Charting a Career Path: AN INTERVIEW WITH NICKIE LEE.

• Author: Kern, Jara

Jara Kern, writer with Right Angle Studio, spoke with Nickie Lee, the deputy city administrator for the City of Prairie Village, Kansas, about charting a career path in public service, how finance directors can move into city management, and how best practices and trends are changing over time.

Nickie started with the City of Prairie Village as finance director before moving into her current position in June 2022. Before that, Nickie served in various executive roles, including as the finance director for the City of Topeka, Kansas, and the assistant city administrator for the City of Smithville, Missouri. Nickie is a member of GFOA's Budget Committee and is the treasurer for her local chapter of Women in Public Finance.

FINDING THE PATH

Recalling how her career began, Nickie said, "Like a lot of people, I didn't imagine that I'd be working in local government. In retrospect, though, the example was all around me. My mom was a public school teacher and my father was a mail carrier. Early on, I knew I wanted to help people because I had a passion for service--but it took me some time to figure out what that meant. Equally important to finding out what you want to do is learning what you don't want to do." She gained experience through internships, including with nonprofits. In addition, she began asking friends and colleagues what their parents did--and this ended up being key to finding the path. One friend mentioned that her dad was the city administrator for the City of Mission, Kansas, and this lit the spark for Nickie, who reached out to him. "I met with him, and this was my 'aha' moment--this work was all about helping people every day with essential services. I went from having this general sense of wanting to help people, and being open-minded and asking around, to finding the right field for me."

With a bachelor's degree in English, she knew that she would likely need to pursue a master's to advance her career in this new field. "Luckily, I was already living in Lawrence, which is home to the Kansas University Master of Public Administration (MPA) program, one of the country's top programs for city management. I applied immediately--and really everything from that moment affirmed this is the right career for me, as it's continued to be a passion and a great fit."

SEEING THE IMPACT EVERY DAY

Nickie emphasized that one of the best things about working in local government is seeing the impact of her work every day. "I drive to work on...