Over 25 years now, GOVERNING’s Public Official of the Year (POY) awards have been celebrating the achievements of pioneering, staunch, and determined civil servants based on their distinguished leadership and dedicated contributions to their communities. Seeking to build a closer relationship with these impressive ranks of alumni, the Governing Institute has developed a program to tap the energy and expertise of the former honorees. By building a network of connections among the members of this elite cadre of public leaders, the Institute aims to bring the experience and perspective of our former POYs to the challenges state and local governments face today. The Institute is proud to be joined by such a strong cohort of POYs whose enthusiasm and leadership continue to be an invaluable contribution to advancing better government.

Lt. Gov. Jerry Abramson 1990, 2003
Position as POY: Mayor, Louisville, Kentucky; consolidation of Louisville and Jefferson County
Current Title/ Affiliation: Lieutenant Governor, KY

C. Stephen Allred 2001
Position as POY: Director, Idaho Dept. of Environmental Quality (until 2004); then Assistant Secretary, Department of Interior
Current Title/ Affiliation: Retired 2009

Dennis Archer 2000
Position as POY: Mayor, City of Detroit "
Current Title/ Affiliation: Chairman and CEO, Dennis W. Archer PLLC Chairman Emeritus, Dickinson Wright PLLC"

Rick Baker 2008
Position as POY: Mayor, St. Petersburg, FL
Current Title/ Affiliation: President, The Edwards Group

Gov. Mike Beebe 2011
Position as POY: Governor, Arkansas
Current Title/ Affiliation: Governor, Arkansas

Robert C. Bobb 1993
Position as POY: City Manager, Oakland CA
Current Title/ Affiliation: President/CEO, Robert Bobb Group, LLC

Brian Bosma 2002
Position as POY: Co-Speaker of the House, IN House of Reps.
Current Title/ Affiliation: Speaker of the House, IN House of Reps.

Bill Bott 2007
Position as POY: Deputy CIO, State of Missouri
Current Title/ Affiliation: Consulting Partner: Change & Innovation Agency

John Carrow 1996
Position as POY: CIO of Philadelphia, PA
Current Title/ Affiliation: President, Carrow Consulting

John Carter 2008
Position as POY: Housing Inspector, Dayton, OH
Current Title/ Affiliation: Inspector/ Department of Planning & Community Development, Dayton, OH

Kevin Coughlin 2007
Position as POY: Director, Bureau of Assisted Living
Current Title/ Affiliation: Policy Initiative Advisor, Exec. Division of Long Term Care

Charles Danger 1997
Position as POY: Director, Office of Building Code Compliance, Dade County FL
Current Title/ Affiliation: Assistant Director, Permitting Center, Miami-Dade County Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources

Jo Ann Davidson 1999
Position as POY: Speaker of the Houser, OH
Current Title/ Affiliation: left legislature end of 2000, runs a small consulting firm

Mary Dempsey 2000
Position as POY: Library Commissioner, Chicago IL
Current Title/ Affiliation: President, Corboy Foundation

Michael Fitzgerald 1989
Position as POY: Treasurer, State of Iowa
Current Title/ Affiliation: same

Shirley Franklin 2004
Position as POY: Mayor of Atlanta, GA
Current Title/ Affiliation: Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Purpose Built Communities; Barbara Jordan Visiting Professor of Ethics and Political Values at LBJ School of Public Affairs

Larry Fuchs 1994
Position as POY: Commissioner, FL Department if Revenue
Current Title/ Affiliation: retired

Mary Gade 1997
Position as POY: Director, EPA, Illinois
Current Title/ Affiliation: President, Gade Environmental

Diana Gale 1998
Position as POY: Director, Seattle Public Utilities
Current Title/ Affiliation: Sr. Lecturer Emeritus at Evans School

Jesus Garza 2000
Position as POY: City Manager, Austin TX
Current Title/ Affiliation: President, Interim CEO, Seaton Healthcare

Charles F. Gerhards 2002
Position as POY: CIO, Commonwealth of PA
Current Title/ Affiliation: owns consulting business and teaches "Gov. Tech Institute" at Harrisburg University, PA

