Mayor Keller Announces New Hires
The City of Albuquerque has filled key roles across departments to support important initiatives. New hires in Aviation, Economic Development, and Policy will help fill important internal needs and help advance work in the community. Each of these hires brings their own experience that will help optimize work within their departments and increase connections with the public to achieve positive outcomes for the City and for the people of Albuquerque.
Gary Gilliard, Deputy Director, Aviation
Mr. Gilliard’s career includes over a decade of leadership in non-aeronautical airport areas, primarily the airport concession program, airport developer management and operations. He has overseen airport concession programs at Denver, Phoenix, San Francisco, Albuquerque and Baltimore airports. He has experience in leasing, administration, marketing, public relations, building design, construction and more. Prior to entering the world of airport concessions, Gary’s 30-year retail career encompassed Fortune 500 merchants including Toys R Us, Gap Stores, Kohler, Lowes, Scholastic & Readers Digest, where he held multiple senior managerial positions, covering markets across the U.S. and Europe. Mr. Gilliard’s career combines airport development, airport concessions, retailing, operations and multi-store supervision, with a long and proven track record of working closely with airport management, government, community organizations, small/local business owners, trade industries and other industry stakeholders.
He was a resident of Albuquerque, New Mexico from 2013 through 2019, followed by taking a four year career assignment as Vice President, BWI Marshall Airport Concessions Program with airport developer, Fraport USA.
Justin D. Hilliard, Workforce Development Liaison, Economic Development Department
Justin D. Hilliard joins the City of Albuquerque as the new Workforce Development Liaison for the Economic Development Department. He’s passionate about community outreach and job training initiatives that can help strengthen the local workforce and bolster Albuquerque’s economy. He is an experienced marketing manager and filmmaker with over 15 years of experience in the public and private sectors, including several years with the City of Dallas’ Office of Economic Development, working within the film commission. Hilliard has overseen numerous film and commercial productions both domestically and overseas. Before joining the City of Albuquerque, he was a production consultant and digital marketing manager for a variety of clients. Hilliard earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Film/Media from the University of Texas at Arlington.
Outside of work, Hilliard loves movies and enjoys writing, painting, and spending time with his wife Arianne, son Julian, and their two dogs.
Flora Lucero, Project Manager, BankOn Burque
As Project Manager for CABQ’s BankOn Burque program, Flora Lucero supports a coalition of locally active NGO's and financial institutions in working together to improve family financial stability by connecting consumers to safe, affordable checking accounts (Bank On certified accounts). Flora holds an advanced degree from UNM in Organizational Learning and Instructional Technology and is a strong proponent of equity and inclusivity as vital goals for institutional growth.