Courtesy City Santa Fe
Henri Hammond-Paul
Following a nine-month search, city officials Thursday afternoon named Henri Hammond-Paul as the city of Santa Fe’s new Community Health and Safety Department director.
Hammond-Paul will oversee community services, recreation and emergency management. Former Community Health and Safety Director Kyra Ochoa left the position in January 2024 to serve as a deputy secretary for the state Human Services Department.
Prior to moving to Santa Fe in December 2020, Hammond-Paul served as a senior advisor to the New Jersey Department of Health and helped the state respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, and at New York University’s Langone Medical Center, he developed strategies to enhance the institution's resilience to natural and man-made disasters, among other experience.
He holds a master’s degree in Public Affairs from Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs and a bachelor’s in English from Washington and Lee University. Hammond-Paul tells SFR he plans to lean on previous experience and learn from other communities.
“I appreciate the fact that this is the City Different. That's one of the things that drew me here, just the uniqueness and all the things that people find really special about this place,” Hammond-Paul says. “But many, if not all, good ideas have already been tried elsewhere, so it’s just a matter of figuring out those good ideas are and bringing them into the context.”
Hammond-Paul’s brings a point of view shaped by work in places like New York City, Paraguay, and Italy. “I think there's lots of lessons to be learned from a common and shared experience.”
Ultimately, Hammond-Paul says he hopes to bring “human-centered and technology-informed solutions” to address city challenges.
He says that means engaging with residents better by making sure “their input is being heard and incorporated into the work that we're doing.” He said it also meant figuring out how we can use technology to better reach residents who “are the ones on the frontlines of a lot of these issues…like homelessness… They're the ones who go to our libraries, and they're the ones who visit the rec centers.”
In a statement, City Manager John Blair called Hammond-Paul “an extraordinary addition” to the city team.
“[Hammond-Paul] will make a significant dent in reducing homelessness and making Santa Fe a great place to live,” Blair said.
Hammond-Paul thanked the mayor and city staff for “trusting me with this opportunity.”
“More than anything, I'm a resident of Santa Fe, and I've chosen to move my family here and raise my kids here before I got this job, and I'm just incredibly grateful to have the opportunity to get back to a city that has given me a lot already,” he says. “I'm thrilled to get to work.”
In his free time, Hammond-Paul enjoys skiing, mountain biking, fishing and hiking with his wife, two children, and two dogs.
