HOLD FOR RELEASE: October 25, 2017       

CONTACT:   Michele Frisby, Director, Public Information, frisby@icma.org; (202) 962-3658

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS—Karen E. Pinkos, assistant city manager, El Cerrito, California, has been selected as president-elect of ICMA, the International City/County Management Association. Ms. Pinkos was chosen by the ICMA Executive Board at its June 8-10, 2017, meeting in Fort Collins, Colorado, and she will serve as president-elect for a one-year term commencing at ICMA’s 103rd Annual Conference in San Antonio/Bexar County, Texas. She will assume the role of president at the ICMA Annual Conference in Baltimore, Maryland, in September 2018.

ICMA’s mission is to advance professional local government worldwide through leadership, management, innovation, and ethics. The organization is made up of more than 11,000 members from 35 countries, including appointed chief administrative officers, assistant and deputy administrators, department heads, other local government employees, educators, and students. 

 “We are honored that Karen will return to the ICMA Executive Board in October as 2017-18 president-elect after having served as a West Coast Regional Vice President,” said ICMA Executive Director Marc A. Ott. “The individuals who serve on our board are authentic, outstanding leaders, not only in their own communities but also in the field of professional local government management. We welcome and appreciate their commitment to moving our association and our profession forward.”

ICMA’s 21-member Executive Board acts in the capacity of directors, overseeing the organization’s financial, member-related, and programmatic affairs and selecting the board president. The board also enforces the organization’s Code of Ethics, which governs the professional and personal conduct of the membership.  ICMA Executive Board members attend four board meetings annually.

Ms. Pinkos’ local government career began in 1997, when she accepted the position of assistant to the city manager of Oak Park, Mich., which she held until September 2001.  She served as assistant to the city manager of El Cerrito, Calif., for five years before being named assistant city manager in July 2006.

Ms. Pinkos has been an active member of ICMA since 1999 and was elected by the membership in 2008 for a three-year term as a West Coast Regional Vice President. She served stints on the organization’s Conference Planning (2002-04; 2012-15) and Conference Evaluation (2002-04) Committees, as well as its Annual Awards Evaluation Panel (2004-06) and Strategic Planning Committee (2006-08). She was also a member of ICMA’s Digital Strategies Advisory Board (formerly the Knowledge Network Advisory Board) (2009-12; 2015-16), Task Force on Women in the Profession (2012-14), and West Coast Regional Nominating Committee, both as a member (2016) and as chair (2016-17). Since 2012, she has contributed the ongoing success of ICMA’s Welcome Ambassadors Program.

Ms. Pinkos will receive an ICMA service award this year in recognition of her 20 years of service to local government. In 2008, she earned designation as an ICMA Credentialed Manager through the organization’s Voluntary Credentialing Program, which defines and recognizes members who are qualified by a combination of education and experience, adherence to high standards of integrity, and an assessed commitment to lifelong learning and professional development.

Ms. Pinkos also served as president (2016-17) and past president (2017-18) of Cal-ICMA, the "official" California state affiliate with ICMA; and is a member of the Alliance for Innovations.

Ms. Pinkos earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Oakland University in Michigan in 1998 and her Masters of Public Administration from Oakland University in 2001. She is also a 2012 graduate of the Senior Executive in State and Local Government Program at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and earned a certificate in [need to fill in] in 2007 from the University of California at Berkeley.

About ICMA
ICMA, the International City/County Management Association, advances professional local government worldwide through leadership, management, innovation, and ethics. ICMA provides member support, publications, data and information, peer and results-oriented assistance, and training and professional development to more than 11,000 appointed city, town, and county leaders and other individuals and organizations throughout the world.