Riverside has filled its open position for a new finance director after a five-month vacancy.
Yvette Zavala took on the role earlier this month after serving as the village’s interim finance director since February.
“I’ve been in finance for a very long time. I’ve basically done it all,” Zavala said in a phone interview Friday. “I’ve been in banking. I’ve been in tax. I’ve been in governmental, then I went back to private sector, and now I’m back to governmental.”
Zavala’s experience in finance and accounting includes about two years of municipal work at Cicero as well as stints at the Consolidated Emergency Response Center of Cook County, a joint police dispatch center serving Cicero and Stickney, and the IRS.
After joining the village in August 2023 as an accounting manager, Zavala said she took on some of the finance director’s responsibilities in December after former Finance Director Karin Johns left the position.
“It was very unexpected that the previous finance director left,” Zavala said. “I volunteered, not to be interim at that point. We weren’t at that decision yet. I just volunteered to take on more responsibility, just to help. I don’t like to see anyone struggle, not that they were, but I just know my capabilities, and I was like, ‘Hey, I can really, really be of some help.’”
Zavala was formally promoted to interim finance director two months later. Despite holding that position, Zavala said she had to apply online to be Riverside’s new finance director “just like everybody else” when the job was posted to its website in March.
“We did solicit for applications and resumes, and we did receive 30,” Village Manager Jessica Frances said in a phone interview Thursday. “Upon review of those, Yvette stood out amongst all the other candidates based on her qualifications, certifications and experience.”
Those qualifications include holding a master’s degree in business administration and being a certified public accountant in the Illinois CPA Society; Frances said Zavala has been certified as an accountant for about 15 years. Frances said Zavala is also bilingual, “which is huge, given the changing demographic in Riverside.”
Despite the number of applications that Riverside received, Frances said the village’s decision to hire internally was intentional.
“In evaluating the timeliness of getting someone into that position — because we are in our audit process as well — and efficiency, I felt it served the village best to basically promote from within,” she said. “Our recruitment process can sometimes be very long and protracted, but we also feel very strongly about [promoting from] within if we have candidates that can do the work and also assume those roles.”
In her new role, Zavala makes $134,000 per year, according to an email from Frances. Frances said the salary range for Riverside’s finance director is $133,697.72 to $183,837.17.
Finding the fun in finance
When Zavala spoke with the Landmark about her new role, it was clear from the tone of her voice that she was enthusiastic.
“For me, I’m a big math person, numbers person, so the numbers and the financial statements are like a big puzzle to me. The puzzle fits, it’s all put together when the math adds up,” she said. “Plus, I like using that information to help others make informed decisions. So, helping out other departments, like ‘Hey, what’s this budget look like? What’s the forecast,’ you know? Using that information to help everybody around me make informed decisions about their department … I just like it.”
Before coming to work for Riverside, Zavala left her role at Cicero to rejoin the private sector to see what options were available to her, but she eventually decided it wasn’t the right fit.
“I missed governmental accounting, like being in the public service sector, so I knew I wanted to get back into it. I looked at Riverside before, but they were never hiring, and I just looked, you know, just out of the blue, and they were hiring, and I was like, ‘Oh my God, I need to apply right now!’” she said. “That was the only job I applied for, and I was like, I really want to come back to governmental.”
Frances said Riverside is well off with Zavala handling its finances.
“She’s very meticulous,” Frances said. “Finding someone with her experience and knowledge is very difficult to find, so we’re really fortunate.”
Now that she’s with the village, Zavala said she hopes to work positively with residents and help lead Riverside to new heights.
“I’m very like a people-person, very customer service-oriented, and I just want to take the resident experience to a new level when they come in and interact with us. I just want everyone to leave having a positive experience and wanting to come back and talk to us and work with us, or knowing, like, if they have a problem, they could call us, and we’re there to help,” she said. “I also like looking for new revenue sources, either it be brands or some kind of outside funding we could get. I would really like to explore that avenue as well and take the village in a new direction.”
