Shelby County launches new Office of Innovation, led by Harris appointee Danielle Inez

Shelby County Government launched a new Office of Innovation, an office tasked with performance analysis as well as projects ranging from the neighborhood and economic development to student achievement and employee retention strategies.

“We want to make sure that we’re not just doing things because they feel good to us, we want to make sure we’re doing things the community can feel,” said Danielle Inez, director of innovation and performance analysis, who will lead the office.

Inez started in her new role on Sept. 1, also the first day of Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris’ second term in office.

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Previously, Inez was Harris’ chief of staff, named to that position in September 2019. Before becoming chief of staff, she was a special assistant to the mayor and, before his election in 2018, she managed Harris’ mayoral campaign after a nine-year career as a senior marketing manager.

Now, she’s in what could potentially be “her dream job,” Inez says, leading a team of four Black women as her offices “connect(s) challenges of the root causes of an issue to the solutions.”

Matt Kuhn becomes new chief of staff

Taking over the role of chief of staff is Matt Kuhn, who comes to the role from working as chief administrator of the Juvenile Court Clerk’s Office for the past four years.

Kuhn’s ties to Shelby County Government go back years: His father was a Shelby County attorney. In 2009, he was appointed to the county commission, serving in that role for about a year —even proposing to his wife, current Criminal Court Clerk Heidi Kuhn, in commission chambers

And, after that, then-Shelby County Mayor Joe Ford appointed him to the position of senior policy advisor.

Because of that, Kuhn has seen the county budget from both commission and administrative sides, he said.

“I think that can help bring a perspective that wasn’t here before,” Kuhn said. “Mayor Harris will be the 18th elected official I’ve gotten to work for and the phenomenal opportunity that I see with Mayor Harris is he’s so involved with details of policy. He will make everyone else make sure they’re on their game. … They’ve done a phenomenal job over the last four years in messaging, in putting together the right programs. I think what I get really excited about is getting to work with some of the people that are up here and some of the policies they’re doing.”

Childcare benefits, student passport program absorbed by office

The new office of innovation will oversee both short-term and long-term initiatives. Some will focus internally, on Shelby County employees. Others will look externally, at impacting county residents.

In its first days in existence, the office is absorbing some programs and initiatives already in existence, including a project to revitalize the Metro Shopping Plaza in South Memphis and a plan to improve Sherry Hopper Goodman Park.

And, the office has been tasked with creating a sustainability plan for the 901 Student Passport Program, which launched in 2020 and provides free museum visits to school children. That will also expand with an “art in a box” program, Inez said, with students receiving art projects to do at home.

Other communities have offered free museum access for years, Inez said, and Shelby County wants to offer that too.

“Right now, ours is wholly managed by the mayor’s office, but that’s not necessarily sustainable, so (we are) thinking through how we take a program like that that connects children in our community with something positive they can do with their parents and exposes them to the type of stories they need to learn about Memphis and Shelby County so we instill community pride, hope, and even aspirations,” Inez said.

The office will also take on a pilot program providing a $300 monthly childcare benefit for some Shelby County employees, and it will take on a $4.5 million initiative called ShelbyCares, which seeks to improve health outcomes throughout the county.

Team members include Marcina Egedegbe, senior administrator of the neighborhood and economic development, Jennifer Sharp, strategic communications specialist, and Tomisha Edwards, administrative coordinator.

Harris said he “couldn’t be more optimistic” about what the new office will accomplish in his new term as mayor.

“We’ve got to be operating at the cutting edge,” Harris said. “We’ve got to be pushing as hard as we can to innovate and make sure we’re performing at optimal conditions. That’s what the office is about. It’s what I came in pushing hard for.”

Office hopes to impact families, with leadership of a mom

Inez’ role in county government has been demanding from day one. With a busy job and as a solo parent of a seven-year-old boy, she manages balancing her passions and raising her son, she said.

She was working on a campaign while pregnant with her son, she said, so “his life has only ever been this.”

“Now when he talks, you ask him what he wants to do and it’s between some job where he gives homeless people houses and being the president,” Inez said. “Those are the two choices.”

Shelby County’s next era under Harris is dedicated to the county’s children. And the new office of innovation can have a significant impact on families, Inez said, with its work on student achievement, childcare benefits, and more.

“I’m not saying it had to be a mom to lead this office, I’m just saying it doesn’t hurt,” she said with a laugh. “I’m really excited about what we can do together. I’ve always said when people ask me what motivates me is that what motivates me is the opportunity to drive down these streets as a grandma and point to things that still exist because of the work that I’m doing today.”

Katherine Burgess covers county government and religion. She can be reached at katherine.burgess@commercialappeal.com or followed on Twitter @kathsburgess.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Shelby County launches new Office of Innovation, led by Danielle Inez