Megan M. Wright is a senior management analyst with the city of San Antonio, Texas. She began her ICMA membership back when she was a student earning her master's of public administration degree at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (where ICMA’s most recent student chapter has recently launched).

“My MPA program offered professional association membership options as part of our program,” said Wright. “I selected ICMA at the recommendation of an adjunct faculty member, Cal Horton, retired town manager of Chapel Hill. He was a great inspiration to go into local government management.”

She added that “I became an ICMA member in graduate school as an MPA student because I could see what a valuable asset it was to managers in the field. As a practitioner, I have come to rely on ICMA’s content as a way to see into management issues to prepare me for achieving my career goal of becoming a future city or county manager.” 

 Wright began her career as a management intern with the city of San Antonio in 2009. Throughout this program, she worked in the City Manager’s Office, the Public Works Department, and the Office of Management and Budget. “Each of my rotations afforded me great opportunities to work closely with executives and better understand the city organization.”

When asked why she made the move to San Antonio, Wright said that “one of the main reasons I was attracted to the city of San Antonio was Sheryl Sculley, our city manager. A strong female leader role model was a big factor in my decision to accept this position over other offers. Learning from her example has given me confidence to pursue this career, as I see her lead San Antonio to excel across the entire variety of services we provide.”

Wright added that “Although my career aspirations are to become a city manager of a smaller municipality, I do feel that beginning my career in an organization with a strong female leader has been an exceptional opportunity and will serve me well as I continue my career as a public servant.”