Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava appoints Curtis Osceola as new Chief Resilience Officer

Today, Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava announced she is appointing Curtis E. Osceola, Chief of Staff to the Miccosukee Tribe, to the position of Chief Resilience Officer in the Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources (RER), beginning Monday, January 27, 2025. 

“We are extremely proud to welcome Curtis to this key role championing resilience in Miami-Dade,” said Mayor Levine Cava. “As Chief of Staff to the Miccosukee Tribe he helped drive historic progress on Everglades protection, succeeding in delivering the largest-ever federal funding package for wetlands restoration. He brings a unique skill set as an internal change agent and a coalition builder for environmental protection that will be essential to our work protecting our natural resources and building a future-ready Miami-Dade. The Miccosukee are the ancestral protectors of South Florida’s natural environment and I’m proud that we will uplift and continue to build on that legacy with Curtis as Chief Resilience Officer.”  

“I am truly honored to be appointed by Mayor Levine Cava to lead the Office of Resilience for Miami-Dade County,” said Curtis. “I have worked hard across my career to make a difference for my people including as the Tribe's Chief of Staff and to protect and preserve our precious natural environment. I am excited for this new opportunity to improve the lives of all our residents as we take on climate challenges from the front lines. We must harden and prepare our infrastructure for the future and protect South Floridians from extreme weather and sea level rise, and I am committed to working with other County leaders and our community to accelerate our progress to respond to 21st century challenges.   

In his role with the Miccosukee Tribe, Curtis successfully led critical projects related to Everglades Restoration including the Western Everglades Restoration Project, positioning the Tribe as a key leader and accelerating public engagement, stakeholder collaboration, and lobbying efforts.  

Curtis will lead the County’s resilience team – which plays a key role in driving solutions to climate challenges – working to implement key resilience initiatives across departments and build public support for projects countywide. In his new role Curtis will convene a new resilience working group alongside RER Director Lourdes Gomez to operationalize policy, program, and practice across departments and make the county a continued model for resilience.  

Curtis previously served as Interior Secretary Deb Haaland’s Miccosukee Tribal Appointee to the South Florida Ecological Restoration Task Force. He is the first member of the Miccosukee tribe to become a lawyer, holding a Bachelor’s degree in finance from the Miami Herbert Business School at the University of Miami and a Juris Doctor from the University of Miami.