(Washington, DC)  Mayor Anthony A. Williams named William O. Howland, Jr., to the post of Acting Director of the Department of Public Works. Mr. Howland’s permanent appointment is subject to approval by the DC Council.

 

William "Bill" Howland, Jr. has more than 20 years of local government experience, primarily as a senior executive. He is especially well-versed in managing organizational operations such as finances, human resources, information technology, and procurement. He has served as the Interim Director of the District's Department of Public Works since April 2004, where he has led the staff of 1,267 and recently has begun to reduce the backlog of abandoned vehicles from over 1,100 to just under 500.

 

From 2002 to 2004, Howland served as the Chief of Staff to the Deputy Mayor for Operations. In this role, he responded to various issues involving agencies in this cluster, particularly the Department of Motor Vehicles, the Office of Contracting and Procurement and the Office of Property Management.

 

Howland joined the District in 2001 as the Deputy Director for the Department of Human Services (DHS), where he directed the administrative management for the agency.  He managed the capital budget for DHS, oversaw construction and renovation of agency buildings and led a team of eight departments to create an emergency management plan to shelter displaced residents and reunify families.

 

Mr. Howland also served the Fairfax County Government for 17 years, as a Personnel Analyst, an Assistant to the County Executive, and finally as Director of the Department of Administration.