MAYOR BILL WHITE NAMES CHOICE FOR NEW CITY MUNICIPAL COURTS ADMINISTRATION DIRECTOR
January 24, 2007 -- Mayor Bill White today announced the selection of Sahira ( pronounced SHI ruh) J. Abdool, as the Director and Chief Clerk for Municipal Court Administration of the City of Houston.
"Sahira brings professionalism and performance to whatever she does," said Mayor Bill White. "She has been a good public servant. We are happy to have her in a role where she can have a positive impact on service to Houstonians."
With today's approval by City Council, Abdool takes over for Acting Director and Chief Clerk Richard Lewis who oversaw a technology upgrade for Courts Administrtation. Lewis will continue as the Chief Information Officer and Director of Information Technology for the city.
"I am excited about the opportunity to serve in this capacity, to help simplify doing business with Municipal Courts and to become a member of the dedicated Municipal Courts Team," said Abdool.
Ms. Abdool earned a Masters degree in Public Administration from The University of Tennessee and an undergraduate degree from Tennessee State University in Nashville, Tennessee. Abdool left her post as the Deputy Director for Administrative Services at the City's Houston Public Library in 2006. Prior to joining HPL in 2000, Abdool was the Administrator & Regional Director of Claims and Call Center Operations with Cigna Healthcare from 1993 to 2000. From 1988 to 1993 she served as the Manager of Human Resources for the Corporate Office of Provident Life and Accident Insurance in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Abdool was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana and she is a mother three children. She was recently married to Reginald Black of Tyler, Texas and Ms. Abdool is very involved in her community and civic organizations. When she's not working, she's an avid cook and enjoys riding horses.
