From Detroit to Palm Beach County, Frank Hayden has spent his entire professional career creating opportunities for people who sought an equal opportunity to compete.
As Director of the new Office of Equal Opportunity, Hayden continues to create programs designed to ensure equality and fair business practices within The City of West Palm Beach. His department is responsible for coordinating programs that foster workforce development, business development, and professional education and training.
Prior to this position, Hayden was the Procurement Director for the City of West Palm Beach. He was responsible for the team that managed purchasing for goods and services, commodities, construction and professional services. He led the growth of the City’s Small Business Enterprise (SBE) program; and under his guidance, the City adopted the recommendations of a Disparity Study, which included the creation of a Minority- and Women-Owned Business Enterprise program that was launched in April 2019.
Hayden began his career with The City of Detroit, where he worked for 35 years. Twenty of those years were spent with the Detroit Water and Sewage Department, as the head of Contracts and Grants. In this position, he created and oversaw the Minority- & Woman-Owned Business program.
After his retirement from Detroit, he worked with the South Florida Water Management District as Director of Procurement, where he helped develop a Small Business Program, increasing SBE participation on District contracts by 15 percent in three years.
Hayden volunteers as the Board Chairman of the Sickle Cell Foundation of Palm Beach and Martin Counties, on the Palm Beach County School Board’s Area Boundaries Committee, as Basileus of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Incorporated, and as the president of the Black Chamber of Commerce of Palm Beach County.
He is married to Marcia Hayden, and they have one daughter, three sons and five grandchildren.
Frank Hayden