Susan K. Thorpe is the county administrator of Yuma County, Arizona, and a member of ICMA since 1983.

Tell me a little bit about how you got started in local government.

I took a course in college called public administration and decided that I wanted to be a city manager after learning about local government through that course. When I became the city manager of Bedford, Texas, my dad was the city manager in Universal City, Texas. As far as I know, we were the first father-daughter pair of city managers at the same time in Texas. The Universal City newspaper published an article about us, and we were also featured in the publication City Government That Works: The History of Council-Manager Government in Texas by Terrell Blodgett. Now that I am working as a county administrator, I am learning that county government is different from city government in many ways. This experience provides a great opportunity to learn more about the variety of local governments in which we can serve as career professionals.

Do you have any tips for aspiring women local government managers?

The Task Force on Women in the Profession found that of the CAO or city manager positions in local government, less than 20 percent were held by women, which is not a good thing. It should be closer to 50 percent since women are half of the population. ICMA helps us to diversify our views by exposing us to a lot of different opinions and cultural values across the United States and the world. That exposure can help us remove any unconscious biases that we might hold toward interview candidates, among other things, and that's going to help women. Women also should just go for it (the top spot). When in doubt, take action. Don't stop and don't discourage yourself from taking action.

Is there any experience that stands out in your career of public service?

Two examples come to mind. In Corpus Christi, we rebuilt a major section of the city marina that had been neglected for over a decade. I enjoyed seeing the results of that project as it came to fruition.  

The experience that impacted me the most was working in housing and community development. Providing funds for first-time buyers, helping them purchase a home, or helping residents rehabilitate their homes, impacts people directly. Seeing families with children moving into a home for the first time, or elderly residents who receive help to improve accessibility in their homes, allows you to appreciate the difference our work can make.

What do you feel is the value of being a credentialed manager?

Being an ICMA Credentialed Manager means that you have made a commitment to yourself, to your organization, and to this association that you will continue to learn throughout your career. Year-by-year you make a plan. You commit to that plan and then you track your training and development. The process makes you more mindful about the need for training, continuous learning, tracking your progress, and holding yourself accountable.

What challenges have you faced in your career and how did your ICMA membership or connections help you overcome them?

I have faced many challenges in my career, including being fired from a position as city manager. This is something that is obviously not pleasant but it often happens to city managers in their careers. ICMA’s In Transition service was very helpful to me. It helped me realize that I wasn't alone and that it wasn't some fatal flaw in my own personality, or my skill set. It's just something that can happen with changes of the political winds, and the In Transition program resources help you to bounce back from that and move forward.

What coping mechanisms would you suggest to managers that find themselves in transition to manage stress?

The first reaction to being let go is to shut down and stop communicating. It’s important that you overcome that quickly. Although something happened in your life that is unfortunate, you need to reach out to colleagues and friends, and connect with people who are there to listen to you and support you.

ICMA and several state associations have good publications about transitioning. It’s important to take the time to reflect and heal, and even enjoy some well-deserved time off, then start looking for a new job. I have talked to managers who have resigned under pressure, and they have taken that opportunity to do something fun, unusual, or something they have always wanted to do. Get out of your own head and do things that are enjoyable. Remember that bad things can happen to good people.

What excites you about the profession right now?

What excites me is that we have another woman ICMA president. Pat Martel is the third woman president of ICMA, and I'd like to see that number go up. She's made a commitment to implement the objectives that the Task Force on Women and the Task Force on Diversity and Inclusion have recommended. Those are things that will serve us well into the future, and will help ICMA to be a resource, network, and organization that really welcomes everybody, and helps all of us get better at what we do.

What challenges do you see for the profession in the years ahead?

One challenge internal to our organizations is engaging a multigenerational work force, though I see it as more of an opportunity than a challenge. Baby boomers have not retired from the workforce in the numbers that we had previously expected. However, an exodus of these workers is coming, and succession planning will be a real challenge. Organizations need to take these challenges seriously and develop succession plans and strategies to ensure that knowledge is transferred and that we integrate the next generation of workers fully into our organizations.

With the coming wave of retirements in the public service sector, what steps do you think should be taken to encourage people to go into public service?

We need to tell people how exciting, fascinating, and diverse our experiences can be within local government. There is such variety, you can move geographically from one organization to another, one state to another, and you can move between departments or functions within the same organization. A local government career offers a variety of experiences and opportunities to develop skills across a broad spectrum. Millennials want to make a difference, and we need to market the fact that local government is one of the most direct ways to make a difference in people’s lives. We also need to provide greater job flexibility in our organizations, to help with work-life balance.

As a long-standing member, what would you say to encourage somebody to join ICMA?

ICMA is our professional network; it connects us to one another. It offers professional development opportunities to keep us on top of what is happening in the profession that we can bring back to our communities. It helps us do a better job managing our organizations and bringing more value to our communities.

ICMA is worth the membership dues. It is an investment in yourself and your development. I believe that you get out of it what you put into it. Making the commitment to lifelong learning is very important, and ICMA is a great resource. Not only during the annual conference, but through the Knowledge Network and other resources that are available on the website. I have enjoyed serving on a variety of committees and task forces over a number of years; I would encourage other members to participate in ICMA whenever they have the opportunity. It is time well spent.