What inspired you to enter city management?
I was accepted into the Kennedy School State and Local Government Program in 2013 bringing a professional background in city planning. My classmates and the program instructors inspired me to consider the city manager role. Classmates serving as city or county managers, including several from California, demonstrated how impactful the city manager role could be in shaping organizational culture, a sense of community and creating vitality and quality of life. I have never regretted the decision to become a city manager.
How did you become a city manager?
From the beginning of my career, I sought opportunities to take on assignments beyond my usual responsibilities. I actively participated in citywide initiatives, ballot measure efforts and organizational changes—anything that would provide me with a broader perspective on city management and governance. I also spent years honing my skills through various continuing education opportunities – writing, finance and budgeting, human resources, leadership, communication and public speaking, organization development and team building. I found great mentors and made every effort to talk to city managers to ask them about their career paths and to seek input and guidance as I was charting my own path.
When the time came to apply for the city manager position regionally, I relentlessly prepared for opportunities that would be a good fit. I researched each organization, talked to peers, learned their budget, watched council meetings, got to know the issues and opportunities each city faced, visited the communities and thought about how my skills and experience would help the council, organization and community. I was fortunate to receive two offers in the same week to become a Bay Area city manager. In short, I did the work to be prepared for the right opportunity at the right time.
What do you enjoy the most about your role?
I enjoy working to establish a positive and productive culture. Doing this with staff colleagues, the city council and the community to enhance quality of life and chart a path for the future is really exciting. As city manager, I let my colleagues know that I expect staff to exhibit vision, apply best practices and demonstrate kindness. Getting to work with the city council and community to envision innovative and creative ways to meet community needs in the near term while also anticipating and planning for the future makes the role really fulfilling.
What role does a city manager play in local government, and how do you feel it differs from that of a council member or mayor?
It is essential that a successful city manager remains apolitical and brings professional management and leadership to the municipal organization while supporting the city council’s goals. At its purest, the role allows the manager to build a team that meets the community’s needs while also delivering innovative, well-researched and intentional recommendations to the city council on a wide range of topics. The manager must also work closely with the city council to ensure that priorities are established and the work plan is realistic based on the resources available at a given time.
What does your typical day look like?
In the life of a city manager there is no typical day! But many of my days look like this:
1. Reviewing emails and understanding the emerging challenges that may reorder my day. While this sounds easy, there’s no guessing what will arrive in my inbox…and sometimes it’s enough to reshape the day I had planned. I also seek to keep the council well informed of activities impacting our city.
2. Spend quality family time in the morning, enjoy breakfast together, get ready for the day and head off to school.
3. Coordinate with my executive assistant and assistant city manager: Let’s get this day underway! And make sure that we are managing the unexpected too!
4. Meetings, meetings and more meetings! With the mayor and councilmembers to start off the week, then internal and external meetings on Wednesdays and Thursdays and longer-term planning and thinking on Fridays… and making time to think!
5. Some exercise and/or kids sports shuttling while using a bit of down time to catch up on professional and personal reading.
6. Dinner with family, where I focus on their day and their needs. Most days, hopefully.
7. Email and calendar review for the next day.
What city project are you most proud of?
Pleasanton developed and implemented its first citywide strategic plan approved by the city council in 2023. While many cities have comprehensive community-vetted strategic plans, this was a comprehensive approach represented a different tool for Pleasanton, which had relied primarily on priority setting. Working with the organization, council and community to chart a shared vision, values and priorities early in my time as city manager was an effective way to bring focus to our work and has served as an important guide.
What are the greatest challenges facing city managers in the state today?
City managers in many cities across the state are confronted with a lack of trust in government and a lack of civility in public discourse. The ability to listen, compromise and adapt seems to have diminished in the years since the COVID-19 pandemic. The result is that city managers are targeted and maligned by even a small group of individuals who criticize, blame and otherwise undermine the work that cities are doing.
Like other public officials, city managers are often blamed and targeted, resulting in shorter tenures and public criticism from often anonymous city detractors. This drawing the professional administration into the political discourse likely has a chilling effect on the next generation of city managers, and negatively impacts the communities that we serve by creating more turnover and less stability.
In addition, city managers across the state are facing difficult budget realities – for both operating and capital needs. Especially in older communities, city managers are experiencing the reality of revenues not keeping up with expenses and the need to repair and replace costly infrastructure. That, coupled with the need for upgrades to address climate change and resilience efforts, has put a lot of pressure on city managers to address cities’ financial stability.
When and how do you interact with the residents of your city?
Community engagement is essential, and I have made connecting with neighborhoods and other public servants a priority. The city publishes a quarterly newsletter that goes to every household and business and includes a city manager’s message to the community, to frame or raise the profile of key issues. And there are so many personal interactions – I spend time at our popular farmers’ market and attend city open houses and community events. I also participate in National Night Out, attend service club luncheons and make myself personally available to respond to resident inquiries by phone and email. I regularly seek out new community members to talk with about how things are going from their vantage point.
What is the role of a city manager in upholding the public’s trust in local government?
As city manager, it is important to be apolitical and to consistently deliver sound analysis and recommendations to the city council and solid project outcomes to the community. It’s also critically important to think ahead and communicate clearly and frequently about what local government is doing and why it’s crucial. By identifying and communicating about the issues that your community is going to be facing in a year, five years, and beyond, a city manager is building awareness and confidence and working toward consensus for solutions.
How are cities shaping the future of California?
On the front line, cities deliver public safety, parks, sports and recreation programs, high-quality drinking water, climate adaptation solutions, safe buildings, roads, traffic signals and so much more. All of this shapes people’s experience in their day-to-day lives, and how they feel about their community. A healthy and stable city is central to a healthy and strong community. The stronger and more innovative our cities are, the more vitality we will have in our state.