Darrell O’Quinn
Council President, District 5
Office of the Birmingham City Council
After completing The Walkable City with us in May 2024 along with a large group of policy makers and city staff from the Birmingham, Alabama and Jefferson County area, Councillor O’Quinn shared the following message with us:
“As a municipal elected official, this workshop is a good investment of time and resources. All of the concepts presented are evidence-based and presented in a manner that is easy to understand and translate for your own local applications.
I highly recommend attending with a diverse cohort from your municipality representing policymakers; transportation, infrastructure, economic development, and community development professionals; real estate developers; etc.”
About Council O’Quinn
Councilor O’Quinn is a former clinical veterinarian for UAB, president of the Birmingham Citizens Advisory Board, and currently presides over District 5 with the Birmingham City Council.
Councilor O’Quinn graduated from Denham Springs High School just east of Baton Rouge in 1990. He enrolled at Louisiana State University where he completed a bachelor’s degree in zoology in 1995 and a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine in 2000. He then came to UAB where he completed a Ph.D. in cellular and molecular pathology in 2005. He worked as a senior clinical veterinarian for the university’s animal resources programs since 2011.
Councilor O’Quinn has also been very active in civic organizations having served as vice-president or president of the Crestwood North Neighborhood Association since 2008, a member of the Implementation Committee for the Birmingham Comprehensive Plan since 2014, and president of the Citizens Advisory Board since 2015. He also serves on the boards of Greater Crestwood, Inc., Keep Birmingham Beautiful, and the Deep South Cancer Foundation and co-founded Heart to Table with Marco Morosini. He is a former board member of Redemptive Cycles and former executive director of Move I-20/59. He was a member of the 2015 class of Leadership Birmingham.
Councilor O’Quinn formerly published the Ultra-Local News and operated the Crestwood Produce Co-op from 2004 to 2005 and cofounded The 35212 newsletter. He is an avid cyclist and has lived in Crestwood North since 2001 with his wife, Kristina and two children.
As Councilor for District 5 on the City Council, Councilor O’Quinn is proud of the experience he’s gained while collaborating with community leaders on civic projects and he remains committed to accountability and transparency.