Trackdown Management’s City Manager Newsletter: Volume No. 13, Issue No. 01

For over 13 years, Jack Simpson’s Trackdown Management has published the City Manager Newsletter. Jack is a retired city manager and former Willdan executive. His newsletter content weaves together the personal side of the profession in California and helps keep the city manager community, especially retired city managers, connected with each other. 

A continued list of women city government professionals in California cities is presented here. In this issue, those listed in this 28th installment are those we found in the cities alphabetically from Red Bluff to Rialto. As we have repeatedly written, there are many highly qualified and dedicated professional women serving California cities. The list is impressive. Our effort addresses the rhetorical question: Where are the women in city management? Again, we apologize to anyone we miss. The failures of others to not post complete profiles makes it difficult to be comprehensive. Please believe that we try.

City of Red Bluff

Red Bluff is the county seat for Tehama County that was incorporated in March, 1876. The 2018 estimated population of Red Bluff is 14,283. The Red Bluff post office has been in operation since 1853. The “Red Bluff” name comes from the red bluffs along the nearby Sacramento River. The Red Bluff Walmart is the community’s largest employer. Richard Crabtree is the Red Bluff City Manager and City Attorney. Kyle Sanders if the Chief of Police, and Cassidy DeRego is the City Clerk. Anita Rice and Vi Cobb are the Deputy City Clerks. Vi is also the city’s Human Resources Analyst. Former Deputy City Clerk Cheryl Smith, who retired at the end of 2016, served as the Interim City Manager prior to City Manager Richard Crabtree joining the staff in February, 2012.

Robin Kampmann joined the Red Bluff city staff in 2013 as the Public Works Director. Robin is a contract employee, who works for NorthStar Engineering. Robin has been with the firm since May, 2005. Prior to that she was a Civil Engineering Intern with the Jackson Rancheria from June, 2003 to May, 2005. Robin attended classes as California State University, Fresno and earned her BS in civil engineering from California State University, Chico.

City of Redding

Redding is the county seat of Shasta County. The city, founded by Pierson B. Reading, incorporated in October, 1887. The estimated 2018 population was 91,772. Barry Tippin is the current City Manager, and Pam Mize is the City Clerk.

Sheri DeMaagd has served as the Assistant City Manager and Personnel Director since May, 2007. The Personnel Department consists of three divisions: Personnel, Risk Management and Volunteer Services. Sheri earned a BA in business administration from California State University, Chico.

Allyn Feci Van Hooser is the Finance Director and City Treasurer. The former Allyn Feci Clark has served as the Redding City Treasurer since December, 2012. The City Treasurer is an elected position. Prior to joining the Redding city staff, she was the Chief Financial Officer for the Turtle Bay Exploration Park (January, 2007 – April, 2011). Allyn earned a BA in accounting and business administration from Carrol College.

Janelle Galbraith, Management Assistant to the City Manager, joined the Redding city staff in October, 2017. She previously worked in the educational community as a faculty member as Simpson University, Shasta College and Radford University. She was the owner of a marketing firm from 2017 to 2010. Janelle earned a MA from Athens State University, an MS from Radford University, and a Doctorate in Education from Concordia University, Portland. Others included: Amber Kelley, Environmental Compliance Manager; Mieke Sheffield, Storm Water Management Program Coordinator; Amber Edenburn, Purchasing Officer.

City of Redlands

Redlands was incorporated as a San Bernardino County city in December, 1888. The 2018 population estimate is 71,586. The city was established by Frank E. Brown, a civil engineer and E. G. Judson, a New York stock broker.

Janice McConnell, Assistant City Manager, was named Acting City Manager in October following the dismissal of City Manager N. Enrique Martinez. Charles M. Duggan Jr., the Administrative Services Division Manager and Treasurer for the Marin Municipal Water District is the new City Manager in Redlands. Janice was appointed Assistant City Manager starting in November, 2019. She earned an MPA from California State University, Long Beach.

Danielle Garcia is the Redlands Director of Management Services. She joined the city staff in November, 2006 as a Grants Planning Specialist. She then began working her way up as a Senior Project Manager (2011-2012), Field Services Manager (2012-2014), Interim IT Director (2013-2014), Chief Innovation Officer (2014- 2016), and then Director of Management Services starting in November, 2016. Danielle earned a BA from the University of California, Riverside and an MPA from California State University, San Bernardino. She also earned a Professional Certificate in International Business Administration from Riverside City College.

Rachel Tolber is Commander of the Patrol & Community Services Bureau of the Redlands Police Department.

Jeanne Donaldson was first elected Redlands City Clerk in 2016. Jeanne previously served as Deputy City Clerk. She has lived in Redlands for more than 42-years.

Tina T. Kundig, former Finance Director, retired in 2016 after 21-years with the City of Redlands. Tina began her career in government finance when she took an internship with the Auditor-Controller’s Office in the County of San Bernardino. Former Redlands Finance Director Steve Chapman recruited Tina in the 1990s to work in the Redland’s Finance Department. When Steve became the Moreno Valley Finance Director, he took Tina there to be the Revenue Officer and Assistant City Treasurer. She returned to Redlands as the Finance Director in 2003.

City of Redondo Beach

Redondo Beach, located in the South Bay region of the Greater Los Angeles area, was incorporated in April, 1892. The 2018 population was 67,412. The area that is Redondo Beach today was originally part of the 1785 Rancho San Pedro Spanish land grant. The community is known for its sandy beach and municipal pier. Joe Hoefgen is the current City Manager and Eleanor Manzano is the City Clerk. A former Accounting Manager, Eleanor became the City Clerk in April, 2007. She earned an AA from Marymount College and a BS in computer information systems from Chapman University.

