Philadelphia Managing Director Adam Thiel steps down as Parker’s administration undergoes staffing shuffle

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As Mayor Cherelle Parker’s administration nears 1,000 days in office, several key positions are being filled by new people.

Less than a year ahead of next year’s mayoral primary election, the mayor announced Managing Director Adam Thiel would be leaving his office in what was only described as a return “to the private sector.”

The mayor spent almost a half-hour offering a glowing review of Thiel’s time in office, which included an extended leave for military service that occurred when two of the city’s major labor unions went on strike last summer.

From 2016 to 2024, Thiel was the fire commissioner and also a deputy managing director. He also was the head of the city’s Office of Emergency Management from 2019 to 2022.

The man who filled in for Thiel now has his job. Carlton Williams, who ran the mayor’s “Clean and Green” initiatives, is the new managing director.

Williams started out as a park guard, working within the parks system in the city as a youth. He has held a series of positions in city government, including streets commissioner and senior positions in the Parks and Recreation Department and the Department of Licenses and Inspections.

He spoke of his efforts to help people at all times after being given one of the most important positions in city government.

“No matter who you are, or where you live, and what neighborhood you’re from, people can see me on the street and ask me, ‘Can you help me?’ I give them my card and tell them, ‘Call me, I’ll see what I can do,’” Williams said.

Parker also announced that Monique Galloway, an assistant U.S. attorney based in Philadelphia, will replace Renee Garcia as Philadelphia’s city solicitor. She said she would work to do more than just advise her city government clients.

“The plus is that the law is upheld, that public trust is maintained, and that we do the right thing every time, for the right reason,” Galloway said.

Ralph DiPietro, a deputy commissioner in the Department of Licenses and Inspection, has also been appointed Licenses and Inspections commissioner. DiPietro previously led the office under former Mayor Jim Kenney.

Patricia “Trish” Wellenbach, who was previously Parker’s chief strategy and partnership officer, has been appointed to a vacant deputy mayor position.

The transitions will not occur overnight. Parker said it will be a warm handoff over the next four to six weeks as the new cabinet members work with their predecessors to get a handle on the responsibilities of their new positions.

The departures aren’t the first major departures of the Parker cabinet. Former chief deputy mayors Sinceré Harris and Aren Platt, who were key players in the mayor’s campaign committee, have each left for political positions and could be a part of her reelection campaign, which will most likely ramp up after the end of the year.