For Jennifer Wichmann, the best thing about being the deputy city manager in Arlington, Texas, is that every day is different.

“I don’t like being bored, and I have never been bored here,” she said in an Oct. 3 phone interview. “Just yesterday, a plane landed on one of our roads – not the kind of thing you expect to happen on a Monday afternoon. But unusual situations crop up.”

The single-engine Cessna 172 made an emergency landing on Timberlake Drive after the pilot reported engine failure and decided to put the craft down in the safest place that he could. He narrowly missed traffic, a building and businesses in the process, but there were no serious injuries to either the pilot or his passenger.

While most of her days are not filled with that level of drama, Wichmann said there is a great variety of things she gets to do. She might be on a rideout with the police department, visiting the animal services building or accompanying a building inspector who is checking on code compliance, allowing her to see how these departments work on a practical level and what they need from city leadership.

“It gives me a sense of how things work so I can understand what each department is looking for and what the needs are so that I can help them do their jobs,” she said.

Changing directions

Born just outside of Boston, Mass., Wichmann graduated from Rutgers University with a degree in English and political science. She took a job in Texas and promptly enrolled in a graduate program at the University of Texas at Arlington. Her initial plan was to become a social worker, but after doing some research into the field, Wichmann realized that casework wasn’t for her.

She turned to Janie McGuigan, who had experience in the nonprofit sector. McGuigan suggested Wichmann might be better suited to going into public administration.

“Janie said that was the degree that city managers typically received. Luckily, the University of Texas had a dual degree program in public administration and social work. I got in just under the wire and was able to transfer some of my credits,” she said.

As a graduate student, Wichmann secured an internship with Texas State Sen. Roy West, which transitioned into a full-time job after she received her degrees. She said she liked working with Sen. West and learned a lot as a legislative aide, but by 2003, she was ready to take her skillset elsewhere.

She became the assistant to the Arlington mayor for three years and then served as a budget analyst, administration services manager, assistant director for management resources and director of management resources before landing her present position in 2018.

“I knew if I got my foot in the door, I would be able to take on more things,” she said. “Serving in all of those departments was a great way to get to know the rhythm of the city and prepare me for my current role.”

Award-winning success

In her role as the deputy city manager, Wichmann is the proudest of having helped implement the Arlington Unity Council, a group established in the wake of the George Floyd murder to bring greater equity to the city. She has also led the organization-wide implementation of the Unity Council report – a 60-page document that serves as the city’s road map towards achieving equity.

“We had a terrific chair on that committee in Jason Shelton, and we even won a 2021 Cultural Diversity Award from the National League of Cities, which we are very proud of,” she said. “It was an eye-opening and special experience. I learned so much and it was a pleasure to be part of it.”

In June, Wichmann’s 20-year career with the city was honored when she received the Linda Keithley Award for Women in Public Management from the North Central Texas Council of Governments. Jay Warren, director of communication and legislative affairs for the city, nominated his colleague and hailed her as a “rising leader within the organization. Her results-oriented, quiet leadership style has enabled Jennifer to consistently manage complex projects to bring meaningful change to our community.”

“I was super touched to be honored,” Wichmann said. “I was also very surprised. Normally I am very aware, but they managed to surprise me. They were super sneaky about it.”

Naturally, there are also challenges to the deputy manager job. Wichmann said there remains a general lack of faith in government and in a lot of ways, it is deserved. She feels community leaders need to do everything they can to be transparent and accountable to the public and give them the information they need in the way they need to receive it.

“We can unintentionally screw things up for residents. We need to be sensitive to their needs,” she said.

When she isn’t serving the people of Arlington, Wichmann can be found spending time with her spouse, managing a “poorly behaved” corgi-mix dog, enjoying time with her nieces and nephews, and visiting her 88-year-old dad back East. But her thoughts are never far from the job she loves. “I work with really smart people in a fast-paced environment, and it’s been a wonderful experience. It has been easy to spend two decades here,” she said.

Next Article: State helps Michigan cities hone plans to spend federal money responsibly