Parris Glendening 2000
Position as POY: Governor, MD
Current Title/ Affiliation: President, Smart Growth America

John R. Gregg 2002
Position as POY: Democrat Co-Speaker of the House (House of Representatives, Indiana)
Current Title/ Affiliation: Attorney, BGD, LLP (Indiana)

Lloyd Hara 1987
Position as POY: Treasurer, Seattle WA
Current Title/ Affiliation: Assessor, King County WA

Steve A. Hewitt 2009
Position as POY: City Administrator, Greensburg, Kansas
Current Title/ Affiliation: City Manager of Clinton, OK

Elizabeth Hill 1997
Position as POY: CA Legislative Analyst
Current Title/ Affiliation: Board Member, CA HealthCare Foundation

Elaine Howle 2012
Position as POY: CA State Auditor
Current Title/ Affiliation: CA State Auditor

William A Johnson Jr. 1999
Position as POY: Mayor, Rochester, NY
Current Title/ Affiliation: Teaching Publ. Policy at Rochester Inst. Of Technology

Lillian Koller 2008
Position as POY: Human Services Director, HI
Current Title/ Affiliation: since Feb. 2011: Director, Dept. of Social Services, South Carolina

John Kost 1995
Position as POY: CIO of Michigan
Current Title/ Affiliation: CIO Group VP at Gartner

Tricia Leddy 2004
Position as POY: Administrator, RI Center for Child and Family Health
Current Title/ Affiliation: Deputy Director of RI's Health Benefits Exchange

William H. Leighty 2007
Position as POY: Chief of Staff to former Governor Mark Warner, VA
Current Title/ Affiliation: President, Decide Smart LLC (Consultancy)

Dan Lohrmann 2008
Position as POY: Chief Information Security Officer (CISO): State of Michigan
Current Title/ Affiliation: CSO, Michigan (physical & cyber security)

Joanie Mahoney 2001
Position as POY: County Executive. Onondaga County, NY
Current Title/ Affiliation: same

Jan Mittermeier 1998
Position as POY: CEO, Orange County, CA
Current Title/ Affiliation: COO, Cofiroute USA, LLC

David Molchany 2003
Position as POY: CIO, Fairfax County, VA
Current Title/ Affiliation: Deputy County Executive, Fairfax County, VA

Senator Paul Muegge 1998
Position as POY: State Senator, Oklahoma
Current Title/ Affiliation: retired/ Guest Lecturer at Universities

John J. Norquist 1998
Position as POY: Mayor, Milwaukee, WI
Current Title/ Affiliation: President, Congress for the New Urbanism

Gov. Sonny Perdue 2010
Position as POY: Governor of GA
Current Title/ Affiliation: Perdue Partners

Mike Pompili 2000
Position as POY: Assistant Health Commissioner, City of Columbus, OH
Current Title/ Affiliation: Retired

Sam Reed 2009
Position as POY: Secretary, State of WA
Current Title/ Affiliation: retired Jan 2013

Kasim Reed 2011
Position as POY: Mayor of Atlanta, GA
Current Title/ Affiliation: Mayor of Atlanta GA

Gov. Roy Romer 1996
Position as POY: Governor of Colorado
Current Title/ Affiliation: Special Advisor to The College Board (non-profit)

Thomas W. Ross 1994
Position as POY: Superior Court Judge, State of NC
Current Title/ Affiliation: President, University of NC, Chapel Hill

Dr. Robert K. Ross 1999
Position as POY: Director of Health and Human Services, San Diego County, California
Current Title/ Affiliation: President, California Endowment

Joshua Sharfstein, M.D. 2009
Position as POY: Health Commissioner, Baltimore, MD
Current Title/ Affiliation: Secretary of Health, State of MD

David Smith 2001
Position as POY: County Manager, Maricopa County AZ
Current Title/ Affiliation: COO, St. Vincent de Paul (multi-service charity organization)

Beverly Stein 1994
Position as POY: Chair, County Commission, Multnomah County, OR
Current Title/ Affiliation: Director of "Oregon Solutions", Consultant w/ "Public Strategies Group"