Brenda Gunn has been city administrator in La Vista, Nebraska, population about 17,000, since late 2005 and worked for the city, a suburb of Omaha, for about eight years before that. “To be honest, I didn’t want to be city administrator. I felt I was pretty young, and I wanted to work for someone with experience and have the number two seat in the organization. Still, the new mayor “kind of twisted my arm, and I gave in, but I was pretty young, younger than most of the people I was supervising.” The week she took the job, she also found out she was pregnant.

Nineteen years later, she says she enjoys her job and the “continuous learning” that comes with it. But she looks back at her earlier years in city management and administration with fondness. In some ways, she says, assistant city administrator is the “best gig in the house. You have a seat at the table; you have a voice; you can be heard, but you don’t have the same level of responsibility.”

 Here’s what she had to say:

“Don’t be impatient to move up too quickly. You’ve got to enjoy the steps. Go get experience. Volunteer for everything because with every experience, you can learn things. To me, that’s the most exciting thing about local government – that there are so many things to learn. Don’t be impatient to move up to the top. Take the time while you’re building your career to enjoy what you’re doing while you’re doing it and make connections with people. That’s so important. That keeps you motivated.

 “As I started my career, I really didn’t know what I wanted to do. What I understand today is that it was okay. Now, I’m truly a believer in that, but I did not know it then.  I’d say ‘Don’t sweat the small stuff to my younger self. That’s one of my best takeaways. I’ve learned that some things simply work out on their own. Not everything is an immediate crisis that needs to be addressed. It’s really just about being in the moment. Take things as they come, and you don’t always have to prove yourself. You know, in your mind, that you work hard. Pushing yourself is not always the healthiest choice.”

Kate Thomas, assistant county manager of Washoe County, Nevada, began her 28-year career in the public sector when she was working for a little retirement community and helped the city of Thousand Oaks to start a recycling program. 

Entranced by local government she took an internship with the city and became an analyst in the public works department. From there, she moved to jobs as budget director and assistant city manager in Reno, as well as deputy secretary of state in Nevada, She has been in her position with Washoe County for seven years. 

Here’s what she had to say:

“When you’re in the thick of it all, you may not know how you’re going to go forward, but I would tell my younger self that no matter what happens you will get through it. There have been times when I just wanted to give up, and it’s been very difficult politically to be in this line of work. But by focusing on the good work in the community -- and we love our communities, that’s why we’re in public service – you can keep your eyes on the prize.

“I will also say that it’s important to hold onto your personal values as you do get through things. The only thing you can control is your integrity and you have to hold onto that.

While still in college, Susan Sherman, now deputy city manager of Olathe, Kansas, had her first opportunities to work for government – initially as a free summer intern for a U.S. representative from Ohio, where she grew up, and then in the Ohio Governor’s Honors Program, where she learned the ins and outs of state government, along with 80 other students. But it wasn’t until she got her first look at city management that she knew what she really wanted to do. 

After getting her master’s in public administration at the University of Kansas, Sherman became assistant to the City Manager in Olathe, a city of about 150,000; a suburb of Kansas City and the county seat for Johnson County, Kansas. Since 1999, she has worked alongside the same city manager. “Having 25 years of two people working together at the top is a rare gem and we’ve been able to do some fantastic things because of that,” she says. Sherman, who was one of the top ten finalists for the League of Women In Government 2024 Leadership Trailblazer award, points out that her city manager is as much an extrovert as she is an introvert, and that makes for a splendid combination. 

Here’s what she had to say:

“My advice to myself would be to be a little bolder. I’d say ‘You’re smarter than you think you are.’ After I was hired in Olathe, my city manager said to me ‘Susan, you’re smart and you’re doing great work, but I need you to find your voice. You need to be able to contribute to executive team meetings.’ I am an introvert, but I had responsibilities to speak up and I credit him with helping me break out of my shell a little bit and push me out of my comfort zone.

“My advice to myself would be ‘Find your authentic voice. It doesn’t have to be like every other voice in the room. It has to be your voice, and you can leverage that so your ideas are heard – your thoughts; your comments. You don’t have to copy off of the person who might be an extrovert.

“I would also say to my younger self about stress and work in general, “Be kind. Be kind to yourself. Your hair is fine. Your clothes are fine. The car that you have that gets you there, is going to be fine. I think sometimes, maybe especially women, worry so much about the outer shell and forget it’s really the inner person that matters the most. You know? ‘Say good things to yourself. Use good words to describe yourself inside your head. We need to be kinder to ourselves.”

When Jennifer Fairweather, Chief Human Resources Officer of Jefferson County, Colorado, thought about her future career, she wasn’t aiming for a job in the public sector. That’s mostly where her family worked. So, when she came out of college, “I wanted to do just the opposite,” she says.

She went to work in finance, but when attending a job fair, Fairweather met a recruiter with the City and County of Denver, who was looking for someone in HR. That led to a job as a Human Resources Manager for Denver County Court. From there, she moved to similar positions in the Fire Department and the Department of Human Services, before taking on the role of Jefferson County CHRO – a position that she’s held for 14 years. Fairweather has also served as president of the Public Sector Human Resources Association (PSHRA) and speaks widely on HR topics. 

Here’s what she had to say: 

“For people who want to work in public sector HR, as I have, it’s always a benefit to get as much understanding as you can about the operations of government. Which reminds me, I should have paid more attention to history and civics in school. But, even if you’re not in the public sector or HR yet, no matter what you’re doing, it can be helpful as a member of the community to understand public sector systems and operations.

“Likewise, someone working in customer service, retail, or a coffee shop also learns how to be empathetic, de-escalate issues, provide good service, and understand how processes fit into the strategic goals of an organization. All of these experiences will make you a better candidate for the kinds of roles I have held, so take advantage of what you can learn from every opportunity.”

Aspen City Manager Sara Ott’s first experience with local government was a bit unusual. In her first year in high school, she says she got involved with a difficult crowd that led to a stint of mandatory community service working for the Midwest town where she lived. “The town manager took me under his wing and introduced me to what local government is and the services it provides,” she says. He was the first of a number of mentors who have provided guidance along the way.

 After college and getting her Master’s of Public Administration at the University of Kansas, Ott spent about 18 years in a variety of township and city jobs in the Midwest. Then, in 2017, she made the “bold step” of interviewing for an assistant city manager job in Aspen, Colorado, which meant moving with her husband and children to a very different kind of life in a place where neither she nor her family had been before. In 2019, she became city manager. Now, looking back, she says she’d advise herself that this kind of bold move should have come earlier. 

Here’s what she had to say:

“I think the key thing is to take risks – to pivot when you realize that your role in an organization is not the best role for you, even if it’s the role the organization needs. Looking back, I waited too long to pivot. I was well-compensated. I had incredible benefits, but I wasn’t growing anymore. I was redoing the things I had done six years earlier. Who knows what I missed because I waited? I wish I had gone after other jobs sooner – taken risks sooner to be able to have new experiences.

“The other skill I wish I had developed earlier is conflict resolution. Civil unrest is in a whole new place than it was back when I began this work in the 90s. I’ve had to really build those skills, and I wish I’d worked harder on those skills sooner. I went back to school [2022-2023 for a Graduate Certificate in mediation and conflict resolution at Colorado state University] to help me to do this in a more systematic way and I definitely use this constantly to try to manage our community well, but I think to my younger self, I would say ‘Work hard on conflict management skill sets.’”

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