ST. LOUIS — The city’s economic development arm confirmed this week that a top-ranked employee is no longer with the public agency after “organizational restructuring.”
Sara Freetly, a spokesperson for St. Louis Development Corp., said that Daffney Moore’s role as chief of staff was eliminated due to “organizational restructuring” and that the agency has no plan at this time to find a replacement. Moore’s last day was Dec. 31.
As chief of staff, Moore served as second in command to Executive Director Neal Richardson. She also served as senior vice president and chief administrative officer.
Moore did not respond to multiple requests for comment. But on Jan. 1 : “New alignments for my next assignment.”

Daffney Moore
SLDC hired Moore in 2019 to oversee its Opportunity Zone program, which offers tax breaks for investors who put capital into developments located in lower-income areas.
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She was promoted in July 2021, just one month after Richardson took over the helm from longtime chief Otis Williams.
Moore was tasked with advancing the St. Louis Equitable Economic Development Strategy and the Economic Justice Action Plan.
Last year, she oversaw some of SLDC’s consultancy contracts that had drawn criticism from SLDC board members who said they hadn’t heard of some of the companies.
SLDC had hired a consultant to review its management practices and conduct an “organizational audit” of operations. It’s not clear if Moore’s elimination was connected to that report.
Moore made $104,664 in gross pay .