Former Tampa City Councilwoman Lisa Montelione has a new gig.
The native New Yorker accepted a position at the Corporation to Develop Communities, Inc (CDC of Tampa) in its Career Resource Center. Her responsibilities will be developing relationships with employers in the Tampa Bay area to assist the CDC’s clients in finding jobs.
“Bringing Ms. Montelione onboard expands the reach of our Career Resource Center, allowing us to have a greater impact across the Tampa Bay region,” says CDC CEO Ernest Coney. “Her dedication to the community and her hard work over the past several years to help those who need a hand up will lift up the lives of those participating in our training programs. I am thrilled to have Lisa join the team.”
A local community activist in the North Tampa area, Montelione first ran for public office for the Tampa City Council District 7 seat in 2011 when she said she couldn’t find anybody who she could support in the race against incumbent Joe Caetano.
That year, she defeated Caetano and won re-election in 2015 without drawing an opponent. That fall, Montelione announced she would run in 2016 for the House District 63 seat, occupied by Republican Shawn Harrison, who was also a former representative of Tampa City Council District 7.
It was expected to be a close race, as the HD 63 seat is truly one of the few swing House districts in Florida, having gone back and forth between Republicans and Democrats in various election cycles. It ended being extremely close last November, but in the end, Harrison defeated Montelione.
“Taking on the employer relations role is so much more than just connecting the CDC of Tampa’s Career Resource Center’s graduates to Tampa Bay employers,” Montelione said in a statement. “Joining the CDC of Tampa’s team of professionals who work every day to end the cycle of poverty is an honor and a privilege. I look forward to serving the clients of the CDC of Tampa find rewarding employment and assisting employers [to] fulfill their commitment to diversity and inclusion.”
Created in 1992 and initially led by Chloe Coney, CDC of Tampa works on curbing poverty and the deterioration of neighborhoods in East Tampa.
