Gilda Mooney joined the Department as an Administrative Officer in July 1996 after completing her Administrative Trainee internship with the Miami-Dade County Office of Management and Budget. Driven by a desire for a career in public service, she earned a dual major Bachelor of Political Science and Public Administration degree from Florida International University in Miami, FL in 1994.

As Chief of Grant Services, Gilda supervises a portfolio of over 20 grant programs designed to support Miami Dade-based individual artists and arts organizations. Among her responsibilities, she leads a team of grant program administrators and support staff in all aspects of the grant cycle process; develops and coordinates the annual grants and programs budget with the Department’s finance unit, grants program administrative team and Director; and reviews and updates the Department’s annual guidelines, application forms and reporting requirements for all its grant programs. In addition, Gilda is responsible for the coordination of technical assistance workshops for small and medium sized arts groups; manages and maintains the Department’s extensive grants history database; operates and maintains the Department’s online grants platform so applicants can easily create and submit their proposals via a secure online server; provides analysis of data gleaned from the system for reports to the Director, Cultural Affairs Council, other County departments, Mayor and Board of County Commissioners. Gilda is also responsible for the administration of the Cultural Advancement Grant Program, which provides general operating support to mid-to-large size nonprofit cultural organizations on an annual basis, and the Arts Help Technical Assistance Program, which provides technical assistance and professional development opportunities for arts organizations and artists.

Prior to her promotion to Chief of Grant Services in 2019, Gilda was the Grant and Program Administrator of the Hannibal Cox, Jr. Cultural Grant Program and Developing Arts in Neighborhoods Grant Programs for over 15 years. In 2012 she led the Department’s efforts in the transition to a fully online application process from paper applications and was responsible for the subsequent buildout of system forms, functionalities, and processes. As an Administrative Officer she worked as staff support to the Tourist Development Council, the Miami Beach Visitor and Convention Authority and the Grant Administrator of the Community Grants Program.  

Over the course of her tenure, Gilda was the Grant Administrator of the Cultural Access Network Grant Program and the Capital Development Grant Program, served as a panelist for the American Express National Arts Marketing Project Audience Development Program, Miami-Dade County Parks and Recreation Department and as a member of the Arts and Business Council’s Miami Arts Marketing Project Steering Committee. She has served as the Department’s liaison to the Coral Gables Cultural Development Board and Coral Gables Cultural Affairs Council.

Born and raised in Miami, Gilda followed her mother’s footsteps and began instruction in classical piano and music theory at age 5. In 1990, she earned her degree with the National Guild of Piano Teachers Association and was the recipient of two National Guild of Piano Teachers Scholarships. In 1987, she was honored to receive the association’s prestigious Paderewski Memorial Medal, the only student in the state of Florida to receive the award that year. Gilda is married with one son, who together with her husband, shares an enormous sense of pride to have instilled in him an appreciation of music and the performing arts. Her son is her constant reminder of the transformative power of the arts in someone’s life. She enjoys traveling, exploring Miami’s exemplary food scene, and has a deeply rooted passion for all things U2, “the 305” and the Miami Dolphins.