Mayor-Elect Morales Names New Chief of Staff and Finance Director

Mayor-Elect Morales Names New Chief of Staff and Finance Director

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David Morales selects Wood and Lindberg for senior roles

Mayor-elect David Morales has named Jennifer Wood as his chief of staff and Krystle Lindberg as Providence’s next chief financial officer, Go Local Prov reported Monday.

The appointments focus on community advocacy and fiscal continuity for the incoming administration. Wood, who currently leads the Rhode Island Center for Justice, will step into the chief of staff role, while Lindberg moves up from her position as deputy finance director to succeed the retiring Lawrence J. Mancini.

Morales framed the selections as a direct response to his campaign’s central pillars of affordability and safety for working families. He noted that Wood’s professional history aligns with the administration’s intent to serve those specific populations.

“I asked Jenn to serve as my Chief of Staff because she has spent her career fighting for the very people we are determined to serve,” Morales said.

Wood brings legal and advocacy experience

Wood brings over 35 years of experience in government and public interest law to the mayor-elect’s office. Her career includes nine years as chief of staff and chief legal counsel at the Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, followed by eight years serving as chief of staff and general counsel for Lieutenant Governor Liz Roberts.

Since 2017, Wood has directed the Center for Justice, a nonprofit law center. In that capacity, she has worked with community organizers to assist immigrant families, protect workers’ rights, and defend tenants facing eviction. Her legal background also includes affirmative litigation aimed at holding the Trump administration accountable through the Lawyers’ Committee for Rhode Island.

Wood, a graduate of Brown University and Northeastern University School of Law, expressed a commitment to transitioning from campaign rhetoric to municipal governance. She stated that she is honored to work with Morales to turn campaign promises into tangible results.

Lindberg to manage city finances

The appointment of Krystle Lindberg as chief financial officer provides the new administration with an internal successor who understands the city’s existing fiscal structures. Lindberg has been a fixture in Providence’s finance department since 2015, where she began as a fiscal supervisor.

Her progression through the department includes roles as city and school controller before her promotion to deputy finance director in 2020. In her previous role, she led the development and presentation of the city’s budget, coordinating with city departments, the mayor, and the City Council to ensure the passage of balanced budgets.

Morales highlighted Lindberg’s ability to handle complex budget challenges and her potential to help the city invest in neighborhoods while maintaining responsibility. Lindberg noted her intention to build on previous efforts toward transparency, specifically citing the city’s online platform that allows the public to explore budget data.

“We’ll build on that commitment to transparency and accountability in the coming term,” Lindberg said.

The transition follows the retirement of Lawrence J. Mancini, who has long managed the city’s financial oversight. Lindberg holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Roger Williams University.

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