Job changes continue despite coronavirus

Neesha Davé, who has served as chief of staff for District 4 Council Member Greg Casar for the past five years, announced her resignation on Facebook on Sunday. She has told aides in other City Council offices about her decision to quit a job she obviously enjoys. But with Casar’s imminent announcement that he will seek the seat being vacated by Austin state Sen. Kirk Watson, Davé is taking her leave at a logical time. And over in the District 1 office, Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison has a new chief of staff. According to a memo from Harper-Madison, when Eric Byrd first applied for the job, people were still thinking about which bands they wanted to see during SXSW. In spite of the difficulties caused by the pandemic, Harper-Madison writes, Byrd “still took the job without thinking twice,” which “testifies to the kind of person he is and what he brings to the table for District 1 … Eric was born and raised in this community and is as dedicated to serving it as I am. He’s a graduate of (the Liberal Arts and Science Academy) and has spent his professional life applying his psychology degree and his master’s in education and behavior analysis in various roles across the education, mental health and social justice fields.”