WHEELING – Becoming Wheeling’s Building and Planning Director may not have been in the blueprint of Brenda J. Delbert’s career plan when she started working for the city five years ago, but her people skills, dedication to her duties and eagerness to learn new things set a rock-solid foundation on which a new path is being built.

Delbert, 36, has garnered accolades in recent years serving as the Wheeling City Clerk – a role that by default made her the point person in many cases when people needed to contact the city for any myriad of reasons to get things done.

After former city Building and Planning Director Tom Connelly left for another position last year, Delbert stepped in to pick up a generous amount of the slack, helping to keep regular business rolling in the wake of the void left in the building and planning department.

Her hard work did not go unnoticed. Earlier this month, Wheeling City Manager officially named Delbert to the position as the city’s new Building and Planning Director.

“I am new to my role and have a great existing team in place,” Delbert said. “My goal is to encourage them to maximize their full potential. This will lead to greater citizen engagement and adhering to the standards. I would like to streamline processes amongst internal departments so the citizen experience is pleasant.”

In her new role, Delbert’s job focuses on providing leadership and supervision to a coordinated program of community planning. She now coordinates and supervises the city’s regulatory functions relating to building codes, property maintenance code, vacant building programs, zoning and subdivision regulations. She also serves as staff support for the city’s Board of Zoning Appeals, Planning Commission and Historic Landmarks Commission.

“The opposite of faith is fear,” Delbert said, and it’s a motto that resonates with her. “My mother would often say this to encourage me and my brother to take chances and push ourselves. You must believe in yourself, keep learning and keep trying new things. Mistakes are not failures when you look at them as a tool to learn and grow.”

And that’s something Delbert would recommend to any young person who is dedicated to their own professional development.

“Ask questions and listen to learn,” she said. “If you don’t understand something, ask. People are more than willing to share their knowledge. Seek out mentors and learn from them.”

Delbert recently lost one of her life-long mentors, and that’s why she’s been involved with the CJD Foundation.

“My mother passed away in March of 2021 from Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD),” she said. “The CJD Foundation’s mission is to support families affected by prion disease, as well as research. Around 85 percent of cases are deemed sporadic, meaning there is no known reason. It’s hard for families who want answers. The foundation is there to offer emotional support and fight for finding scientific answers.”

Life lessons learned through her journey have helped Delbert to grow and process challenges through a healthy perspective.

“I had a boss early in my career that put her employees as people first over everything,” Delbert noted. “She always said I can teach anyone how to do the job, but I can’t teach personality. This has stuck with me. We all have a job to do, but employees will perform and work for employers they respect and, in an environment, where they feel valued. Retaining top talent is a huge win for any organization.”

The city of Wheeling is not only Delbert’s employer, it’s her home. She and her husband, Tony, have two children: Gracie, 7, and Anthony, 6, along with a 10-year-old yellow Lab named Jazzy.

“I was born in Florida but raised in Wheeling,” Delbert said. “My family roots are what made me stay. I have a wonderful job and love raising my children here.”

Being involved with many of the exciting projects and developments that go through the city of Wheeling, Delbert said she is also excited about the future of the Wheeling area. There’s no secret to the investments being made with the tremendous amount of construction that has been taking place in recent years.

“Yes, traffic and road closures can be frustrating,” she said. “However, they symbolize growth and progress. There are a ton of projects currently happening Downtown, and this shows the future is bright and newness is coming.”