Service

PRACTITIONER EXPERIENCE/ PUBLIC SERVICE

Nebraska Department of Economic Development

• Coordinator of Community Assistance Programs, October 1985 to March 1989. Managed 4 statewide programs providing technical assistance to Nebraska communities in economic and business development. Assisted community leaders formulate plans and programs for local economic development. Conducted policy analysis.

• Industrial Development Consultant, November 1981 to October 1985. Provided technical assistance to companies actively evaluating Nebraska for branch manufacturing locations. Marketed the state to companies initiating expansion studies. Worked on 8 plant location and expansion projects that resulted in more than 300 new jobs for the state.

City of Kearney, Nebraska

• Assistant City Manager, January 1979 to November 1981. Assisted chief administrative officer in the management of a municipality having a population of 22,000 and a city workforce of 175. Served as city personnel officer. Administered a comprehensive development program in the central business district.

City of Grand Island, Nebraska

• City Personnel Director, August 1977 to January 1979. Managed a personnel program in a community of 33,000 with a city workforce of 330. Served as chief negotiator in contract sessions with 4 nationally affiliated unions representing 60 percent of workforce and chief examiner for independent civil service commission.

• Assistant to Public Works Director, March 1975 to August 1977. Assisted head of line agency in the management of 75-person department. Served as department personnel, fiscal and budget officer. Conducted management and planning studies.

SELECTED ACADEMIC SERVICE ACTIVITIES

• Member of Editorial Board for Journal of Parliamentary and Political Law,  Canada, 2022

• Member, Board of Directors, Joslyn Institute for Sustainable Communities, 2015 to 2020

• Member of Editorial Board for State and Local Government Review, Governance Matters editor, 2019 to 2020

• Member of Editorial Board for Community Development: Journal of the Community Development Society, 2019.

• National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration. Chair, Local Government Management Education Committee, 2013 to 2020.

• International City/County Management Association. Co-Chair, Advisory Board on Graduate Education, member of Advisory Board for the Local Government Management Fellowship Program.

• Nebraska City Management Association. Member of professional development committee. Assisted in creation of and management of local government management scholarship program and coordinating internships.

• Member, Economic Development District Advisory Board, Metropolitan Area Planning Agency, Omaha, Nebraska. 2008 to 2017.

• Advisory Board Member and workshop presenter, Nebraska Certified Public Management program, 2008-2014.

• Coordinator and founder, Great Plains Seminar on Local Government Management. An annual regional workshop on professional development for city managers: 2005, 2006, 2007.

• Director, Nebraska Community Development Block Grant Certified Administrators Program, 1996 to 2001. Coordinated and helped deliver a comprehensive training program to 300 certified local CDBG administrators on technical topics relating to block grant management for the Nebraska Department of Economic Development.

• Executive Editor, Journal of the Community Development Society, 1991 to 1997, a research journal on community development research, theory, and practice.

• Strategic Training and Resource Targeting Program, University of Nebraska at Omaha, Center for Public Affairs Research: provided community and economic development planning assistance to 26 communities in Nebraska, 1989-1991.