Palmetto Bay hires new village spokeswoman

The village of Palmetto Bay has a new public information officer.

Jackie Calzadilla was hired in early January, two weeks before the village’s long-time spokesman, William Kress, was given the option to resign or be fired.

City Manager Edward Silva and Human Resources Director Olga Cadaval declined to comment. Kress called it a “good run.”

“This is an exciting time for me and I wish the best for the village of Palmetto Bay, which although I’ve been a long-time resident of the City of Miami, I warmly called my ‘home’ for so many years,” said Kress, who worked at the village since March 2008. He is now working as media consultant for different municipalities.

Calzadilla is the daughter of Sgt. Angel Calzadilla, Miami’s longtime police spokesman and department executive who died in 2011. Previously, she worked as a communications specialist for the town of Miami Lakes. She holds a master’s degree in public administration and undergraduate degrees in public relations and psychology from Florida International University.

Cadaval declined to allow the new spokeswoman to comment.

“I don’t want to highlight employees that are no longer working here, nor do I want to highlight new hires,” Cadaval said.

According to Cadaval, the village has two full-time positions budgeted for the communication’s department and Kress’ position is currently not being advertised.

This story was originally published February 12, 2016 at 1:46 PM with the headline "Palmetto Bay hires new village spokeswoman."