Phoenix Mayor-Elect Greg Stanton Chooses Transition Team

Phoenix Mayor-Elect Greg Stanton

​Phoenix Mayor-elect Greg Stanton today chose Karlene Keogh Parks and Paul Luna to lead his transition team before he takes office on January 3.

And, as we reported earlier, Phoenix Community & Economic Development Director Paul Blue will also be part of that transition team over the next 60 days. When Stanton is sworn in, however, Blue will become the mayor-elect's first chief of staff.

"This team represents three of the most talented people I know in this community," Stanton says in a press release. "They bring expertise in business leadership, non-profit management and education."
Keogh Parks is a senior vice president with HUB International Insurance Services of Arizona and co-founder of the Keogh Health Connection, non-profit organization that serves primarily disadvantaged women and their children, in part, by helping them get affordable healthcare during times of personal crisis.

Her late husband, Kevin Keogh, worked for the city since the late 1970s, and served as its financial director until his highly-publicized death on December 8, 2004, when he climbed atop his moving Mercedes and jumped.

Luna is president and chief executive officer of Helios Education Foundation, the largest non-profit organization serving Arizona and Florida focused solely on education, according to its website.

Keogh Parks and Luna will serve as unpaid volunteers.

Stanton says Blue will ensure his office is focused on improving the city economy and attracting high-wage jobs.

The team will help staff the Mayor's Office with "the very best and brightest," Stanton says.