Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey on Monday announced his latest nominations to lead various city departments, as well as his appointment for city treasurer.

Gainey has nominated Kathryn Vargas, current acting director of the Department of Parks and Recreation, Chris Hornstein, current acting director of Public Works and Kim Lucas, current acting director of Mobility and Infrastructure to retain their roles permanently.

Jennifer Gula, who currently serves as the acting director of finance, will continue in her current role temporarily before transitioning to a new position as city treasurer, a position that was merged into the finance director position during the prior administration. Gainey said he plans to reestablish the position later this year and appoint Gula to the role.

“I am pleased to announce the nominations of these distinguished leaders,” Gainey said.

As director of Parks and Recreation, Kathryn Vargas will be responsible for overseeing safe parks, facilities and programs.

Before working for the city, Vargas was director of Allegheny Partners for Out-of-School Time at United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania and senior manager at United for Children.

Chris Hornstein, who will serve as the director of Public Works, will oversee the operation and maintenance of essential city infrastructure, including streets, park facilities and other public facilities.

Hornstein will be charged with implementing process changes to better prepare the department for future snow storms.

He has more than 20 years of experience in design, construction and maintenance of grounds and facilities. He joined the city as a FUSE Fellow in 2017, and has served as assistant director of Public Works since 2018.

As director of Mobility and Infrastructure, Kim Lucas will oversee the transportation of people and goods throughout the city. She also will oversee the operational management of public right-of-way including sidewalks, curbs, streets and bridges.

Lucas joined DOMI in 2019 as assistant director for Planning, Policy and Permitting, and previously served as a supervisory transportation management planner and sustainable transportation branch manager for the Washington D.C. District Department of Transportation. She served also as a bicycle and pedestrian program specialist and program manager of bikeshare and bicycle parking programs.

Acting Director of Finance Jennifer Gula will assume the role of Deputy Director of Finance and City Treasurer later this year, when the role is re-established. She will oversee revenue collection for the city and school district, and handle fund management for the city.

Gula has worked for Pittsburgh for 22 years, starting in the cashier’s office. She later served as an internal auditor and later as an investment officer before becoming the assistant director of finance in 2018. She has more than 20 years of experience in finance, city budgets and banking.

The Gainey administration said they will announce a nominee for a permanent finance director in the coming weeks.

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