Despite new Chief Resiliency Officer, Costello Still Heading Up Flood Recovery Efforts

Yesterday’s surprise announcement about Marissa Aho, the City of Houston’s new chief resilience officer, left me wondering about Stephen Costello. Costello formerly held that title. In November of last year, Costello also took on the responsibilities of Marvin Odum.

Odum previously served as the President of Shell Oil Company. He volunteered to work for the City as the Mayor’s “Flood Czar” for 15 months on a pro bono basis.

The press release announcing Aho’s appointment did not mention Costello. The Chronicle story mentioned Costello only in the past tense. That left me wondering about his fate. Was this a shake-up? Was he on the outs?

So I emailed Costello and heard back this morning. He replied, “I am the Chief Recovery Officer focused on Harvey recovery. Still doing the flood czar stuff as well.”

Evidently, the title of one of Costello’s jobs changed and he’s still picking up where Odum left off. Hopefully, Aho’s appointment will allow Costello more time to focus on flood mitigation.

Posted by Bob Rehak on February 26, 2019

546 Days after Hurricane Harvey