Denver Mayor Mike Johnston’s administration grows with the appointments of two deputy chief operating officers and an interim executive director of the Department of Housing Stability.

The mayor announced in a news release Tuesday the appointments of two deputy chief operating officers, Gretchen Hollrah and Molly Urbina, both to be working under the new Chief Operating Officer Janel Ford.

“To deliver on our dream of a vibrant Denver, we’re working to build a strong city infrastructure that fosters collaborative, innovative, and transformative work,” Johnston said in the release. “Gretchen and Molly, together with Janel at the helm, will be key players in supporting city departments to work together to deliver exemplary services for Denverites across the city.”

Both the new deputies will coordinate and support departments across the city by “facilitating regular and effective cross-department collaboration to deliver on Mayor Johnston’s agenda,” the mayor’s office said.

Hollrah served as a Denver city official with “wide-reaching experience and expertise in a variety of agencies and departments,” according to the release.

Most recently Hollrah was the COO of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. Over a span of 18 years, she was city deputy chief financial officer while serving as the Denver chief projects officer, and led the Department of Excise and Licenses as interim executive director.

Urbina worked for the city and state government for more than a dozen years, and according to the mayor’s office has “a deep expertise on Denver land use, real estate development and entitlements and codes as well as policy development and strategies.”

The CEO of Urbina Strategies, LLC, the new deputy COO provided land use and resilience consulting. Urbina served as the executive director of the Colorado Resiliency and Recovery office, appointed cabinet by former Gov. John Hickenlooper and used to lead Denver’s Community Planning and Development department.

In addition to new deputy COO hires, Johnston appointed interim Department of Housing Stability (HOST) Executive Director Sue Powers, who according to the mayor’s office will lead HOST’s work while the mayor continues to interview and hire appointees to lead city agencies.

“Sue has been a long-time affordable housing and mixed-income developer in Denver, driving forward innovative new projects to help make Denver an affordable place to live,” Johnston said. “While we’re still in the midst of our interview process for HOST’s permanent Executive Director, Sue will support the mission-driven work that HOST has been working on for years.”

The current President of Urban Venturess, LLC, Powers specializes in real estate development. Prior to starting the company 25 years ago, Powers was the executive director of the Denver Urban Renewal Authority for 11 years — working to structure, finance and construct 18 commercial and residential real estate developments “that contributed to the successful rebirth of downtown Denver,” the mayor’s office said.

Powers is also a member of the board of directors of the Elevation Community Land Trust and the University of Colorado College of Architecture and Planning Advisory Board, and is regularly involved with community affordable housing initiatives.