St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman today announced that Luz Maria Frias will be the new head of St. Paul’s Human Rights and Equal Economic Opportunity Department, succinctly called HREEO. (Those used to be separate departments, but the mayor hopes to find cost savings and efficiency in the merger.)
Frias had been working in Mayor Chris Coleman’s office as external affairs director, or head lobbyist. They say she secured $27 million in supplemental funding “to spearhead the city’s major initiatives.”
Tyrone Terrill resigned as human rights director last fall, and Readus Fletcher filled in as interim head.
The new combined department will handle civil rights enforcement, contract analysis and procurement, contract monitoring, investigation and enforcement, capacity-building and workplace development.
Frias’s other work experience includes working for the Minnesota House of Representatives, chief legal officer of Centro Legal, family court magistrate and hearing examiner for the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community.
