ST. LOUIS – Betherny Williams, an engineer in the Missouri Department of Transportation, was appointed director of the city’s streets department on Friday by Mayor Tishaura O. Jones.
Williams, who is currently the MoDOT’s regional engineer for northern St. Louis County, will be the first black woman to head the streets department, which oversees the streets, traffic, garbage and towing divisions of the city.
Jones also appointed Fredrecka McGlown on Friday as director of the St. Louis Training and Employment Agency, commonly known as SLATE.
His predecessor, Howard Hayes, was recently appointed Director of Social Services for St. Louis County by County Executive Sam Page.
McGlown previously worked at SLATE from 2014 to 2018 as a case manager, program specialist and co-manager of the agency’s young adult division.
Since 2018, she has been a life coach at MERS Goodwill’s Excel Center, an adult high school equivalency program.
McGlown is also CEO and Founder of Black Girl Millenial World LLC, which advises black millennial women on academic, personal and professional growth.
Williams succeeds Jamie Wilson as director of streets. Wilson will remain in city government as traffic commissioner, a civil service post. He was simultaneously the director of streets and the acting traffic commissioner, said mayor’s spokesperson Nick Dunne.