Team Biographies

Rodney Gonzales

Assistant City Manager

Rodney Gonzales was appointed Assistant City Manager in February 2019 and oversees Economic Opportunity & Affordability outcome. Rodney comes to the Assistant City Manager role having served in leadership roles in Development Services Department and Economic Development for the City of Austin over the past 12 years. Rodney began his career in finance, serving as the Director of Finance for the cities of San Marcos and Luling, Texas. He holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration and a Bachelor’s degree from Texas State University.

Annick Beaudet

Austin Transportation Department

Annick Beaudet is an urban planner certified by the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) and an Assistant Director with the Austin Transportation Department where she is responsible for transportation planning, engineering and street design. She has worked in the areas of land use, entitlements and transportation for over 20 years, in both the public and private sectors. Her experience at the City of Austin spans multiple departments including Public Works, Planning, Development Review, Capital Planning and Transportation. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Urban Geography from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Public Administration from the Penn State School of Public Affairs.

Brent Lloyd

Development Services Department

Brent Lloyd is an experienced land use attorney who currently serves as Development Officer in the Development Services Department, where he helps guide interpretation and administration of the City’s Land Development Code. A graduate of McCallum High School and a longtime Austin resident, Brent has worked on several significant regulatory initiatives over the last 10+ years and has advised all units of City government on land use issues. As an attorney in Washington State, Brent defended municipalities in litigation against developers and received an award from the governor for helping to develop a program incentivizing environmental protection through density transfers. He has published several articles on the law of urban planning, including an academic paper on the use of national constitutions to protect the environment and a widely cited article on comprehensive planning.

Andrea Bates

Watershed Protection Department

Andrea Bates is the Watershed Planning Manager for the Watershed Protection Department. She has worked for the City of Austin for five years on a variety of policy and planning initiatives, including watershed regulations, capital project planning, and master planning. She has nearly 15 years of experience as an environmental and open space planner, with a focus on integrating natural resource protection into the urban environment. Andrea has an undergraduate degree in environmental science and policy from Stanford University and a master’s degree in urban planning from MIT.

Danielle Morin

Austin Transportation Department

Danielle Morin is a Project Coordinator with the Austin Transportation Department’s Systems Development Division and has called Austin her home for over a decade. She has been employed with the City of Austin for over 5 years; during her tenure with the City she has been involved with development and land use review, transportation analysis, land development code initiatives, the Austin Strategic Mobility Plan, the Transportation Criteria Manual rewrite, right-of-way management, and has been instrumental in crafting various transportation-related policies and ordinances. Danielle is accredited with the Congress of New Urbanism and holds a BA in Geography with an emphasis in Urban and Regional Planning from Texas State University, where she is also currently pursuing her Master’s in Public Administration. 

Deborah Thomas

Law Department

Deborah Thomas currently serves as the Deputy City Attorney for the City of Austin. She has worked for the City of Austin Law Department for over 25 years. Her law practice focuses primarily on municipal law and land use law.

Deborah received her undergraduate degree in Health Planning and Administration from the Pennsylvania State University and a graduate degree in Health Administration from the University of Texas School of Public Health. She received her law degree from the University of Houston Law Center.

Prior to coming to the City, Deborah served as a hearings officer for the Texas Water Commission (now the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality).

Dee Dee Quinnelly

Planning & Zoning Department

Dee Dee Quinnelly is a Principal Planner in the Planning and Zoning Department. She has lived in Austin and worked for the City for more than eleven years, focusing on a variety of planning initiatives: Imagine Austin Comprehensive Plan, Zero Waste Master Plan, Small Area Plans, and Extraterritorial Jurisdictional (ETJ) planning. She holds her Masters in Community and Regional Planning with a focus in Urban Design from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. 

Erica Leak

Neighborhood Housing & Community Development Department

Erica Leak is the Acting Assistant Director of the City of Austin’s Housing Department and heads the Housing Policy division, which focuses on planning and policy initiatives for increasing household affordability in the City of Austin. She was instrumental in the creation of Austin’s first Strategic Housing Blueprint, which sets affordable housing goals, priorities and strategies for the city. Prior to that, Erica worked in the City of Austin’s Planning Department, leading area planning processes and developing multiple density bonus programs in the City of Austin resulting in the creation of income-restricted affordable housing. Erica has a master's degree in architecture from the University of Washington, Seattle, and has over a decade of experience in planning, affordable housing, and public policy. She grew up in Missouri and has lived in Austin for nearly a decade and a half.

Greg Dutton

Planning & Zoning Department

Greg Dutton is a Principal Planner in the Planning and Zoning Department. Greg has lived in Austin for more than eleven years and has worked in the city’s planning department during that time: on neighborhood plans, code amendments to current code, Imagine Austin, and currently the land development code rewrite.

