FLORIDA: Modesto has hired an official from an upscale Florida city to run its Community and Economic Development Department (EDD). Cindy Birdsill, who served as Coral Gables economic and cultural development director for nearly six years, is expected to start her new job Sept. 15.
She will be paid $161,000 annually. Modesto picked Birdsill after conducting a national search that generated 36 applicants, according to a city news release.Before going to work for Coral Gables, Birdsill worked as a real estate attorney for about 20 years. Her law degree is from the University Of Connecticut School Of Law. and she has a bachelor’s degree in dramatic and studio art from the University of North Carolina and a master’s degree in painting from Towson University in Maryland.
Birdsill, 48, said while her background is not that of a typical community and economic development director, the department has strong planners and she will focus on such issues as economic development, downtown and building on Modesto’s reputation as a cultural centre exemplified by such institutions as the Gallo Centre for the Arts and its resident companies, including Central West Ballet and Townsend Opera.
