Mayor Hamilton Appoints Angela Van Rooy as Interim Communications Director and Crystal Ritter as Interim Public Engagement Director

Mayor John Hamilton announced today the appointments of Angela Van Rooy as Interim Communications Director and Crystal Ritter as Interim Public Engagement Director for the City of Bloomington, effective July 17, 2023. 

Van Rooy and Ritter will serve as interim directors in the Mayor’s Office, succeeding recent Communications Director Andrew Krebbs and outgoing Public Engagement Director Kaisa Goodman. 

Ritter has worked with the City’s Parks and Recreation Department since 2009, serving as Program/Facility Coordinator since 2017. She previously worked as the Community Engagement Manager for Girl Scouts of Central Indiana, building community connections for Girl Scouts volunteers across six counties in south-central Indiana. Prior to this, she served as the Program and Interim Unit Director at the Boys & Girls Club of Bloomington-Ellettsville Unit. 

Van Rooy has served in the City’s Housing and Neighborhood Development (HAND) Department since 2019, first as a Housing Specialist and since 2020 as Neighborhood Services Program Manager. Prior to working at the City, she was a stay-at-home mom to her three children, after spending three years conducting research in East Africa as she pursued a graduate degree in anthropology. 

Both Ritter and Van Rooy will split their time between their current departments and the Mayor’s Office and will continue to oversee their programs and initiatives in Parks and Recreation and HAND, respectively, in collaboration with other members of their departments. In their new roles, Ritter will serve as a liaison to community groups and organizations, while Van Rooy will be the City’s media contact and communications strategist. While serving in their dual positions, Ritter will earn an annual salary of $59,716 and Van Rooy will earn an annual salary of $63,894.

“Crystal Ritter and Angela Van Rooy are both very talented and committed public servants,” said Mayor John Hamilton. “I deeply appreciate them stepping up to serve as interim directors, and their departments for making this possible. I very much look forward to working with them directly in the Mayor’s Office.”

Krebbs joined the City in 2019 as Digital Brand Manager and served as Communications Director from 2021-2023. He recently left City government to serve as Executive Director of the Monroe County Humane Association. Goodman began work with the City in 2020 as Special Projects Manager for the Department of Economic and Sustainable Development, served as the Mayor’s Chief of Staff from 2021-2022, and has been Public Engagement Director since the beginning of 2023. She is leaving employment to attend Stanford Law School.

“Andrew Krebbs and Kaisa Goodman are both truly exceptional public servants who have given their full talents to the people of Bloomington for these past years,” said Mayor John Hamilton. “While we will miss them tremendously, I am grateful for their partnership personally, and it’s wonderful to see them both pursue such exciting opportunities ahead. I know they will continue to make the world a better place.” 

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