A nationwide search for a new assistant city manager of development has ended in Richmond.

Selena Cuffee-Glenn, director of planning and community development for the Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority, has been tapped to join the city’s administrative team. The Chesapeake native will be assuming her new post on June 13.

Cuffee-Glenn will lead and coordinate the activities of the departments of economic development, planning, tourism, downtown development, neighborhood development services and public utilities, said City Manager R. Steven Herbert.

The position has been vacant since Herbert, who formerly had the post, was named city manager in January 2003.

&uot;Selena Cuffee-Glenn was the top candidate,&uot; said Herbert. &uot;She has a wealth of experience in community development, neighborhood revitalization, and urban planning.

&uot;She brings tremendous experience and perspective to Suffolk, and she will round out an outstanding management leadership team for our city,&uot; he continued.

&uot;She has devoted many years to devising and implementing ways to make a city work best for residents, and her personal commitment to citizen service will fit well in our organization.&uot;

Cuffee-Glenn has held her current position with the RRHA since October 2001. Prior to that, she served two years as deputy director for the city of Richmond’s housing and neighborhood preservation division. She also spent 15 years as principal planner and senior planner in that same division.

She taught graduate courses in urban planning at Virginia Commonwealth University for five years during the 1990s.

On Thursday, Cuffee-Glenn said she is looking forward to challenges of her new post.

&uot;I understand the priorities and the vision of the mayor,&uot; said Cuffee-Glenn.

Those priorities–including smart growth, neighborhood development and downtown development-are critical for growing localities.

&uot;I think I’m a good fit for this position and am looking forward to being part of the city’s management team,&uot; she continued. &uot;The city of Suffolk has made great strides in the past few years and I’m confident my knowledge in planning development will be an asset as we move the city forward.

&uot;Suffolk is an awesome city with the ability to do so many things. It’s exciting to

be coming to a city where there is such an excellent vision and commitment to developing the future.&uot;

Besides more 20 years of experience in planning and community development, Cuffee-Glenn has extensive experience with all forms of federal, state, and local health and human services initiatives, Herbert said.

Cuffee-Glenn earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology in 1982 and a master’s degree in urban and city planning in 1985, both from the University of Virginia.

She and her husband, Keith Glenn, will be moving to Suffolk with their 8-year-old daughter, Alexis.

&uot;This will be like coming home for me,&uot; said Cuffee-Glenn, whose parents still live in Chesapeake. &uot;We’re looking forward to the move.&uot;

allison.williams@suffolknewsherald.com