Joining the City Manager’s Office in 2005, Dolores Maria Mejia currently holds the position of Special Projects Administrator in the City of Miami Beach. In her current role, Ms. Mejia forms an integral part of the City Manager’s Executive Team, facilitating communication and complaint resolution with the Office of the Mayor and Commission as well as all 22 City Departments. In addition, Ms. Mejia is highly involved in performance improvement and strategic planning initiatives, forming part of several process improvement teams. Most recently, Ms. Mejia was part of the City’s Clean Team, which received the Florida Governor’s Sterling Council Team Showcase Award, and is slated to compete in the ASQ World Team Showcase Competition in Houston, Texas this year. Ms. Mejia received the 2007 “Rookie of the Year” Award from the Florida Sterling Council for outstanding performance on a Governor’s Sterling Award Team.

In support of the City’s Strategic Plan, Ms. Mejia works on a variety of special projects as assigned by the City Manager. Some of these assignments include work on the Commission’s Ad Hoc Condominium Reform Taskforce, the Ad Hoc Green Committee and the Education Compact between the City of Miami Beach and Miami-Dade County Public Schools, which will bring an International Baccalaureate Program to all grades in all Miami Beach schools.

Prior to joining the City Manager’s Office, Ms. Mejia held the position of Commission Aide in the City of Miami Beach Office of the Mayor and Commission from 2002-2005. Among her accomplishments as Commission Aide, Ms. Mejia launched the Vote Miami Beach Initiative, which is focused on increasing voter participation in Miami Beach. This initiative received the 2005 3CMA (City-County Communications and Marketing Association) Savvy Award for Citizen Participation.

Before joining the City of Miami Beach, Ms. Mejia worked as a Junior Account Executive for the international marketing and public relations firm GrupoUno International. As part of the public relations team, Ms. Mejia developed press releases, media kits and newsletters in both English and Spanish as well as pitched client-specific news to major media outlets in Latin America and the U.S. markets. Some of the clients she represented include Hewlett-Packard; Imation; ePagos, Inc.; CompuLink Research, Inc.; Regus Latin America; Women in Technology International; and the Miami Internet Alliance.

Ms. Mejia moved to South Florida from the Dominican Republic in 1995 to pursue her education at the University of Miami. On an academic scholarship, Ms. Mejia completed her Bachelor of Arts in International Studies in 1998, and a Master Degree in Public Administration in 2002. As part of her education, Ms. Mejia completed a semester abroad at the American University in Paris, France. In addition, she completed several internships as part of her graduate and undergraduate studies, which included internships at the United States Tennis Association, Youth Crime Watch of America and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in the Dominican Republic.