Maria Davis lived in Pennsylvania for her early years, but moved to Florida to attend a vocational school for horticultural and agronomical studies, and then opened her own landscape consulting business. She later graduated magna cum laude from Barry University in Miami with a Bachelors Degree.
Ms. Davis began working for the Miami-Dade County Public Schools in 1985. She held six positions over a 12-year period with ever-expanding responsibilities. She directed all Hurricane Andrew recovery efforts. In her final School Board position as Associate Superintendent, she supervised a 1400-member staff and directed all aspects of facilities operations for over 400 schools and ancillary facilities.
Ms. Davis accepted the Director of Public Works position in Miami Springs, where she turned a once-drab boulevard into a visitor destination, implemented an ecologically sound program for aquatic weed control in the City's canals, directed the recovery efforts from three natural disasters in three years, and negotiated over $2 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reimbursements.
Ms. Davis was selected as City Manager when the position opened. Along with traditional responsibilities, she enhanced communications between City Hall and the residents, and oversaw the City's upstart operations of the 180-acre golf course and country club that had been run by the City of Miami for many years.
Based on her keen budgetary oversight, Ms. Davis was hired as City Manager by the City of South Miami, where she successfully stabilized a city that was facing a fiscal shortfall, labor unrest, operational deficiencies and court litigation. The inherited $1.4 million shortfall was converted into a surplus within two years. She also served as the Executive Director of the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA), directed aggressive crime reduction/prevention initiatives, acquired 10 acres for the City's green space inventory, and coordinated Baptist Health Systems with the University of Miami to implement a free pediatric clinic for underserved residents in a City-owned facility.
Since becoming Lake Park's Town Manager in 2007, Ms. Davis has established a stormwater utility, improved the downtown's appearance with streetscaping, renovated the downtown alleyways and the four-acre waterfront park, and took aggressive action to address construction-related deficiencies at the newly built marina. She has also made commission meetings more available by re-broadcasting the meetings on cable television and improved communication with newsletters.
Ms. Davis is a member of the Palm Beach City and County Managers Association, Florida City and County Managers Association, and International City Managers Association. She is an avid reader and enjoys spending time outdoors, especially paddling.
Town Manager
