Nana Appiah was recently appointed the city of Mesa’s development services director.

Appiah, who has been planning director at Mesa since 2018, will oversee planning, construction permitting, building inspections and historic preservation, according to a release.

In this role, he will work with private sector developers and city departments to promote quality and intentional growth and historic preservation, as well as ensuring efficient and customer-friendly permitting and reviews for proposed development and businesses in Mesa.

“Our development services department works closely with business owners, community stakeholders and residents to realize the vision of growth for Mesa. Nana has the skills, experience and a proven record of accomplishments to lead our efforts and attract important development to our city,” Mesa City Manager Chris Brady said in the release.

Appiah has a doctorate from the University of Texas at Dallas and a broad depth of professional experience leading regional and community planning efforts of county and city agencies across the country. Since joining Mesa, he has been responsible for overseeing the development and implementation of effective land-use strategies for healthy economic growth. Appiah has also led significant land-use policy and administrative changes that have resulted in effective and timely review of development projects and improved performance of the planning division.

“It is a tremendous honor to be selected among a highly qualified group of applicants to be the next development services director for Mesa,” Appiah said in the release. “We have a team of dedicated employees focused on providing quality services in all aspects of the city’s land use policy administration, review and entitlement processes. In this new role, I will continue to strive to create and implement sound policies that combined with excellent customer service will allow Mesa to continue to attract and retain businesses and be the city of choice for healthy living.”

A native of Ghana and a U.S. citizen, Appiah has served as planning and development services manager for Adams County, Colorado; and planning supervisor and senior planner in Denton, Texas. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners and has completed public leadership training at Harvard University’s prestigious Kennedy School of Government.

Appiah replaces Christine Zielonka who is retiring after working for the city of Mesa for 27 years in various departments, including the city attorney’s office, and environmental management and solid waste.