Leon County’s Children Services Council will move forward with interviewing one candidate for its executive director position.
Cecka Rose Green, executive director of the Children's Home Society of Florida, was one of three candidates who made it past the first round of interviews.
The two other candidates, Kelly Otte and Chris Letsos, dropped out before the second round.
Chief Judge Jonathan Sjostrom explained last week the council has received lobbying from the public on the hiring process.
“People saying stuff to us basically along the lines of, 'If you do this, or don’t do that, the house will burn down. The crops will not be harvested, and the sun will not rise in the east.' The more I thought about that, the more I decided, it just wasn’t true.”
Two other candidates that received a first interview – but weren’t among the top three – won’t be called back for a second interview.
The council will decide whether to hire Green or continue with the process after they interview her for the position.
Green has years of experience in government and the non-profit sector. She currently leads a nonprofit aimed at promoting equity, diversity and inclusion within youth services. For a decade, she served as communications director for the Florida Housing Finance Corporation, the state's affordable housing funding arm. Green, a Florida A&M University alumna, also founded the fundraising effort #FAMU10for10 Challenge.
