Fire Chief, Director of Neighborhoods & Business Development, and Chief Information Officer Announced

Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz on Tuesday announced the appointment of a new Fire Chief, Director of Neighborhoods and Business Development, and Chief Information Officer.

SENIOR BATTALION CHIEF BRIAN BYRD WILL BECOME THE CITY’S NEXT FIRE AND RESCUE DEPARTMENT CHIEF. HE REPLACES CHIEF LUIS SANTIAGO, WHO PLANS TO RETIRE ON AUG. 2, 2018.

Chief Byrd has been a Toledo firefighter since 1988. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1992, captain in 1997, battalion chief in 2000, and deputy chief in 2008. Chief Byrd is currently responsible for administrative and emergency operations of all personnel and resources in a fire district comprised of six fire stations. He is responsible for daily staffing, training, and logistics of 19 fire stations and more than 100 firefighters/paramedics.

Chief Byrd has served as Lucas County Coordinator for the Ohio Fire Chiefs’ Emergency Response Plan; sat on the Ohio Department of Homeland Security EMS Subcommittee, and served as proxy for the fire chief on the Lucas County Emergency Medical Services Policy Board and on the Lucas County Emergency Communications Board. He is a member of the Salvation Army Advisory Board, sits on the board of directors for Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Northwest Ohio, and serves as the national chairman and local coordinator for the African American Male Wellness Walk Initiative.

AMY SACKMAN ODUM, OF LIMA, WAS APPOINTED BY MAYOR KAPSZUKIEWICZ AS THE DIRECTOR OF NEIGHBORHOODS AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT.

Ms. Odum is currently principal of Asodum LLC., a practice focused on developing strategies for sustainable communities. The firm’s services include grant acquisition and management, land bank development, property maintenance systems improvement, neighborhood capacity building, housing assessment and planning, and land use development.

She was director of community development for the city of Lima from 2004 to 2016. In that role, Ms. Odum directed, managed, and coordinated activities of community development department. Her duties included administration of 15 local, state, and federal funding sources serving 25 different project areas. As an active advocate for small to midsize communities, Ms. Odum developed creative scalable partnerships for land management, neighborhood design, and economic development.

ANNE BENNETT, THE FORMER CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER FOR THE TOLEDO MUSEUM OF ART, WAS APPOINTED AS TOLEDO’S NEW CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER.

Ms. Bennett supervised the museum’s information technology from 2013 to 2017. She is currently a consultant with Great Lakes Information Architects, a boutique consulting firm. Ms. Bennett was chief information officer for The Andersons Inc. in Maumee from 2007 to 2013.

“These three individuals are all committed to the people of Toledo and my administration’s mission of making Toledo the best possible city,” Mayor Kapszukiewicz said. “Chief Byrd is a veteran of the Toledo fire and rescue department while Ms. Bennett and Ms. Odum bring new and innovative ideas from the private and public sectors. They join a dynamic, diverse, and talented team that has been assembled to make sure Toledo is a successful city.”