Ordained minister. Second-degree black belt. Published poet. Wedding singer. Northwestern medical researcher. Certified public notary.
Rodney Greene wears many hats.
This summer, he put on another when he replaced Mary Morris as Evanston’s city clerk.
Before working for the city, he was a senior research technologist at NU’s Feinberg School of Medicine, where he earned Employee of the Year honors in 1996.
Greene said his first priority is creating “a team atmosphere” in the clerk’s office. That’s why he and the other two employees that make up the department keep what they call an “open-door policy – even when the door is shut.”
The city clerk, Evanston’s only elected full-time position, controls the city’s records. Greene is responsible for recording the Evanston City Council’s meetings, reviewing and signing all official city documents, and handling requests for information about Evanston.
“If you ask for it, you will get it in a timely fashion,” he said.
Greene holds an associate’s degree in biotechnology from the University of the District of Columbia and a bachelor’s degree in biology from Bowie State University.
In 1984, Greene and his wife, Lynne, moved from his hometown of Washington, D.C., to Atlanta, where he worked as a researcher at Emory University.
Rodney Altan Jeremiah Greene, the couple’s only child, was born in 1986 and is a senior at Oberlin College.
When the family moved to Evanston in 1988, Greene began working at NU as a research assistant and Lynne started her career teaching math and science at the Roycemore School. After nearly 20 years at NU, Greene retired last spring from his position in cardiac technology research.
But after a few boring weeks at home, Lynne convinced her husband that home life wasn’t for him.
When Greene took over in June, the clerk’s office was in desperate need of leadership after Morris’ abrupt retirement.
“She really didn’t do much to smooth the transition,” said Deputy City Clerk Mayre Press.
Greene has changed the tone in the office, Press said.
“He’s the polar opposite of our previous clerk,” Press said. “He’s a fun person and he has a sense of humor. It’s just nice to know someone will support you and stand up for you.”
Although the situation has improved since his first day, Greene admitted his department is “still a little behind.”
To catch up, the new clerk plans to lobby the city for additional staff. But adding a new salary to the city’s payroll will be a tough sell in the coming years as the city council deals with a massive deficit in the police and fire pension funds.
Greene is currently in the process of gathering the 442 signatures an individual needs to appear on the ballot in April’s election, in which he is so far unopposed.
