CRA hires LeFlore-Calloway as Assistant Director

FORT MYERS, Fla.  — The City of Fort Myers Community Redevelopment Agency has hired Phyllis R. LeFlore-Calloway as assistant director.

In her new position she will be responsible for assisting the CRA Director in the operations of the agency and the implementation of projects and programs contained in the Community Redevelopment Plans. LeFlore-Calloway will be involved in all facets of the organization including policy making, project management, budgeting, planning, personnel management, and public relations.

“Phyllis is fully invested to serve the Southwest Florida and City of Fort Myers communities,” Executive Director, Fort Myers CRA, Michele Hylton-Terry said. “Her experience in the legal industry and familiarity with community needs will provide the necessary resources and tools needed to assist in the continued growth of the agency.”

LeFlore-Calloway has more than three decades of successful experience in legal, employee, project management and operations with focus on restructuring and sustainability. She specializes in legal analysis, contract negotiations, and professional development and has traveled to present topics in legal and organizational management during training sessions around the United States. 

She began her career with the City of Fort Myers in 2018, serving as the legal administrator and advisor in the City’s Attorney Office. In April 2021, she was selected to serve as the City’s Interim City Manager. 

LeFlore-Calloway holds a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice with a double major in Sociology from Delta State University and a Juris Doctorate Degree from Novus University. She formerly served as a board member with St. John First Missionary Baptist Church as well as former legal consultant with the Dunbar Festival Committee. She has been an invited visiting professor at both Florida Gulf Coast University and Florida Southwestern State College in past years. 

“I am a strong believer in positive thinking in the workplace, staff development to encourage growth of teams and collaboration to join community efforts in redevelopment,” LeFlore-Calloway said. “I look forward to working with the entire CRA team to focus on community improvement.”

About the Fort Myers Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA)

The Fort Myers Community Redevelopment Agency was created in 1984 by the City of Fort Myers, Florida, under Florida Statute Chapter 163, to formulate a plan and strategy for the revitalization of the downtown River District.

The Fort Myers CRA has continued to grow, and redevelopment areas have been added throughout the city. Today, the Fort Myers Community Redevelopment Agency encourages and oversees redevelopment in five designated areas that contain a total of sixteen distinct geographic sections within the Fort Myers city limits.

The Fort Myers CRA, along with the City’s Community Development Division, prepares plans for the revitalization of each area and coordinates the implementation of the plan’s recommendations. Tax Increment Funds (TIF) generated by each area, combined with other funding sources, are used to upgrade the public infrastructure and to stimulate redevelopment in the same area where it was generated.

The Fort Myers City Council members, sitting as the Community Redevelopment Agency Board of Commissioners, oversee the Agency’s divisions and their operations. The Fort Myers CRA office is located at 1400 Jackson Street in the Downtown River District.