City names new employee
This item is available in full to subscribers.
To continue reading, you will need to either log in to your subscriber account, or purchase a new subscription.
If you are a current print subscriber, you can set up a free website account and connect your subscription to it by clicking here.
If you are a digital subscriber with an active, online-only subscription then you already have an account here. Just reset your password if you've not yet logged in to your account on this new site.
Otherwise, click here to view your options for subscribing.
Please log in to continue |
EVANSTON — Rocco O’Neill said he is happy to be home and excited about his new position as community development director for his hometown of Evanston.
O’Neill was born and raised in Evanston. He graduated from Evanston High School and attended the University of Wyoming, where he graduated in 2016 with a degree in political science and economics.
O’Neill comes back to Evanston after living and working for two years in Denver, as an assistant branch manager and sales representative for Beacon Roofing Supply. The position in Evanston opened up at a time when O’Neill wanted to come back to Evanston and he wanted to use his degree by working in some form of government.
“I will give a different perspective to this position,” O’Neill said, “and I am naïve enough to go after things that may have been tried before, but I will approach it differently.”
O’Neill’s lease on a home in Denver hasn’t expired yet, so he is temporarily living with his parents. Later he hopes to buy a home. His girlfriend, Brinae Sanders, lives in Laramie and will be entering law school there.
O’Neill said his job duties will be to work with the community and all city agencies in creating economic opportunities and marketing the Evanston area. He said his job description will be fluid and will evolve as he learns what the community wants and needs.
“If I try to do things the community doesn’t support, I won’t get anywhere in my job,” O’Neill said.
He said a recognizable need is for affordable and quality higher education, such as a technical or community college site located in Evanston.
“The easiest way to inject more workers into the community is through higher education,” O’Neill said. “We need to get young people involved and excited about the community. Get them out of their comfort zone. They are naïve but ambitious. The millennials can bring new energy and new ideas to Evanston.”
O’Neill said his first steps as community development director will be to meet everyone he will be working with, find out what the resources are and how to use them to advantage, what levers to pull, and the processes of city government.
“We have the ingredients at hand to capitalize on the Wasatch Front,” he said, “and I bring to this position the optimism and stubbornness of youth.”
