Dr. Philip C. Harris

District Recovery Manager Broward County Public Schools, Florida

 

Dr. Philip C. Harris is a versatile professional with extensive background in local government management and community affairs, program development and implementation, grants, and operations management. He was appointed district recovery manager for Broward County Public Schools in the wake of the tragic shooting at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School on February 14, 2018. Mourning the loss of 17 students and staff and those who were injured, the local governments, schools, and public safety agencies found themselves in uncharted territory.

Dr. Harris’s resolute leadership, expertise, and passion were immediately evident as he provided a clear vision of the resources needed for recovery and outlined an engagement model that involved the school district and its partners—nonprofits, faith-based organizations, businesses, elected officials, and municipal and county governments. The recovery model emphasized prevention to mitigate mental health issues through treatment, therapy, training, academic support, and implementation of activities to restore social and emotional well-being and collective wellness for students, staff, families, and community.

The community could not wait for the next budget cycle; they needed meeting rooms, specialized counselors and space for them to work in, and a way to get the word out about what was available to help those who were affected. Throughout the recovery, Dr. Harris demonstrated not only the technical expertise to deliver post-trauma support services, but the emotional fortitude to confront the reality of life after the shooting.

Dr. Harris has also passionately served other cities and counties in Florida for more than 16 years. He started his career in 2003 as a neighborhood services specialist in Clearwater, where he led an initiative that increased citizens’ understanding of local governance and management and how to best communicate with their local governments. The program benefited the manager and council by providing feedback on residents’ vision for the future and what they wanted in the way of services from the government.

Without a doubt, Dr. Harris has demonstrated that he is a dedicated public administrator.

 

Dr. Carl Stenberg

James E. Holshouser Jr. Distinguished Professor of Public Administration and Government, School of Government, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

 

During his 50-year career, Dr. Carl Stenberg has served city and county governments in North Carolina and the nation—recruiting talent to pursue local careers, teaching graduate students, establishing executive leadership development programs, and writing about local issues and trends.

His academic positions include dean at the University of Baltimore, director of the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service at the University of Virginia—home of the Senior Executive Institute—and MPA director at UNC Chapel Hill. Prior to his academic career, Dr. Stenberg served in senior positions at the U.S. Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations and as executive director of the Council of State Governments.

At UNC Chapel Hill, he led the creation of the Public Executive Leadership Academy, which has served hundreds of local government professionals, and was instrumental in establishing an ICMA student chapter.

Dr. Stenberg is a trusted facilitator of governing board and staff retreats and works regularly with newly elected officials. He serves as the school’s liaison with the North Carolina City and County Management Association.

He has made significant contributions to ICMA textbooks and reports, notably as co-editor of Managing Local Government Services: A Practical Guide and author of two Governmental Affairs and Policy Committee white papers.

Dr. Stenberg is a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration and former president of the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA). He received the Donald C. Stone Practitioner and Academic Awards from ASPA for contributions to intergovernmental management, the Louis Brownlow award from ASPA for the best article by a practitioner in Public Administration Review, and the Academic Award in Memory of Stephen B. Sweeney from ICMA for contributions to the education of students pursuing local government careers.

In nominating Dr. Stenberg for honorary membership, an ICMA member wrote: “Carl has provided a lifetime of service to our profession. He’s a rare academic who understands the theoretical foundations of management and leadership, but who is also steeped in the practical aspects, especially at the local government level.”