Miami Mayor-elect Eileen Higgins is wasting no time building the team that will guide her administration from day one.<\/p>\n
Her early hires signal a reform-minded approach aimed at bringing stability and responsiveness to City Hall. She\u2019s tasked them with shaping a 100-day agenda centered on affordability, public safety, climate resilience and restoring public confidence in city government.<\/p>\n
At the top of the list is longtime public servant Maggie Fernandez as Chief of Staff. Higgins described Fernandez as an indispensable partner in her county-level work and a leader who \u201cknows how to cut through bureaucracy, build strong teams, and keep government focused on residents.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fernandez has served as Higgins\u2019 Chief of Staff on the Miami-Dade County Commission since her 2018 upset election<\/a>. A Miami-born daughter of Cuban parents, she brings nearly three decades of government experience, including prior roles in the County Manager\u2019s Office, sustainability programs and her own public-sector consulting firm.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is an honor to continue serving the people of Miami alongside Mayor-Elect Higgins,\u201d Fernandez said, adding that she aims to \u201cbuild an administration that delivers results, strengthens public trust, and ensures residents see and feel the work of City Hall in their everyday lives.\u201d<\/p>\n Higgins\u2019 transition team, meanwhile, reads like a cross-section of Miami\u2019s civic and economic leadership.<\/p>\n There\u2019s Carlos Migoya, CEO of Miami-Dade\u2019s public Jackson Health System<\/a>, who brings experience transforming a major public institution while steering Miami through budget crises during his time as City Manager.<\/p>\n Haitian community leader Gepsie Metellus, the co-founder of nonprofit Haitian neighborhood center Sant La<\/a>, adds decades of advocacy for immigrant families and community integration.<\/p>\n Business and government affairs strategist Jose Bermudez, a fixture in responsible growth and economic development circles, joins innovation leader Matt Haggman, known for building Miami\u2019s entrepreneurship ecosystem at the Knight Foundation<\/a>, the Beacon Council<\/a> and Right to Start<\/a>.<\/p>\n Urban planning expert Marta Viciedo, who helped lead the Better Bus Project<\/a> as a founder and former Director of Transit Alliance Miami<\/a> and co-founded Urban Impact Lab<\/a>, will help shape mobility, resilience and public-space priorities.<\/p>\n Former Miami Beach Chief of Staff Michele Burger will bring experience in land use, infrastructure, arts and culture, and large-scale civic planning.<\/p>\n