As a nine-year-old boy living in a refugee camp, Sokhary Chau did not aspire to be the first Cambodian American mayor elected in the United States. He was merely looking for a place to call home. Over 25 years later … Continue reading →
Mason, Ohio, Fire Chief Bryan Brumagen said firefighting is in his blood. Besides growing up in a fire department family with a fire chief living in his house, he also has an uncle and several cousins who are in the … Continue reading →
When Monique Odom first joined Nashville, Tenn.’s, Metro Parks and Recreation in 2006, she wasn’t planning to make history. After transferring from the Metro Human Relations Commission to serve as a financial officer, she hoped to round out her practical … Continue reading →
Richard Hardy is a natural leader. After a 33-year military career and six years as the director of public works for the city of Valdosta, Ga., he was named a deputy city manager to the community’s current leader Mark Barber. … Continue reading →
Erie, Pa., Public Works employee Pat Fleming hasn’t been running for long, but he knows how to make every stride count. In March, he completed a 50-mile run across the county to raise funds for Erie’s small downtown businesses that … Continue reading →
When Clarence Fields was elected to the Pineville, La., City Council in 1998, he had no interest in becoming a full-time public servant. He had a good job with the Central Louisiana Electric Company, or CLEC, and enjoyed a well-earned … Continue reading →
As the organizational manager for the city of San Antonio, Texas’, Solid Waste Management Department, Walter Barrett is the safety, reliability and quality assurance chief who oversees the training of nearly 700 employees who serve 358,000 households on a weekly … Continue reading →
When it comes to her professional life, Tracy McKee said there is one question she is asked more than any other: What exactly is a chief innovation officer? “I get that all the time,” she said in a recent … Continue reading →
Not that long ago, Jeff Collins of Augusta, Arkansas, was the last person one would want to run their city or town. As the one-time owner of a trucking business, he began to use methamphetamines as a means to … Continue reading →
A career in parks and recreation seemed a natural path for Roswell, Ga.’s, Director of Recreation, Parks, Historic and Cultural Affairs Jeffrey Leatherman. He took the position in Georgia just over a year ago but parks and recreation has … Continue reading →
Sometimes we get where we are going in unexpected ways. Back in her undergraduate days, if someone had told Paula Ely that she would one day work as an operator at a wastewater treatment plant, she wouldn’t have believed it. … Continue reading →
