August 17th, 2021
County Executive Adam Bello announced today that he has appointed Director of Communications and Special Events Steve Barz to serve as Assistant Director of Frederick Douglass Greater Rochester International Airport. Gary Walker will succeed Barz as Monroe County’s new Director of Communications and Special Events and Tanner Jubenville will also join the communications team.
“I’ve been fortunate to build a great team here in Monroe County, Gary Walker and Steve Barz are both tremendous public servants. I look forward to working with both of them as we Bring Monroe Back and enact our powerful recovery agenda,” said County Executive Bello.
Director Barz was an essential member of Monroe County’s team leading the emergency communications efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic. Director Barz will be transitioning to the Department of Aviation to strengthen and improve our marketing and communications efforts.
“I could not have asked for a better partner than Steve Barz during the pandemic. Steve worked countless hours to ensure our community had immediate access to critical-life saving information,” said Bello, “I will always be grateful to Steve for the role he played during our fight against the pandemic. I’m grateful that he will continue to serve Monroe County in his new role in the Department of Aviation.”
“I want to thank the County Executive for the opportunity of lifetime to serve as Director of Communications during one of the most difficult times in our County’s history,” said Barz, “When this new opportunity at the airport arose, I expressed interest to the County Executive, and I am thankful for the opportunity to continue serving Monroe County in this new capacity.”
Gary Walker is the Integrated Communications Manager for Global Offerings at Xerox where he spent the last six years leading communications planning and execution. Prior to his time at Xerox, Walker served as Director of Communications and Special Events in the City of Rochester for eight years under Mayors Duffy and Richards and as Vice President of Television for WXXI Public Broadcasting.
“Gary will be a tremendous asset to Monroe County, he is a wealth of knowledge with the diverse skills needed to engage our community as we seek to make a historic $144 Million investment in American Rescue Plan dollars. I am thrilled that he has agreed to join our team as we move our recovery agenda forward,” said Bello.
“I am excited to return to public service, and I want to thank County Executive Bello for his vote of confidence,” said Gary Walker, “Monroe County is on the rise, and I am ready to play a role in our recovery effort and beyond.”
Tanner Jubenville will be joining the Department of Communications and Special Events after being a trusted voice in our community on 13 WHAM since August 2017. Prior to that he worked for WETM-TV in Elmira, New York.
“Tanner’s passion for our community has always been apparent in his work on television, telling the stories of our community and keeping us informed,” said County Executive Bello, “I’m excited to have Tanner join our communications team, and know he will be an asset to County government.”
