ICMA congratulates recipients of the 2017 scholarships to the Harvard Kennedy School Senior Executives in State and Local Government program.

Kimiko Black Gilmore

Kimiko Black Gilmore, Assistant City Manager, Kansas City, Missouri

Kimiko has more than 25 years of experience in the nonprofit and government sectors.

During her tenure with Kansas City, Kimiko has provided oversight in the areas of housing, health, human relations, and neighborhoods. She began her career with Kansas City in 2009 as assistant to the city manager, during which time she worked on coordinating the city’s 2010 Census efforts and providing the leadership required to complete the city’s housing asset transfer plan, ReBuild KC. She was named assistant city manager, special projects, in 2012. 

Kimiko was the staff lead during the 2012 Major League Baseball All-Star Week and the 2015 World Series Parade and Celebration. She administered a $4 million contract with the Green Impact Zone, Congressman Emanuel Cleaver’s signature project, a place-based investment model within the urban core. She is the city’s planning committee representative to CORE4, a regional collaborative initiative among Missouri's four largest  jurisdictions: Kansas City, Jackson County, Johnson County, and the Unified Government of Wyandotte County.

Kimiko holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Missouri at Kansas City and a master’s degree in public administration from Troy State University.

 David Ellis

David Ellis, Deputy County Manager, Wake County, North Carolina

David has served as deputy county manager of Wake County, North Carolina, since February 2015 and has more than 20 years of local government experience.

Prior to joining Wake County, he served as assistant city manager in Charlottesville, Virgina, for three years. In Fairfax County he served as assistant to the county executive for nine years. In Fairfax, David managed the Redevelopment and Housing Authority and the Department of Code Compliance. He also established a regional system of human services as the assistant director of human services.

An ICMA Credentialed Manager, David holds a bachelor’s degree from James Madison University and a master’s degree in public administration from George Mason University.

Scholarship Sponsors

Thanks to the generosity of its strategic partners, The Ferguson Group and eCivis, ICMA is able to provide these scholarships.