ICMA and I-NAPA present a conversation with early and mid-career Asian and Asian American professionals about challenges and opportunities as they establish leadership roles in local government.

Panelists

• Genesis Gavino, Chief Resilience Officer, City of Dallas, Texas
• Tadayoshi Kawawa, Finance Officer, Metropolitan Government of Nashville & Davidson County General Sessions Court
• Hyun Kim, City Manager, City of Fife, Washington
• Aishwarya Kumar, Operations Analyst, City Manager’s Office, City of Decatur, Georgia
• Neha Subramanyam, Policy Analyst, City of Hillsboro, Oregon
• Elaine Wang, Assistant Town Manager, Town of Barre, Vermont
• Ed Shikada, Moderator

Panelist's Bios

Genesis Gavino currently serves as Resilience Officer where she works closely with the executive team across the organization to implement the Resilient Dallas Strategy and establish a compelling resilience vision for the city by working across all departments and with the local community to maximize innovation and minimize the impact of poverty on financial insecurity, health and wellness, employment, transportation, and government performance. She previously served as the Assistant to the City Manager and Chief of Staff where she managed the Council Agenda Office, Local Government Management Fellows Program, departmental budgets and worked with the executive team to advance the City’s strategic priorities.  Genesis is a founding member of the International Network of Asian Public Administrators (I-NAPA). Genesis holds a bachelor of arts in business administration with a focus on management and operations from Washington State University; and a master’s in public administration and certificate in nonprofit management from the University of Washington.

Tadayoshi Kawawa serves as Finance Officer for the Metropolitan Government of Nashville & Davidson County General Sessions Court, Tennessee. Tadayoshi began his career in local government as an ICMA Local Government Management Fellow for Sedgwick County, KS. After his fellowship, he continued to work for the County as a budget analyst. He then moved to his wife’s hometown of Nashville, where he worked in the City and County’s Office of Management and Budget. Today, he continues to serve the people of Nashville and Davidson County as the Finance Officer for General Sessions Court.

Hyun Kim is the City Manager for Fife, Washington, a suburb of Tacoma. Previously, Hyun served communities in Nevada and Wyoming within local government management in Finance and Community Development. He currently holds an ICMA Credentialed Manager certification, with an MPA and MBA from Brigham Young University and Western Governors University respectively.

Aishwarya (Ash) Kumar serves as the Operations Analyst for the City of Decatur, Georgia. She holds a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Urban Planning degree from CEPT University, India. Kumar has been an ICMA member since 2017 and she co-founded the first ICMA Student Chapter at the University of Pittsburgh and served as its President. She started working for Decatur as the Local Government Management Fellow in 2018 and has worked on projects related to micro mobility, municipal benchmarking, budget analysis, ethics review, recruitment and employee benefits administration. Kumar has also been involved in the City’s efforts to create a welcoming and inclusive community for everyone as a part of Welcoming America’s Building Welcoming Communities Campaign.

Neha Subramanyam is currently a Policy Analyst in the City Manager's Office at the City of Hillsboro, OR. She is proud to serve one of Oregon's most racially diverse cities and is passionate about the positive impact that local government can have on communities. Neha served on the City of Hillsboro's first racial equity team and helped write the City's racial equity statement, which was adopted by the Hillsboro City Council in 2019. Additionally, she was recently appointed to serve on the State of Oregon’s Commission for Asian Pacific Islander Affairs. Neha was born and raised in the Bay Area of California and holds a bachelors of science in Hydrology from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Elaine Wang is the Assistant Town Manager for the Town of Barre, Vermont and I-NAPA’s Vice President for Membership. Previously she worked for environmental nonprofits supporting local governments and community organizations in tackling climate change in the U.S. and China. She is pursuing an Executive Masters in Public Administration from Norwich University and completed ICMA’s Emerging Leadership Development Program in 2019. She earned an M.S. in Natural Resources from the University of Vermont and a B.S. in Conservation and Natural Resources from the University of California, Berkeley.

Ed Shikada has served as Palo Alto’s City Manager since December 2018. With the City since early 2015, Shikada has also served in the dual role of Assistant City Manager and General Manager of the Utilities Department.  From 2003 to 2015, Shikada served the City of San Jose in a variety of increasingly senior positions, beginning as a Deputy City Manager prior to serving as City Manager.  Ed is an ICMA executive board member and interim president of I-NAPA.  He holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Hawaii, a master’s degree in architecture and urban planning from UCLA, and certificates from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and Stanford Center for Professional Development.  Away from work, he serves in a few roles with the Boy Scouts of America.

Asian American Experience in Local Government - View the Recording

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. This event will be recorded. View List of Past Recordings