CLEVELAND — The city of Cleveland’s community development director has stepped down.
Alyssa Hernandez left on Nov. 14, according to a City Hall spokesman. In a statement and an email to department chiefs and senior staff, city officials did not say why she departed. News 5 has reached out to Hernandez for comment.
“Director Alyssa Hernandez has stepped down from her role, effective immediately,” Bradford Davy, the chief of staff to Mayor Justin Bibb, wrote in an email to staff last Friday evening. “Our administration is grateful for Alyssa’s service and her leadership in advancing the city’s housing and neighborhood development priorities.”
Joy Anderson, a longtime city employee, is serving as the department's interim director. The city has already posted Hernandez’s job, with a salary range of $140,000 to $150,000.
The community development department manages federal grants and works closely with nonprofits on everything from home repair to efforts to fight lead poisoning in children.
In early November, the department had 78 full-time employees — about 70% of what the city’s budget calls for. Community development lost staff and temporarily paused hiring this year amid uncertainty about the future of key federal funding, including the Community Development Block Grant program.
The city learned in May – later than usual – that it would receive nearly $19.5 million in annual block grant funding, along with almost $8.4 million from federal programs focused on building affordable housing, combating homelessness and providing housing for people living with HIV and AIDS.
Cleveland City Council recently approved a spending plan for that money.
Hernandez joined the Bibb administration in early 2022 as part of an initial wave of hiring for department heads and cabinet officials.
A Chicago native, she moved to Cleveland from Florida, where she worked for the state’s department of economic opportunity.
