Interoffice Memorandum
DATE: December 18, 2025
TO:
Commissioner Nicole Wilson, District 1
Commissioner Christine Moore, District 2
Commissioner Mayra Uribe, District 3
Commissioner Maribel Gomez Cordero, District 4
Commissioner Kelly Martinez Semrad, District 5
Commissioner Michael "Mike" Scott, District 6
SUBJECT: Managerial Appointment - Fiscal and Operational Support Manager, Orange County Convention Center
ACTION REQUESTED:
title
Confirmation of the Mayor’s managerial appointment of Heather Peeples as Fiscal and Operational Support Manager, Orange County Convention Center.
body
PURPOSE: The purpose of this memo is to request confirmation of the managerial appointment of Ms. Heather Peeples as the Fiscal and Operational Support Manager for the Orange County Convention Center (OCCC) Fiscal and Operations Support Division. The OCCC is a campus comprised of approximately 7 million square feet that serves as a hub to provide more than $4.5 billion in economic impact to Central Florida annually. Currently, the Convention Center hosts nearly 200 events each year, attracting approximately 2 million attendees to the region, and has an operating revenue and expenditure budget in the range of $100 million.
As the Fiscal and Operational Support Manager, Ms. Peeples will be responsible for day-to-day oversight of the OCCC’s financial and administrative functions including but not limited to budgeting, client billing, procurement, internal audits, payroll, and the continuation, development, and implementation of fiscally responsible operational practices.
Ms. Peeples brings extensive experience in governmental operations, policy analysis, budget development, audit coordination, and contract oversight. She currently serves as the OCCC’s Quality Assurance Specialist, where she is the primary liaison to the Comptroller’s Office on audits, continuously conducts targeted internal reviews of operational processes, researches policies and pricing strategies from comparable venues, and works with staff on the implementation of quality improvement initiatives.
Prior to joining Orange County, Ms. Peeples served as Support Services Manager for Brevard County Parks and Recreation, where she coordinated an $85 million departmental budget, oversaw FEMA reimbursement workflows, managed contract compliance, and supervised financial and administrative personnel. Her earlier experience includes multiple management and policy roles with Leon County Administration-where she led county-wide special projects, major policy reviews, redistricting, strategic planning, broadband development, and grant proposal development-as well as prior roles at the Florida Department of Education, MADD Northwest Florida, and in environmental association program management.
Ms. Peeples holds a Master of Public Administration from Florida State University’s Askew School of Public Administration and Policy and a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and Political Science, also from Florida State University.
Her appointment will be effective the first full pay period following Board approval at an annual salary of $140,004.80.