduled for one hour and 15 minutes each in the Henry Cook Room at City Hall, 117 W. Duval St.
Selection of the CEO will follow.
The board interviews are scheduled for 10 a.m., noon and 1:30 p.m. and are scheduled for one hour and 15 minutes each.
The candidates: Chavez
Chavez served as Waco’s top economic development officer from April 2024 to December 2024, according to a resume provided by the city of Jacksonville.
In that role, he led a downtown redevelopment project and developed new incentive programs. Chavez oversaw the merger and restructuring of the city’s economic development and tourism departments, managing an 18-member team and a $12.9 million budget.
A graduate of Angelo State University in San Angelo, Texas, he was the business recruitment officer for the Charlotte, North Carolina Regional Business Alliance from October 2021 to December 2023.
His 11 years of experience also includes executive roles in economic development organizations in San Antonio and McKinney, Texas.
The candidates: Fritts
Fritts has been in her current role since April 2023, integrating Frederick County’s economic development and workforce services operations into one department. Her work includes fostering growth in such sectors as biotechnology and advanced manufacturing.
Fritts oversees a staff of 43 employees and a $7.5 million budget.
She previously served as CEO, chief operation officer and executive vice president of Community Redevelopment Inc. in Annapolis, Maryland, and president and CEO of the Greater Richmond (Virginia) Partnership.
For three years beginning in 2016, Fritts was the director of the Department of Economic Development and CEO of the Redevelopment Agency of Salt Lake City.
She holds degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.
The candidates: Tarbert
Tarbert is entering his sixth year as head of the Baltimore Development Corp., for which he lists such accomplishments as negotiating a public-private partnership to complete a $250 million redevelopment of CFG Bank Arena, leading completion of a $45 million market that includes nearly 50 local vendors and overseeing the issuance of 2,000 grants totaling more than $30 million during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 35-member development organization has a budget of $6 million.
Tarbert’s previous positions included serving in the Baltimore mayor’s office as deputy chief of strategic alliances and deputy mayor in the Office of Economic & Neighborhood Development.
Tarbert holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in architecture from the University of Maryland.
DIA legislation
The interviews come as the Jacksonville City Council prepares to vote on an amended proposal that would allow the DIA board more independence in approving incentives and cuts out a governmental step in the process.
The proposal, contained in Ordinance 2025-0395, removes a cap at which Council approval is required for Recapture Enhanced Value grants authorized through the DIA. The DIA board would be able to approve all REV grants.
In addition, DIA resolutions could be introduced directly to Council, bypassing a current requirement for approval by the Mayor’s Budget Review Committee. That provision is designed to reduce the amount of time required for DIA deals to be OK’d.
The ordinance called for Council approval of the hiring of the DIA CEO and also granted Council the ability to fire the CEO on a simple majority vote.
On June 2, two Council committees voted to remove that provision, which would keep the power of hiring and firing the CEO solely with the DIA board.
Co-introducers Kevin Carrico, the Council president-elect, and Joe Carlucci sought fast-tracked consideration of the ordinance, putting it on a path toward a final vote in June.
Boyer agreement
In its May 21 meeting, the DIA board approved spending up to $45,000 to obtain professional services from her after her retirement, including contract negotiations, document reviews and drafting of projects in which she is involved.
As stated in Resolution 2025-05-06, which passed on a 7-0 vote, the board expects to make an offer to Boyer’s successor by June 20 but contract negotiations may take several weeks, in which time Boyer’s services will be needed.