Brandy A. Forbes is the Redondo Beach Community Development Director. She began working in 1992 as a Research Assistant for the University of Iowa. She worked in Washington, Iowa as an Inspection Intern in 1994. Brandy worked as a Planner from 1994 to 1997 for the Regional Planning Commission in Ottumwa, Iowa. After working for a private firm as a planner, she joined the city staff in Solon, Iowa in March, 2000 as a Business Administrator. Brandy joined the staff in the Township of Maplewood, New Jersey in 2003 as the Assistant Business Administrator, and in December, 2006 she became the Township Planner in Edison, New Jersey. Brandy came to California in December, 2018 to become the Redondo Beach Community Development Director after she served in a similar post in the City of Hoboken between 2009 and 2018. Brandy earned a BA in economics and an MA in urban and regional planning from the University of Iowa.

Diane Strickfaden is the Redondo Beach Director of Human Resources. Diane began her work career as an insurance Claims Manager in 1995. In 1997 she joined the city staff in Lawndale as an Administrative Analyst and she was the Assistant to the City Manager when she left the staff in 2002. After working a half-dozen years as a human resources consultant, she joined the City of Lynwood staff in August, 2006 as a Senior Human Resources Analyst. In January, 2013 Diane became the Assistant to the City manager in the City of Hermosa Beach. She joined the Redondo Beach staff in June, 2015. Diane earned a BA in English literature from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and an MPA from California State University, Long Beach.

City of Redwood City

Redwood City is the county seat in San Mateo County in the heart of the Silicon Valley. It was incorporated in May, 1867 and then reincorporated in May, 1897. Melissa Stevenson Diaz is the current City Manager and Kimbra McCarthy is the Assistant City Manager of Administrative Services. Pamela Aguilar is the City Clerk.

Melissa Stevenson Diaz began her public management career in 1991 as a Management Intern in the City of Morgan Hill. Melissa was hired as a Management Analyst and then served as the Morgan Hill Acting Human Resources Manager in 1999. She became Assistant to the City Manager in 2001. In 2006 Melissa was appointed Assistant City Manager in the City of Fremont. She took the same position in Mountain View in 2010, working there until she was appointed City Manager in Redwood City in October, 2015. Melissa earned a BA in history from Mills College and an MPA from San Jose State University. In 2017 she received a 25-year ICMA Service Award. Melissa serves as a member of the Mills College Board of Trustees.

Kimbra McCarthy is the Assistant City Manager in Redwood City. She served as a Fiscal Analyst for the State of Kansas Legislature in 2007. She joined the staff in the County of Santa Barbara in October, 2008 as a Fiscal and Policy Analyst in the County Executive Office. Kimbra was promoted to Director of Administration in the District Attorney’s Office in October, 2010. She was appointed Deputy City Manager in the City of Mountain View in August, 2014. Kimbra joined the Redwood City staff in her current position in August, 2016. She earned a BA from Washburn University, a Master of Laws from the University of Limerick, and a J.D. from Washburn University School of Law.

City of Reedly

Reedley was incorporated in February, 1913 in the County of Fresno. The city’s 2018 estimated population was 25,579. Civil War soldier Thomas Law Reed settled in the area to provide wheat for the Gold Rush miners in the 1800s. He donated land for a railroad state that established the town as a center of the San Joaquin Valley. Nicole R. Zieba is the City Manager and Sylvia B. Plata in the City Clerk.

Nicole R. Zieba was born and raised in Los Angeles. She worked in local government recruiting from 1998 to 2003. She was hired to be a Deputy City Manager in Fresno in 2003. In 2007 she took the Executive Director of Human Resources post with the Fresno Unified School District. Nicole returned to Fresno as Deputy City Manager in 2009. She was selected to be the Reedley City Manager in August, 2011. Nicole earned a BA in political science and government from California State University, Fullerton and an MPA from the University of Southern California (USC).

Sarah Reid is the Reedley Community Services Director.

City of Rialto

Rialto was incorporated in November, 1911. The 2018 estimated population was 103,440. Rod Foster is the City Manager and Stephen Erlandson is the Deputy City Manager. Barbara McGee is the City Clerk and Management Services Director.

Jessica Brown is the Rialto Finance Director. She worked for the County of San Bernardino in Finance and Administration from 1999 to January, 2017. In September, 2015 Jessica became the Chief Financial Officer for the Apple Valley Fire Protection District. She moved to the same post with the Lake Arrowhead Community Services District in January, 2017. Jessica joined the Rialto city staff in December, 2018. She earned a BBA in accounting and finance from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.

Angela D. McCray was appointed Rialto Human Resource & Risk Management Director starting in October, 2019. Angela began her public service career in Illinois with the City of Evanston. She was an Assistant Analyst in the Management and Budge Department in 2001. She was promoted to Human Resources Specialist (2004-2008) and Employee Relations Manager in 2008. Angela became the Director of Human Resources in North Chicago in 2010, where she served as Chief of Staff between 2010 and 2012. Angela then worked as the Human Resources Manager in Scottsdale, Arizona between 2012 and 2013. She was the Human Resources Manager for the State of Arizona Department of Public Safety from 2013 to 2015. Angela earned a BA and an MBA from National-Louis University.

Again, we apologize to those we missed. Please let us know so we can make amends. Cheers!

Originally published by Trackdown Management. Sign up for the City Manager Newsletter for free here.