Chambana Sun

Champaign City manager Dorothy David introduced three new employees to the community during a Champaign City Council meeting on Nov. 1, including new Public Works director Khalil Zaied.

"He has already rolled up his sleeves," David said of Zaied in the meeting. "He has a heart for people, but an amazing technical expertise that I think is going to be exceptional as we evaluate and take our public works services to the next level. So I'm very grateful that he has joined our organization."

Zaied started a few weeks ago, but David said she wanted the opportunity to introduce him during the meeting. Zaied comes to Champaign from KCI Technologies in Maryland, where he served as vice president of Special Projects. He also served as deputy City manager for Public Works and Transportation for the City of El Paso, Texas; and he has close to 20 years of experience working with the City of Baltimore.

David also introduced Kaylee Barr, who was brought in as an administrative assistant in the Finance Department. Barr will serve as a deputy City clerk and work with Freedom of Information Act requests and Open Meetings Act compliance. David noted that Barr has worked in compliance departments in other cities previously.

The other new employee who was introduced during the meeting was Ben Holzhausen, Champaign's new Operations supervisor for the City’s Public Works Department. David said Holzhausen will supervise and direct the sewer crew as well as yard-waste collection and snow-and-ice removal. He previously worked in Operations in the City of Urbana.