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Mayor Bowser Announces Key Appointments

Friday, March 8, 2019

(Washington, DC) – Today, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced a series of appointments in her Administration:

LaToya Foster, to be Director of the Mayor’s Office of Communications

Ms. Foster currently serves as the Interim Director of the Mayor’s Office of Communications. Over the past four years, Ms. Foster has served as Press Secretary, Deputy Communications Director of Media Relations, and Spokeswoman for Mayor Muriel Bowser. In those roles, Ms. Foster interfaces daily with the media on various government initiatives, including coordinating media interviews for the Mayor and other Administration officials, as well as providing on-the-record statements. Prior to her tenure with Mayor Bowser, Ms. Foster served as the Director of Communications and official spokesperson for the late four-term mayor of the District of Columbia, Marion S. Barry, Jr. In that role, Ms. Foster not only handled media relations, she was also responsible for strategic and crisis communications, as well as community engagement. Ms. Foster is also a seasoned radio and television commentator and currently hosts the Voice of the City on DC Radio and co-hosts The Power Block on the WOL/Radio One network.

Jonathan Kayne, to be Interim Director of the Office of Public-Private Partnerships (OP3)

Mr. Kayne is a senior executive with extensive real estate and operations experience. Most recently, he served as Director of Special Projects for the Deputy Mayor of Planning and Economic Development where he was responsible for real estate transactions outside of the core portfolio. Prior to rejoining the District, Mr. Kayne worked for DBT Development Group where he served as Chief Operating Officer. From 2008 to 2016, Mr. Kayne worked for the Department of General Services where he served multiple roles including Interim Director, COO, and Associate Director. Throughout his career he has held positions as Senior Vice President at Stellar Management, Senior Vice President Director of Real Estate for Federal Realty Investment Trust, Vice President Charles E. Smith Residential, and Vice President LaSalle Advisors. Mr. Kayne received a Master’s Degree in Real Estate from Johns Hopkins University.

Aasha Rajani, to be Director of the Mayor’s Office of Policy

Ms. Rajani currently serves as Senior Program Manager for the Council of Chief State School Officers. She has led and supported numerous domestic and international engagements with government officials at the state and district level on effective policy and program implementation. Specifically, Ms. Rajani has advised on the implementation of college and career ready standards and school improvement systems to state departments of education, provided technical assistance to the U.S. Department of Education Investing in Innovation (i3) grant, and supported key reforms in educator preparation for the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). Additionally, Ms. Rajani has worked on an international level with the UK Department for International Development to build the capacity of the Chief Minister’s Special Monitoring Unit in improving outcomes across education, health, water, and sanitation for 100 million residents in the Punjab province of Pakistan. Ms. Rajani has a Bachelor of Arts in History, Middle Eastern Studies, and Government from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Science in Public Management and Governance from the London School of Economics.

Gabriel Robinson, to be Interim Director of the Department of Motor Vehicles

Mr. Robinson has served as the Chief Operating Officer at the Department of Public Works (DPW) since 2016. In this role, he is the senior executive and leader for all administrative operations and responsible for coordinating and implementing all strategic decisions for human capital, training and development, labor relations, information technology, agency performance, communications, administrative services, risk management, and procurements. Prior to serving at DPW, Mr. Robinson served at the Department of Motor from 2005 until 2016. From 2012 until 2016, he served as an Associate Director at the DMV. As an associate director, Mr. Robinson was a principal advisor and leader for all administrative operations, overseeing management and program analysis, service integrity, human resources, investigations, procurement, performance management and measurement, customer service, correspondence, fleet management, communications and public information, facility management and build out, risk management, and employee training and development. Mr. Robinson holds as Associate of Arts in Business Administration from Okaloosa–Walton Community College and a Bachelor of Science in Business Management and Human Resources from Florida State University.