Susanne M. Torriente was appointed Director of the Office of Sustainability  in July 2009. Mayor Carlos Alvarez identified sustainability as a top priority for Miami-Dade's economic, social and environmental development, and Ms. Torriente is responsible for coordinating the full range of County resources toward that goal. Her department directs policy formulation, grant opportunities, energy management and reduction, alternative energy and fuel source options, water conservation, green purchasing policy guidance, and sustainable capital development processes.

Ms. Torriente is a veteran government leader with a reputation for streamlining management, using data to improve service delivery and maintaining focus on strategic goals.

She previously served as both Chief of Staff and Chief Assistant County Manager under County Manager George M. Burgess, directing strategic management initiatives, procurement, small business development, water and sewer, solid waste management, fair employment practices, and emergency management/homeland security.

During her 19-year career in Miami-Dade County, she has also overseen the government's public-safety departments - including Police, Fire-Rescue, Corrections and Emergency Management - which landed her in a central role during the County's response to the numerous damaging hurricanes of 2004 and 2005.

She began her career in Miami-Dade's prestigious Management Trainee Program, later joining the staff as a budget analyst, primarily focused on cultural programs, museum operations, libraries and tourism. That was followed by stints as Deputy Director of the Employee Relations Department, the Assistant Director of the Department of Procurement Management and an Assistant to the County Manager.

Ms. Torriente also previously served as Assistant City Manager of the City of Coral Gables. In this capacity, she was responsible for a broad spectrum of City departments including Finance, Purchasing, Information Technology, Parks and Recreation, Automotive, Parking and Cable TV. Working for one of the leading municipal governments in South Florida, she established the framework for a new procurement model, created a new Communications Division and introduced a web-based service-request system.

As a believer in collaboration, cross-jurisdictional benchmarking and best-practice study, she has actively contributed to professional-development organizations. She has served on the Justice and Public Safety Steering Committee of the National Association of Counties (NACo), coordinating the organization's annual Large Urban County Caucus in Miami-Dade, focusing on emergency management issues. She also served on the NACo Labor & Employment Steering Committee, and was appointed by FEMA Administrator R. David Paulison to the FEMA National Advisory Council to represent the interests of local government.

Ms. Torriente is a graduate from the University of Miami where she holds a Master's Degree in Public Administration and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English.