NORTH MIAMI — The dream of many Haitian citizens in North Miami has finally happened as one of their own became City Manager of the sixth largest city in Miami-Dade. This incredible event became reality last Tuesday (May 26), when a Haitian majority council voted to hire Theresa Therilus, esq., as head of the city government during a virtual council meeting.
With this appointment, Theresa Therilus, esq. has made history, not just once, but twice. Not only has she become the first woman appointed to this position, but she is also the first Haitian-American to hold the title. From the point of view of many observers, this was a logical move, considering the fact that this city of 65,000 inhabitants whose council has been led for about two decades by a majority from the Haitian community. A Haitian-American City Manager should have happened long ago.
The appointment of Ms. Therilus comes in the aftermath of a major failure on the part of the municipal council when, during 2016 under the reign of former mayor Smith Joseph, they failed to agree to appoint a Haitian-American to this key position. It was clear that the former mayor had shown a lack of leadership in that particular case to get the other Haitian council members to unite behind him for this vital decision. It is important to point out that the two other Haitian-American council members at the time, former District 3 Councilman Phillipe Bien-Aimé (whose is the current mayor) and District 4 Councilman Dr. Alix Desulme also helped to thwart North Miami’s City Manager’s Haitian dream during the Tuesday, February 23rd North Miami Council meeting. None of them had even seconded the former mayor’s motion to hire a Haitian-American (Mrs. Marie Paule Woodson) at the city manager position at that time.
It is a fact that everyone makes mistakes. But no matter how much humiliation, pain, or sadness someone’s mistake may cause, by the same token every misstep helps us learn and grow and ultimately become better people. In fact, some mistakes are even necessary for future success.
The choice that led to Theresa Therilus becoming City Manager came after a long and arduous process. The City of North Miami conducted a nationwide search to interview more than a dozen top applicants. Members of that search committee carefully sought out a well-qualified candidate who could take the city to the next level while keenly understanding its diversity.
Voted unanimously to become the new City Manager, Ms. Therilus’ resume convinced all five council members. And each of them has expressed a positive hope about her and made the case that she will be able to take the city administration in the direction they have wished.
Mayor Philippe Bien-Aime seems to be pleased with the choice of the Miami native as well. “Ms. Therilus brings a wealth of budget, capital project and management experience to our organization,” he said, according to a public statement obtained by LE FLORIDIEN.
“Along her career path, she has mastered the skills to deal with government at the county, state, and federal level. She also has vast experience managing teams through emergencies. All her skills will be vital to our city in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the first citizen of North Miami added.
Vice Mayor Alix Desulme has shown the same positivity in his official statement about the hiring of the Haitian-American lawyer. “I would like to congratulate our new City Manager, Theresa Therilus, and welcome her to the city of North Miami,” he said. “It is my hope that she will provide integrity, transparency, and the leadership skills that we need to move the city forward. I trust that she will work diligently and improve our fiscal management. Her experience with emergency management makes her a perfect fit at this time. North Miami needs to head in a different direction. We need to be more efficient as a city, and most importantly, we need to engage our residents in every aspect of our city operations. I believe she can help us do just that. I look forward to working with her.”
The third Haitian-American member of the council, Councilwoman Mary Estimè-Irvin, District 3, said, “Theresa Therilus is definitely the one. I look forward to working with her and watching our city grow with her as its City Manager.”
It is one of those very special and rare moments in the history of the city council where the two Caucasian members also voted yes to hire a Haitian-American professional at this important position.
“Ms. Therilus gave a strong interview when we spoke last week. She’ll bring a fresh take to our city. I told her that if she can handle NFL players, she’s ready for North Miami,” said Councilman Scott Galvin, District 1, in his statement.
In a brief statement, Councilwoman Carol Keys, District 2, who is also a lawyer, congratulated the new high profile employee, saying, “Ms. Therilus’ resume and qualifications appear to be outstanding. I am looking forward to meeting and working with her.”
According to a document published by North Miami Vice-Mayor, Alix Desulme, the new City Manager humbly expressed gratitude to members of the council after being hired. “I want to thank Mayor Bien-Aime and the Council for their confidence in my ability to lead the City of North Miami. As a Haitian-American, I am particularly proud of the opportunity to work for the residents of North Miami. We have a lot to overcome in the coming months and my main focus will be continuing to support our residents during this pandemic and leading North Miami on the path to long term success.”
Theresa Therilus holds a B.A. in Economics and Legal Studies from the University of Miami and a Juris Doctorate degree from Harvard Law School.
There is no doubt about it, the Haitian-American native of Miami holds an impressive resume. She served as Interim Director of procurement for Santa Clara County in California where she led the county’s more than 6 billion dollars in spending. She managed acquisitions in health and hospital, technology, facilities, public safety, and professional services provided directly to the community. Theresa was also responsible for successful negotiations resulting in contract awards to support the county’s needs in every function of services provided to its residents. She managed and led a 100 member procurement team that lead the county’s sourcing activities.
Before taking over the Santa Clara County job, Ms. Therilus previously served as the Assistant Director of the Miami-Dade County Internal Services Department. At that time, she became the youngest-ever Senior County Administration Official for Miami-Dade County. Additionally, she served as Florida’s Assistant Attorney General in economic crimes and consumer protection.
Prior to her work in the public service arena, Ms. Therilus also represented professional athletes as an NFL Agent and worked as president of TGT Sports & Marketing. Theresa has appeared as a legal sports analyst on CNN, CNBC, and various syndicated sports talk radio shows.
“I would like to welcome Ms. Theresa Therilus to the great city of North Miami,” said former District 3 Councilman Jacques Despinosse. “I congratulate her and wish her all the best in her new position. I think the Council has made a positive choice. It’s about time. Rome wasn’t built in a day. I am asking the members of the community to allow the council members some time to act properly. Even though they don’t want to accept it, it is a fact that they (Haitian elected officials) are still in job training. Therefore they are subject to make miskates.”
“We need to pray to God that Ms. Therilus will be able to deliver the merchandise as expected by many,” added the retired Haitian-American politician.
A long time ago, many Haitian citizens had made the case that it was time for a North Miami Haitian majority council to choose a competent professional Haitian-American as chief executive officer (CEO) of the city, as others usually do when they possess a majority of the seats. It has finally happened. We can applaud it with the hope of seeing this new City Manager display her competence at this level and avoid all public scandals.
As we (members of the Haitian community) are rejoicing the move of the city council (particularly the Haitian-American members) in hiring one of ours at this high profile position, we need to understand that any misstep on the part of Ms. Therilus will reflect upon the image of the South Florida’s Haitian Community. Such missteps would eventually give more reasons for other communities to believe that Haitians in Florida are not ready to assume some of the highest positions in local government.
Let’s hope that this Haitian leader (Theresa Therilus, esq.) will make us shine more as a community by leading the city of North Miami in the right direction for the best interest of all the residents and business owners!
We are enchanted by this incredible moment and history and congratulate Ms. Therilus and the North Miami City Council for this historic moment. The future is looking brighter already and given where we as a society stand in light of this global pandemic, it is truly a moment to celebrate. Let’s rejoice! For a new hope and new future are finally ready to be embraced by our North Miami Haitian-American community and the rest of our incredible, diverse city!
Dessalines Ferdinand
ferdinand@lefloridien.com