Jessica King

Communications and Public Information Office

Jessica began her career with the City in 2002 as an executive assistant in the City Manager’s Office. She has also worked in the Environmental Resource Management Division and the Residential Permitting Section of the Watershed Protection & Development Review Department. Later, as the Strategic Initiatives Division Manager for Austin Resource Recovery, Jessica oversaw Zero Waste policy and program development, commercial waste reduction assistance, education and outreach, and long-range planning to implement the City of Austin’s Zero Waste Strategic Plan. Throughout her career with the City, Jessica helped develop and move policy changes through the system including amendments to the McMansion Ordinance, Billboard Ordinance, Universal Recycling Ordinance, and the Special Events Ordinance. She has a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Trinity University in San Antonio and a master’s degree in Public Affairs from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas. She’s lived in Austin for just over 20 years.

Donna Galati

Development Services Department

Donna Galati is a Program Manager III in the City of Austin’s Development Services Department, managing site plan, intake, and notification staff. Donna has been with the City of Austin for nearly 19 years in a variety of city planning roles. She is accredited with the Congress of New Urbanism and is certified with the U.S. Green Building Council as LEED Green Associate. Donna holds a BA in Geography from Texas State in San Marcos, TX and an MA in Human Services from St. Edward’s University in Austin, TX. She volunteers her time at the local and regional level with the Boy Scouts of America as well as at her kids’ local public school. Donna enjoys spending time with her family biking, hiking, and watching movies and can be found on Lady Bird Lake weekend mornings. She savors her time spent sewing, cross-stitching, and reading.

Matt Hollon

Watershed Protection Department

Matt Hollon is Division Manager of Planning for the City of Austin’s Watershed Protection Department. He has a Masters in Community and Regional Planning from the University of Texas and has worked in both the public and private sectors since 1990. His focus has ranged from watershed regulations to stormwater control design to watershed master planning. He is currently working on potential changes to Austin’s Land Development Code to increase green infrastructure, beneficially use stormwater, and improve flood management.

Brydan McNeely

Development Services Department

Brydan McNeely is a Consumer Services Manager with the Development Services Department where he’s worked on initiatives to improve processes and the customer experience within the department. During his time with the City of Austin has also worked as Business Process Consultant Senior within the Office of the Director at DSD, as well as a Supervisor and Operations Manager at the Municipal Court. In addition, he has over five years of private sector experience in operations management. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in both Political Science and Sociology from the University of Missouri, and a Masters of Public Administration with an urban policy and administration emphasis from the University of Missouri - Kansas City.

Christine Freundl

Economic Development Department

Christine is a Project Manager with the City of Austin Economic Development Department. An architect and urban designer by training, Christine has more than 10 years of experience in land planning and architecture, having worked both in the private and public sectors on downtown and campus master planning efforts, K-12 facilities, form-based codes, transit-oriented development, and public-private partnership negotiations and implementation. She has Master in Architecture and is certified by the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP), the United States Green Building Council (LEED-ND), and is an Economic Development Finance Professional (EDFP) through the National Development Council. After 12 years in Austin, Christine is still enamored with Austin’s greenbelts, live music, and unique food culture.

Erika López

Law Department

Erika López is an Assistant City Attorney for the City of Austin. She has a bachelor’s degree in International Development Studies and a minor in Latin American Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Erika received her law degree from the University of Texas School of Law.

Joe Calabrese

Austin Transportation Department

Joe Calabrese graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in Landscape Architecture with graduate hours in environmental land planning. He worked for the City of Austin for 25 years, held the positions of Environmental Officer (WPD), Process Manager (AE) for Real Estate and Public Involvement, Process Manager (AE) Utility Customer Care, and Process Manager for Austin 311. He was also a team member on the Land Development Code codification task force in 1988. He retired in 2013 and has recently been working in a temporary capacity for ATD on a Development Review project.

Lyndi Garwood

Planning & Zoning Department

Lyndi Garwood, a Senior Planner in the Planning and Zoning Department, has worked in the planning field since 2013. Lyndi has worked in the public sector on code development and amendments, and in the private sector on a range of projects from large campus planning to subdivisions to high rise developments. Lyndi has a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from UT – Austin and a Master of Planning from the University of Southern California.

Laura Keating

Planning & Zoning Department

Laura Keating is a planner working in the Planning and Zoning Department. Laura grew up in Austin and has studied and worked in planning here for over five years. Her background also includes architecture, urban design, and non-profit work.

Lacy Patterson

Planning & Zoning Department

Lacy Patterson was born and raised in Texas and has lived in Austin for 4 years while serving as a Planner in the Zoning and Planning Department. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Geography, with an emphasis in Urban and Regional Planning, from the acclaimed Geography Department at Texas State University in San Marcos. Lacy has 8 years of experience working with geospatial technology, regulatory analysis, and process management for public and private projects.

Scott Grantham

Parks & Recreation Department

Scott Grantham is an urban planner at the Parks and Recreation Department, having worked previously with Austin’s Planning and Zoning, and Development Services departments. Scott has a broad array of experience, having worked in public, private, and non-profit sectors, focused primarily on land use, transportation, and sustainable development. He holds a master’s degree in community and regional planning from the University of Texas, and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin in Education. Scott enjoys running with friends, quality time with family, and delicious food.