Michelle Crandall currently serves as the director of administrative services for Dublin, Ohio (population 43,000).  She is responsible for the divisions of information technology, facilities management, court services, fleet management, parks and open space, recreation services, and events management.  Additionally, she is responsible for coordinating city-wide sustainability initiatives.

Crandall earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Wittenberg University in 1990 and a master of public administration from Ohio State University in 1993. She has been with the city of Dublin for 20 years: seven years in her current position and several years as assistant city manager and management assistant.  In 2006, she was named as a “40 Under Forty” award recipient by Columbus’ Business First. 

In addition to chairing the Ohio City/County Management Association professional development committee, Crandall is an ICMA Midwest vice president. “Being a member of the ICMA board has been an incredibly rewarding experience,” says Crandall, “allowing me the opportunity to connect with so many members in the Midwest states and beyond.  I’ve been able to discuss with members the issues affecting their communities and their organizations.” 

She adds that “We, as local government managers, are faced with growing service delivery and organizational development demands in a time of significant fiscal challenges. The way we have managed in the past is not the way we will need to manage in the future in order to maintain and grow sustainable communities. We will need a new skill set and so will our employees.  ICMA will serve a key role in helping current and future managers understand and develop this new skill set.”

Crandall has served on the ICMA Conference Planning Committee for three terms and also received a 10-year ICMA Service Award in 2003. “For me the greatest value of my ICMA membership is the ability to easily connect with so many other professional managers, both at conferences and on-line through the Knowledge Network.  I always know I am a phone call or an e-mail away from understanding how another city solved an issue or leveraged an opportunity that is also important to my community.”

Most inspiring to her are the local government managers of tomorrow. “The generation just now entering the profession gives me great hope for the future of local government. This group of young professionals is civic-minded and driven to make a difference. As ICMA members, we must continue to concentrate on ways we can attract and retain this generation and take advantage of opportunities to tell them the great stories about the difference local government leadership makes in citizens’ lives.”