The City of Everett has hired directors for two departments that were at the center of last spring’s budget hearings. Jhenny Saint-Surin is the city’s first director of multicultural affairs and community engagement, and Danielle Palazzo is the director of youth development and enrichment. Both started Monday, November 9, the city said in an announcement posted to its Facebook page Monday night.
The announcement was brief. Saint-Surin, the city said, brings “extensive experience connecting communities with local government” and is fluent in Haitian Creole, Spanish and French. “She’ll help more residents feel heard and connected to City Hall,” the post said. Palazzo “brings more than 20 years of municipal experience” and “will work with our youth and families to strengthen programs and create opportunities for kids to explore their interests.” The city did not say where either had worked before, what they will be paid, or how many people applied.
A job that replaced the DEI office
The multicultural affairs post did not exist a year ago. Mayor Robert Van Campen’s fiscal 2027 budget proposal, released May 14, dissolved the city’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion office and replaced it with two positions: an equity and access officer in human resources, who serves as the city’s coordinator under the Americans with Disabilities Act at a top salary of $82,000, and a director of a new Mayor’s Office of Multicultural Affairs and Community Engagement.
At the May 27 budget hearing, Van Campen told the City Council that the DEI office had never been written into the administrative code. “You can’t eliminate a department that doesn’t exist,” he said. Councilor Vivian Nguyen pressed him on what expertise he had consulted and said the plan “sounds like you’re equating multicultural to race and faith,” asking who would serve residents with disabilities and neurodiverse residents. Van Campen said the two new roles would. Councilor Katy Rogers called the change “more inclusive in its verbiage” and asked that the new director act as liaison to the Cultural Council. Budget Director Margaret Micherda told the council that money for events that did not happen last year, such as Lunar New Year, had gone back to free cash.
The council passed the $312.2 million budget 8-1 on June 8 with the new office in it. The announcement Monday is the first public word that the director’s job has been filled.
A biography on the website of the Somerville Media Center, where a Jhenny Saint-Surin is listed as a member of the board of directors, describes a long-term Somerville resident with more than ten years as a senior program and partnerships professional in municipal government, international philanthropy and the private sector, with a focus on community engagement, grant management and work with policymakers, nonprofits and funders. The city’s post did not mention Somerville, and Everett MA News could not confirm Monday night that the two listings describe the same person.
A youth department without a director for a year
The youth development job has been vacant for a year. At the May 27 hearing, Roberto Velazquez identified himself as the acting director of youth development, in the role since November 2025 at a salary of $116,000 while the director’s job sat empty. He told the council the city would hire about 260 teenagers for the summer, down from about 300, and would put all 120 applicants aged 14 and 15 to work on a $125,000 beautification line at 15 hours a week. He also said the city’s wellness center would close for a couple of months, with credits or refunds for members.
That night the council made the only cut that survived two nights of hearings: $105,000 from the department, the salary of the assistant director. Councilor Guerline Alcy Jabouin moved the cut and Councilor Peter Pietrantonio seconded it, saying the wellness center manager could help run the Recreation Center and “we know we’re losing money up there.” Councilor Stephanie Martins voted no, pointing out that Velazquez was himself the assistant director filling in as director. The cut passed 5-4 by the transcript’s count, and the department budget was approved as amended.
Monday’s announcement did not say whether Velazquez remains with the department, whether the assistant director position was restored, or whether Palazzo was hired into the director’s line that stood vacant through the hearings. The city’s website still lists the department as Youth Development and Enrichment, with the Recreation Center at 47 Elm Street and the summer youth jobs program among its responsibilities.
What comes next
The announcement did not say whether either appointment goes before the City Council. The council controls the salaries through the budget, and the fiscal 2028 budget hearings next spring will be the first time either director appears before the body to defend a department line. Residents who want to reach the new multicultural affairs office can call City Hall at 617-394-2270 or use the city’s 311 line; the city has not yet posted a direct number or email for the office.
Everett MA News will add the two directors’ salaries, prior employers and the number of applicants for each job when the city makes that information available.
