U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS – Governor Albert Bryan Jr. has nominated Derek Gabriel to become the Commissioner of the Department of Public Works (DPW).
Mr. Gabriel currently is the Territory Manager for APTIM and he provides strategic support for program operations for all ongoing recovery projects and he oversees the Territory’s overall business development across all APTIM service lines.
Mr. Gabriel also is a former Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Property and Procurement and was the manager of The Lumberyard on St. John and helped oversee the recovery efforts after the property was destroyed by Hurricanes Irma and Maria.
Governor Bryan said that historically, engineers have been picked to head DPW, but he chose Mr. Gabriel for a different reason.
“This is a concerted effort to have a project manager with procurement experience to bring our projects forward. Before, we had engineers who were focused on designing projects and the specifics,” Governor Bryan said. “We have an engineering department at Public Works. What we need now is we need to get these projects through procurement, get them going, get the contracts approved and get the work done.”
Mr. Gabriel thanked Governor Bryan for the opportunity and for having the confidence in him to lead the department.
“I’m really excited, looking forward to working with the great people at the department and really, as you said, serving the people of the Territory, and making sure that we continue to improve our infrastructure and get our capital projects going,” Mr. Gabriel said.
Mr. Gabriel and his wife, Keli, have two children, and he serves as the chairman of the board of trustees for All Saints Cathedral School.
Mr. Gabriel next will appear before the 34th Legislature to testify at his nomination hearing.
The Bryan-Roach Administration continues to be committed to transparency, stabilizing the economy, restoring trust in government and ensuring the disaster recovery is completed as quickly as possible.