ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — St. Louis County's chief diversity officer has left for a job with the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority.
Jack Thomas' last day was March 2, and Fran Lyles-Wiggins will take over in an interim capacity, a spokesman for County Executive Sam Page said.
Thomas was hired by St. Louis County in July 2018. He's now assistant vice president for business diversity development at the entity that runs Nashville International Airport.
Thomas, who made $120,016 in 2019 with the county, said he left knowing that Lyles-Wiggins, formerly deputy director, would continue to run the program and that it would be "in good shape."
"We were off to a pretty good start," Thomas said. "Obviously we had some hurdles, but we were starting to make a difference with the opportunities that were available." He said the office's mission is to "introduce opportunities for a segment of the population that had not had ample opportunities with St. Louis County government."
"St. Louis County still has a long way to go," Thomas said.
He said when he was with the county, his compliance office counted four employees. Hazel Erby, who became the county's director of diversity, equity and inclusion in May 2019, has another three or four employees, Thomas said.
Before his time with the county, Thomas held jobs with the Jackson (Mississippi) Municipal Airport Authority and St. Louis Lambert International Airport. He had held posts with the St. Louis Community Development Agency/St. Louis Development Corp. He began his career as a community development specialist in St. Louis County government.
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