Karen E. Pinkos, assistant city manager, El Cerrito, California, and former West Coast regional vice president of ICMA has been selected as the 2012 recipient of The Ferguson Group Scholarship. Through the scholarship, Pinkos will attend the Senior Executives in State and Local Government Program at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government this summer.

Pinkos is the second recipient of The Ferguson Group Scholarship. She was selected from among 35 applicants by an independent review panel composed of ICMA members who have previously participated in the Harvard Kennedy School program.  

The senior executive program is a three-week, intensive program that provides a balance of traditional and hands-on learning experiences to help experienced public officials from across the nation meet the changing needs of their constituents and communities. The program enables participants to become more effective public managers by:

• Challenging assumptions on how to exercise leadership in the public sector
• Developing new conceptual frameworks for addressing policy issues
• Examining innovative partnerships and new models of collaborative governance
• Exploring the relationship between residents and their government
• Understanding the behavioral dimensions of decision-making
• Exchanging ideas with experienced faculty and a diverse group of colleagues.

“I am extremely honored to have been selected for this fellowship, and I am grateful to ICMA and The Ferguson Group for making my attendance at this program possible,” Pinkos said. “It will be an extraordinary professional and personal opportunity for me, and I am thrilled to represent the city of El Cerrito and ICMA at this prestigious program.”

Pinkos was named assistant city manager of El Cerrito in July 2006. She is a past recipient of the Wes McClure Outstanding Assistant Award from the Municipal Management Association of Northern California, which recognizes outstanding achievement and exemplary commitment and dedication to the profession. Pinkos currently serves as an at-large member of the executive board of Cal-ICMA, a state affiliate of ICMA.  

Pinkos has been an active member of ICMA since 1999. She earned designation in 2008 as an ICMA Credentialed Manager through ICMA’s Voluntary Credentialing Program, which defines and recognizes members who are qualified by a combination of education and experience, adherence to high standards of integrity, and an assessed commitment to lifelong learning and professional development. She received an ICMA service award in 2007 in recognition of her 10 years of service to local government.

Pinkos earned a bachelor of arts degree from Oakland University in Michigan in 1998 and a master’s of public administration from that institution in 2001. She is also a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley Executive Seminar program.

The Ferguson Group (TFG) represents public and private interests across the country before Congress and federal agencies. It is the largest federal representative of local governments in Washington, D.C. TFG has committed to funding the full cost of tuition for an ICMA member to attend the Harvard Kennedy School Senior Executive Program for three years beginning in 2011.