Special to the Vanguard
Davis, CA – Earlier this week, the city of Davis announced that City Manager Mike Webb has named Dale Sumersille to the role of Grants Administrator in the City Manager’s Office and Deanne Machado to oversee Parks and Community Services (PCS) as the new Director. Sumersille and Machado assume their roles on Monday, September 19.
Sumersille was hired in 2015 as the City’s first PCS Director. In the last seven years, Sumersille has secured over $5.8 million in grants, including most recently $2.7 million from Proposition 68 for Central Park’s splash pad project. She also implemented multiple projects and processes, such as a Revenue and Pricing Policy to improve the department’s cost recovery and a multi-year capital replacement and renovation schedule for the City’s many parks and aquatics facilities. Sumersille has also replaced over 30 outdated playgrounds in Davis.
In her new role, Sumersille will plan, organize and provide administrative oversight for the citywide grant program, implementation of the City Council’s allocation of American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds and completion of a variety of special parks projects that are 
already underway.
“Sumersille has a great track record for seeking, securing and managing grants for PCS,” said Webb. “I am excited to name Sumersille as Grants Administrator to leverage her skills to the benefit of the broader city organization as we implement our Grants Strategic Plan and ARP funds. Her expertise in planning, implementation and follow through will further advance the City’s infrastructure, funding and cost efficiency.”
“PCS staff have been exceptional professionals and I am very proud of the achievements the department has accomplished during my tenure,” said Sumersille. “I look forward in my new role to obtaining even more grant funding and leveraging the City’s projects to better sustain and improve our community.”
Sumersille received her Master’s degree in Marketing and Management from California State University, Stanislaus, and her Bachelor’s degree in Recreation from the University of the Pacific, where she also received her Nonprofit Management Certificate. She enjoys outdoor activities such as camping, fishing, gardening and motorcycle riding and is a pilot with Pilots N Paws, a nonprofit organization that rescues and transports animals to shelters and foster homes.
With Sumersille’s new role, Webb has named Deanne Machado to the position of PCS Director. Machado has worked for the City since 2008 and has consistently advanced through promotions, from supervisor to deputy director of administration within the Davis Police Department – the highest non-sworn position in the department. Machado has developed multiple City programs, including creating the City’s first Homeless Outreach Unit, implementing a Youth Restorative Justice Program and overseeing the City’s participation in the State’s Project Roomkey initiative. Machado has been an advocate for youth development and vulnerable populations by working diligently to create a safe, healthy and equitable community, a key goal for the Davis City Council.
In her role as PCS Director, Machado will oversee the department on a day-to-day basis and manage staff and the multitude of recreation programs, community services and aquatics facilities within the department’s purview. Machado and her team will maintain the City’s vast network of green spaces as well as oversee the Davis Senior Center, Veterans’ Memorial Center and Davis Community Transit.
“By leveraging staff strengths, the City will be able to better support and serve our diverse community,” said Webb. “Machado brings a wealth of experience and progressive best practices that will assist the City on its path to enhancing our neighborhoods, parks and facilities while fostering excellence in City services.”
“Davis is known for its high quality of life, partly due to the excellence and breadth of our community programs and parks infrastructure,” said Machado. “I am honored and excited for this next chapter with the City. I am committed to Davis and feel deeply connected to the work of ensuring our community programming and parks remain vibrant and accessible to all. I look forward to working with the strong team in place, in addition to exploring new partnerships with our community and other City departments.”
Machado is currently attaining her Masters of Jurisprudence degree in Child Law and Policy from the University of Chicago, Loyola. She received her Master’s degree in Political Science from the University of California, Davis and her Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from the University of the Pacific. Machado presently volunteers as a Yolo County Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for children and was a previous Board Member for Davis Community Meals. She has also received many professional accolades during her career, including the Dorothy Harris Award in 2021 and “40 Under 40” by the Sacramento Business Journal in 2020.
The City will be implementing a transition process for staff as Sumersille and Machado shift roles.
“Shake up”? Am thinking NOT… more like reallocation of resources… no one was fired, and both were promoted, and likely gained additional compensation,,. and both might well be worthy of that outcome… but, not a “shake up”
Again, I think NOT… just ask anyone who has been in Davis for years, and worked for the City… the department has been known by many names over the years… once it was the Life Enrichment Department (I’ll buy a beer for first person who gets those years right! [without cheating and doing Google searches]),
Parks and Community Services (PCS/PC&S) was the name of the department for many years… and had a Director/department head… I can name at least two.
“Accuracy is a fundamental of journalism/reporting” … no more, apparently… truth is what someone says it is… if fools believe them… witness Hitler (Jews caused the ‘depression’, in Germany, post WWI), Trump (“we won the election decisively, in huge numbers, both in the popular vote and the electoral college” [MTG would be a great ‘journalist’/reporter])…
I appears that the VG and MTG will both postulate things that are not factual. And, present them as ‘facts’…
FWIW, the Vanguard appears to be using the Enterprise as its source for this, as the Enterprise reported that Sumersille was hired as the first PCS Director. Kari and I both went “Huh?” when we read that.