Yanira “Yaya” Cardona, who made history as Jacksonville’s first Hispanic outreach coordinator, is leaving City Hall for a new job running one of the city’s buzziest arts corridors.
Cardona announced on April 3, 2026 that she will step down to become general manager of the Phoenix Arts District. Her last day with the city will be April 17, 2026, wrapping up roughly two years in a role created under Mayor Donna Deegan.
In a resignation letter and social media post, Cardona framed the move as a continuation of community work and thanked neighbors for backing her during a turbulent stretch. According to News4JAX, she wrote that serving as the city’s first Hispanic outreach coordinator “has been more than a title.”
What she built on the job
During her tenure, Cardona helped set up Spanish-language business forums connected to the Jacksonville Small and Emerging Business program, helped organize Unidos Jax cultural events and worked with nonprofits on health and business outreach.
She also served as the key outreach contact for JSEB forums and town halls that aimed to connect Hispanic entrepreneurs and families with city services, according to the City of Jacksonville.
Leave, subpoena and review
Cardona’s time in the role was not without drama. She was briefly placed on administrative leave in January after an Instagram livestream in which she warned residents about reported ICE activity. She later returned to work following an internal review, per ActionNewsJax.
In February, the Florida attorney general issued a criminal subpoena seeking work-related communications from Cardona. News4JAX reported that documents the city turned over did not contain the inflammatory words specified in the subpoena and that no charges have been filed.
Local outlets, including coverage of the January suspension, chronicled the initial backlash and broader community reaction to her being sidelined and then reinstated.
What this means for Jax and the Phoenix Arts District
The Phoenix Arts District describes itself as a creative placemaking hub for North Springfield, blending studios, markets and youth programming. Cardona’s move puts an experienced community connector in a leadership seat at a district focused on arts-led small-business growth.
The district’s website outlines plans to host makers, markets and community programs that echo the kind of outreach Cardona was known for at City Hall, according to PHXJAX.
For city leaders and organizers, her exit closes one chapter in a short but notable effort to bridge language and trust gaps across Jacksonville’s Hispanic communities, while highlighting how outreach roles can collide with law enforcement and state oversight questions.
