Joe CapozziLake Worth Beach’s Sarah Malega faces a whirlwind in her first week as the league’s executive director.
Coastal towns flooded by king tides and torrential rains. A Learjet crash in Greenacres. A looming multimillion-dollar budget crisis for many towns and villages with the passage of Amendment 3.
Welcome to Sarah Malega’s first week on the job.
As the new executive director of the Palm Beach County League of Cities, Malega spent her first five days in a whirlwind of emergency meetings and communication coordination. It’s a massive leap from her previous role as a Lake Worth Beach city commissioner but one she is leaning into.
“It’s everything I love,” Malega said of her new job as head of a nonprofit municipal advocacy group founded in 1969 to help local cities, towns and villages enhance the quality of life for their residents.
“My ultimate goal is to make the Palm Beach County League of Cities the supreme league,” she said, “so when people think of Florida, we are the ones who set the standard.”
As executive director, Malega, 51, guides the league’s operations, supporting a board of directors made up of local elected officials, strengthening relationships among municipalities and advocating on issues affecting the 39 local governments in the county.
Her appointment, approved by the league’s board on Oct. 28, comes at a time when local governments face complex legislative, financial and policy challenges that underscore the importance of a unified voice and strong collaboration.
The league is deeply invested in the county’s effort to create a countywide transportation master plan. City officials worry that the county’s past focus on widening roads shortchanges other options, such as dedicated bike lanes needed as more residents rely on electric bikes.
“Sarah understands firsthand the challenges and opportunities facing our municipalities,” said Susy Diaz, a Greenacres City Council member who serves as the league board’s first vice president.
“We are excited to welcome her leadership as we continue strengthening the collective voice of Palm Beach County’s municipalities,” she said.
Born in Detroit
Malega is the league’s third executive director in less than 15 months. Richard Radcliffe resigned in late August 2025 after holding the post since 2011. He was replaced a month later by Amelia Jadoo, who resigned in February 2026 after less than five months.
Malega, born and raised in Detroit before moving to South Florida in 2003, had been a finalist when the league’s board hired Jadoo. After Jadoo resigned, Malega said she was encouraged to reapply.
To accept the position, she had to resign from the Lake Worth Beach City Commission seat that she’d held since March 2021. City commissioners on Nov. 9 appointed Elizabeth Smith, a 27-year-old teacher, to fill the final four months of Malega’s term.
Malega said she has encouraged Smith to get involved with both the county and state League of Cities, just as Radcliffe had recommended to Malega when she first took office six years ago.
“I went to my first Palm Beach County League of Cities meeting. I was newly elected. And Richard encouraged me to keep coming back. He said, ‘Stay engaged,’ and that really resonated with me,” Malega said.
‘I’m not coming in cold’
Her work with the Florida League of Cities led to her involvement with that state league’s Legislative Committee in Tallahassee and its Federal Action Strike Team, which advocates for municipal interests in Washington.
“The things that happen in Tallahassee and Washington, if we are not at the table fighting for or against them we don’t have a right to complain. That’s another thing Richard Radcliffe and the league taught me and instilled in me,” Malega said.
In Tallahassee, Malega and the committee helped push back against bills that would have restricted or phased out community redevelopment agencies across the state. The legislative session ended last year before the bill faced a vote.
“The fact I have dealt face to face with policymakers who could hinder home rule I think brings a lot of credit to the league. I’m not coming in cold,” she said.
Won’t run for office again
To accept her position at the league, Malega had to divest her roles in two businesses she started. In 2006, she founded PersonalAutoShoppers.com, and in 2010, she and her wife, Dawn, opened The Zoo Health Club of Lake Worth.
Malega wouldn’t disclose her new salary. She made $24,500 a year as a city commissioner. Before she was hired, the league’s website said the executive director position had a pay range of $115,000 to $140,000 a year.
“I’m going to be busy. I’m going to be productive,” she said, noting how she went “from owning multiple businesses and being an elected official” to a job where “I get to wake up every day and only think about being the best executive director I can be.”
And while she plans to continue living in Lake Worth Beach, she said she has no plans to seek elected office again.
“My elected political career is over. I have no desire to run for higher office. I think I will be able to do more good in this capacity and to represent the entire county as a whole,” she said.
“I loved my time on the City Commission but all good things must come to an end and I really think this will be my last stop, however long that lasts, if it’s four years, which is what my contract says, or 14 years. This is all my focus is.”
As she takes the helm, Malega said she is looking forward to working closely with Je’Riise Hansen, the league’s deputy executive director, who also applied for the head position.
“She is very qualified. I am honored that the board chose me to be their next leader, but at the end of the day we are a team at the league and we will move the league together,” Malega said.
