Florida city's first chief equity officer quits $185,000 salary job less than month in

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A Florida city's first chief equity officer resigned less than a month into her $185,000-a-year job without explanation.

Lenice C. Emanuel's first day at St. Petersburg City Hall was Oct. 2. Just 23 days later, she submitted her resignation letter to Mayor Ken Welch.

"Thank you for the opportunity to serve as the City’s Chief Equity Officer," Emanuel wrote in the letter obtained by the Tampa Bay Times. "Wishing you and your team the very best in your future endeavors."

Lenice C. Emanuel resigned as chief equity officer of St. Petersburg, Florida, after being hired by Mayor Ken Welch less than one month earlier. (ALISJ/Octavio Jones)

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Emanuel was the first person to hold the executive position in the mayor's cabinet, a job that took over two years to create and fill, according to the St. Pete Catalyst.

City spokesperson Alizza Punzalan-Randle said administrators have already started working to fill the role.

"We wish her success in her future endeavors," Punzalan-Randle told Fox News. "The chief equity officer role supports Mayor Welch’s intentional push for inclusive progress."

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When the position was announced in May, Welch said it included "oversight and direction over the city's efforts to advance racial equity and inclusion within city government in collaboration with community stakeholders."

The original job posting described the role as implementing and overseeing programs that "ensure fair and equitable treatment of citizens" as well as "education and youth opportunity efforts and the Office of Community Impact."

In his Sept. 26 statement to announce her hiring, Welch touted Emanuel as a "veteran nonprofit leader" with over 25 years in management, government, fund development and community relations.

Emanuel said it was a "great honor" to step in as the city's first chief equity officer. 

Emanuel was touted as a "veteran nonprofit leader" with over 25 years of experience in leading social justice organizations when she was hired by the city of St. Petersburg. (Facebook/City of St. Petersburg, Florida)

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"At its core, St. Pete is rich in diversity, inclusiveness, and progressive intention, making it perfectly poised to lead in the area of equity," she said in the press release. "We are committed to leaving no one behind, where all of us will rise, together, as one St. Pete." 

Prior to accepting her job with the city, Emanuel served for eight years as executive director of the Alabama Institute for Social Justice, a nonprofit focused on racial justice and reconciliation in Alabama.

Emanuel and Welch's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.