Senate Rules Committee Unanimously Approves Nomination Of Derek Gabriel for Public Works Commissioner

U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS – The Senate Rules and Judiciary Committee on Thursday night unanimously approved Governor Albert Bryan Jr.’s nomination of Derek Gabriel to become the Commissioner of the Department of Public Works.

All six members of the Senate committee voted in favor of moving Mr. Gabriel’s nomination forward for a vote by the full 34th Legislature. Senator Stephen Payne was absent from Thursday’s committee hearing.

Mr. Gabriel most recently was the Territory Manager for APTIM, providing strategic support for program operations for all ongoing recovery projects and overseeing the Territory’s overall business development across all APTIM service lines.

Mr. Gabriel is a former Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Property and Procurement and was the manager of The Lumberyard on St. John, and he helped oversee the recovery efforts after the property was destroyed by Hurricanes Irma and Maria.

“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 when Governor Bryan nominated him in January to replace former Public Works Commissioner Nelson Petty Jr.

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.

The Bryan-Roach Administration is committed to transparency, stabilizing the economy, restoring trust in the government and ensuring the disaster recovery is completed as quickly as possible.