Berwyn names Ruth Volbre as new city administrator

BERWYN – In a unanimous decision, Berwyn aldermen approved Mayor Robert Lovero's appointment of Ruth Volbre as the new city administrator.

The Dec. 23 city council decision comes on the heels of Lovero’s effort to promote fiscal responsibility in Berwyn government.

“I’m very content,” Volbre said after the city council meeting. “I feel privileged I can serve the city of Berwyn.”

Volbre is filling a position in the administration left vacant by Brian Pabst in June. Since his departure, the duties of the city administrator have been divvied among staff members in the administration department.

The city also hired Claudia Ayala to fill the newly created position of administrative manager. The job includes some of the duties previously carried out by the city administrator.

Lovero has said Volbre was strongly considered in talks to fill the vacancy. He has said he wanted to give internal candidates the opportunity to work their up.

Volbre, who fought tears after learning of the city council’s decision, celebrated the appointment during the meeting by taking photos with loved ones.

She has worked for Berwyn for 10 years. She earned a Master of Business Administration from National Louis University.

Volbre was named the assistant city administrator in 2016, replacing Evan Summers, who left to be the village manager in Bensenville. Volbre has worked for the city of Berwyn since July 2009 as administrative assistant to the mayor and city administrator.

At Columbia College, she majored in merchandise management, which she used in her job for the retail division of the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, as manager and buyer for stores in Millennium Park, and at the Chicago Avenue Pumping Station and Chicago Cultural Center.

“Congratulations. It’s well-deserved,” Lovero said during the city council meeting.

Lovero also made mention of Ayala remaining on staff and fulfilling some duties as a public information officer for the city.

The new position came about in talks during the city’s committee of the whole meeting. There was discussion highlighting the need for a point person to handle communications and Freedom of Information Act requests tendered to the city and its police and fire departments.

Ayala has a degree in industrial psychology and is a resident of Berwyn.