As assistant manager, Kevyn Gero will report to City Manager Barack Matite. Her responsibilities include human resources operations, city project development and evaluation of city operations.
Kevyn Gero has been hearing about Eudora ever since she began working in Lawrence.
She’d seen the Eudora signs on the way into town and the city’s motto, “A place to grow.”
This is part of what excites her about beginning her new position as Eudora’s assistant city manager on April 12.
“I’m just really excited for this new kind of adventure,” Gero said. “I love that the motto for the city is ‘A place to grow’ because I think that also applies to me. I hope this is a place I can grow.”
Gero was announced as the city’s new assistant city manager last Monday and replaces Leslie Herring, who left for another position last April. After applying in January, Gero attended a half-day interview process with multiple panels of city staff.
Before taking on this role, Gero spent seven years working as an analyst in the city of Lawrence’s Municipal Services & Operations Department.
She graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and received a master’s of public administration degree from the University of Kansas in 2015. She worked as an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer before gaining her master’s degree, which she said fueled her passion for public service.
“I think that the work is really rewarding, and you get to see your efforts sort of play out in the community with quality of life and the impact to the residents,” Gero said.
As assistant city manager, Gero will report to City Manager Barack Matite. Her responsibilities include human resources operations, city project development and evaluation of city operations.
“Kevyn is a great addition to our leadership team,” Matite said. “We look forward to working with her and her becoming part of team Eudora that is dedicated to improving the lives of all Eudora residents.”
She will also be in charge of supervising the city clerk’s office, municipal court, building and codes office, and planning and zoning office. Gero said she liked that this position involved both city management and Human Resources, which she is familiar with from her previous work in Lawrence.
“Finding out that it was HR manager and assistant city manager, I thought that was perfect,” Gero said. “It’s a unique position. You don’t normally see those together. I wanted to kind of continue my path on city management, but then I also didn’t want to have to lose that part of the work I was doing.”
During her first weeks, Gero plans to get to know the rest of Eudora’s city staff as she gets involved in the community.
“I’m also really eager to get involved in the community and attend some community and school events,” Gero said. “I’m hoping some things are opening up now that more people are getting vaccinated. It was kind of the small town atmosphere that drew me in and the highly engaged city commission. They have some really big ideas and a passion for growing Eudora.”
Reach reporter Lucie Krisman at [email protected].
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