St. Pete taps James Corbett, Amy Foster for city leadership roles

James Corbett and Amy Foster move into St. Petersburg leadership roles.

The city of St. Petersburg has announced new additions to municipal leadership, naming James Corbett as the city’s development administrator and former City Council member Amy Foster as the community and neighborhood affairs administrator.

Corbett will take the place of interim city development administrator Joe Zeoli, who will assume his former role as managing director of city development. Foster succeeds Corbett in her new position as community and neighborhood affairs administrator.

“James Corbett has demonstrated superb dedication, professionalism, talent and growth in his 16 years with the city and will be an asset to our organization in this new role. Amy Foster’s experience in the advocacy sector and as a City Council member makes her an ideal person to lead our Community and Neighborhood Affairs department and I’m thrilled to welcome her to the team. I’d also like to thank Joe Zeoli for his excellent work as Interim City Development Administrator,” St. Pete Mayor Ken Welch said in a statement.

The city received several external applications for city development administrator, according to a press release announcing the recent hires. After careful consideration, the city selected Corbett, citing his experience in city government and direct work with St. Pete.

“I’m passionate about being able to help facilitate the growth of our great City while making sure we hold onto all the wonderful characteristics that make St. Pete unique,” Corbett said in a statement. “I’m grateful for this new opportunity to help St. Pete continue to shine.”

Corbett began working with the city in 2005 within the Codes Compliance department. Over his 16-year tenure, he has served as an inspection supervisor, operations analyst, operations manager, director of Codes Compliance and most recently, as community and neighborhood affairs administrator. Corbett is a Florida Certified Building Contractor, and received his bachelor’s in finance from the University of South Florida.

Prior to joining the city, he worked in the financial industry.

Foster, who served on the City Council from 2014-2021, currently works as CEO of the Homeless Leadership Alliance of Pinellas, a role she’s held since late 2020. Prior to that she served on the Continuum of Care Board for six years, including as its Chair from 2017 to 2019. Foster also previously served as the executive director of the Guardian Ad Litem Foundation of Tampa Bay, where she increased resources and support for children in foster care by more than 500% and advocated for important legislative changes to protect children’s safety and rights.

Foster served as the National Collaborative Network Manager for a National Science Foundation project providing professional development to 43 states to build public/private cross sector partnerships. ‘

“I am excited for the opportunity to bring my decades of experience in leadership and advocacy roles to the City of St. Petersburg where I will be part of an excellent team of professionals working to ensure equitable access to quality of life within our city,” Foster said in a statement. “I want to thank Mayor Ken Welch and City Administrator Rob Gerdes for entrusting me with this important work and I’m looking forward to this next chapter.”

The pair will take on their new roles on Aug. 15.