Escambia County Hires Four New Department Directors

December 5, 2019

Escambia County has hired four new department directors in recent weeks.

The are:

  • Laura Coale — Director of Communications and Public Information
  • Tonya Ellis — Director of Mass Transit
  • Bart Siders — Director of Information Technology
  • Jana Still  — Director of Human Resources

Biographical information for each is below.

Laura Coale, Director of Communications and Public Information


Tuesday, Nov. 19 marked Coale’s first day with the county as the director of communications and public information.
“I’m honored to work with such a talented team and look forward to an exciting career serving the people of Escambia County,” Coale said.

Coale brings 20 years of communications experience in private and public organizations to Escambia County. Most recently, she served as executive director of strategic communications at Northwest Florida State College and Aims Community College in Colorado. Coale also served as the media relations director at Denver International Airport, communications director at the city and county of Denver’s Office of Strategic Partnerships and public information officer at Gainesville Florida Fire Rescue. Coale developed and implemented many award-winning strategic communications campaigns, including recognition for outstanding achievement in design and communication at community and technical colleges.

Coale graduated magna cum laude with a master’s degree in journalism and mass communication from Kent State University. She also earned her bachelor’s degree in speech communication from Miami University.

Tonya Ellis, Director of Mass Transit

Tonya Ellis was approved and promoted on Tuesday, Nov. 19 as the new mass transit director for Escambia County Area Transit.

“I am truly excited about this opportunity, and I am looking forward to collaborating with our elected officials, community leaders, stakeholders, customers and employees to improve ECAT and paratransit’s overall operating efficiency,” Ellis said. “I feel that mass transit in Escambia County has the potential to be transformed to be the best transit system for this community.”

Ellis has worked in the transportation industry for more than 15 years where she has shown leadership skills with the ability to involve, motivate, and empower employees by building rapport and providing excellent customer service. Under her leadership she has developed connections with a variety of regional governmental entities to providing technical planning assistance to local and state governments. The Mass Transit operation provides more than 1.4 million ECAT public transit trips and 95,000 paratransit services in the Escambia County area.

For 13 years, Ellis served in the United States Army Reserve as E-5 Sergeant in Multi-Channel Radio Operations as a member of the 842nd Signal Company, United States Army Reserve. In 2000, she was awarded Unit Soldier of the Year.

Ellis obtained a bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of West Florida. She is very active in numerous community outreach activities as well as professional organizations such as serving as a board member for the Florida Public Transportation Association and a member of the Technical Coordinating Committee of the Florida-Alabama Transportation Planning Organization.

Bart Siders, Director of Information Technology


William Bart Siders joined Escambia County on Monday, Oct. 21 as the director of information technology.

“I am very excited about joining the IT team who currently provides quality IT products and services to the employees of Escambia County,” Siders said. “I look forward to building on the team’s current success by establishing a culture of innovation and collaboration.”

Siders most recently served as Gulf Power IT technology leader with NextEra Energy. He directed and managed the planning, development, implementation, maintenance, and operation of all end-user environments for Gulf Power, Mississippi Power, APC-Mobile Division and Sequent Energy Houston. He also served as a coastal workplace support manager, regional IT manager, applications services manager, CSS lead analyst and corporate systems analyst at Southern Company Services from 1988 to 2018.

Siders obtained a bachelor’s degree in system science from the University of West Florida. He has been a member of the IT Technical Advisory Board for George Stone Vocational School, the Cyberthon Planning Committee, UWF Code-A-Thon Planning Committee and the Gulf Power Technology Innovation Team.

Jana Still, Director of Human Resources


Wednesday, Nov. 6, marked Jana Still’s first day as director of human resources.

“I am very excited about the opportunities I see for growth and change that can positively impact all employees as well as Escambia County as a whole,” Still said. “I feel that the current county administration is very progressive and open to change, so I am looking forward to working with everyone. I think as a team we can accomplish great things.”

Most recently, Still served as senior personnel classification and assessment specialist at the Mobile County Personnel Board, where she advised city and county municipalities concerning personnel selection, leadership, EEOC compliance, organizational development, employee relations and retention. She has also worked as a consultant for some private sector organizations. Still is currently an adjunct professor at the University of South Alabama where she teaches industrial/organizational psychology, behavioral neuroscience and general psychology.

Still earned a master’s degree in industrial and organizational psychology from the University of West Florida and bachelor’s degrees in psychology and sociology from the University of South Alabama.

Comments

2 Responses to “Escambia County Hires Four New Department Directors”

  1. DD on December 6th, 2019 5:29 pm

    Ellis …… 2 thumb up

  2. Whisperjet on December 5th, 2019 8:02 am

    ..There is nothing more important than having quality folks stepping in to leadership spots in Escambia county…

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News