Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton Appoints Angela Van Rooy as Interim Communications Director and Crystal Ritter as Interim Public Engagement Director

Staff Report

Bloomington, Ind. – July 12, 2023

In a press release Wednesday, Bloomington Mayor John Hamilton has announced the appointment of Angela Van Rooy as Interim Communications Director and Crystal Ritter as Interim Public Engagement Director for the City of Bloomington, effective July 17, 2023.

Van Rooy and Ritter will assume their roles as interim directors in the Mayor’s Office, succeeding Andrew Krebbs, the former Communications Director, and Kaisa Goodman, the outgoing Public Engagement Director, according to the City of Bloomington.

Crystal Ritter has been associated with the City’s Parks and Recreation Department since 2009 and has held the position of Program/Facility Coordinator since 2017. Previously, she worked as the Community Engagement Manager for the Girl Scouts of Central Indiana, where she established community connections for Girl Scouts volunteers across six counties in south-central Indiana. Ritter also served as the Program and Interim Unit Director at the Boys & Girls Club of Bloomington-Ellettsville Unit.

Angela Van Rooy joined the City’s Housing and Neighborhood Development (HAND) Department in 2019, initially as a Housing Specialist, and later assumed the role of Neighborhood Services Program Manager in 2020. Prior to her tenure with the City, she devoted her time as a stay-at-home mom to her three children and conducted research in East Africa for three years while pursuing a graduate degree in anthropology.

Both Ritter and Van Rooy will divide their time between their current departments and the Mayor’s Office, where they will continue overseeing their respective programs and initiatives in Parks and Recreation and HAND, in collaboration with other department members, according to the City of Bloomington.. In their new positions, Ritter will serve as a liaison to community groups and organizations, while Van Rooy will act as the City’s media contact and communications strategist. As part of their dual roles, Ritter will receive an annual salary of $59,716, and Van Rooy will receive an annual salary of $63,894.

“Crystal Ritter and Angela Van Rooy are both exceptionally talented and dedicated public servants,” said Hamilton. “I am deeply grateful for their willingness to step up as interim directors, and I commend their departments for facilitating this transition. I am eagerly looking forward to working directly with them in the Mayor’s Office.”

Andrew Krebbs, who joined the City in 2019 as Digital Brand Manager and served as Communications Director from 2021 to 2023, recently left City government to assume the position of Executive Director of the Monroe County Humane Association. Kaisa Goodman, who started working with the City in 2020 as Special Projects Manager for the Department of Economic and Sustainable Development, served as the Mayor’s Chief of Staff from 2021 to 2022, and has been the Public Engagement Director since the beginning of 2023, will be leaving her employment to attend Stanford Law School.

“Andrew Krebbs and Kaisa Goodman have both been exceptional public servants, dedicating their talents to benefit the people of Bloomington in recent years,” said Hamilton. “While their absence will be deeply felt, I am grateful for their personal collaboration and thrilled to see them embark on such exciting opportunities. I am confident that they will continue to make a positive impact on the world.”