The Local Government Management Fellowship (LGMF) is a career development opportunity designed to attract recent MPA/MPP (or related programs) graduates to be placed in full-time, management track local government positions. Finalists are selected based on academic performance, demonstrated leadership potential, commitment to public service, communication skills, initiative, creativity, and positive attitude. They then interview for 12-month fellowship appointments at local governments across the country, during which they receive direct mentorship from a senior government leader at the organization. (Appointments may be extended beyond the one-year term). This year, 23 fellows were selected and placed throughout the United States.

Rachel Boward | Loudoun County, Virginia 

Originally from Moon Township, Pennsylvania, Rachel completed her bachelor of arts in English and sociology from the University of Pittsburgh in 2019. In 2024, she completed her master of public administration at the University of Connecticut. Rachel hopes to pursue a career in local government where she can collaborate with other service-oriented individuals to create equitable solutions to the world's wicked problems. In her free time, she likes to read, play the flute, explore new places, and edit her monthly Spotify playlists. Rachel hopes to utilize her fellowship experience with Loudoun County to discover where her passions and skillset best fit into the local government landscape. 

Destiny Dominguez| Phoenix, Arizona  

Born in California and moved to Phoenix, Arizona, shortly after, Destiny pursued her academic journey at Arizona State University, where she completed an accelerated degree program, earning a bachelor's in public service and public policy (law and policy) and a master's in public administration. Within the realm of local government, Destiny aims to specialize in a department that engages with constituents constantly, and then transition to a management position. During her free time, she enjoys watching documentaries or reading narratives. Destiny is confident that this fellowship will challenge her to better understand municipal operations as she seeks the steps in her local government journey. She hopes that her rotations and interactions with municipal staff will help guide her career.

Abraham "Abe" Fofanah  | Lexington, Massachusetts

Abe is from Minnesota and has lived in New England for the past four years. He enjoys listening to podcasts, spending time with family, and volunteering in the community. Abe has a passion for working with youth and aspires to have a long career in local government. He appreciates that this fellowship will allow him to deepen his understanding of municipal operations and gain hands-on experience working with all departments. Additionally, he hopes this fellowship will help him build a network of mentors and peers who share his passion for public service.

Dillon Gastner| Franklin, Tennessee  

Dillon is from Dothan, Alabama, and attended Auburn University, where he received a bachelor of arts in public administration and a master of public administration while working as a firefighter. In his free time, Dillon enjoys being outdoors, hiking, running, and playing pickleball. He plans to continue working in local government after his fellowship and looks forward to applying the knowledge and skills developed during his time as a fellow to better serve residents in the future. Dillon hopes to gain a better understanding of community development and cultivate a strong sense of place. He aspires to learn more about supporting the public servants who provide essential services to the community and strengthening organizations to provide the highest quality of service possible.

Allison "Fredi" Hayes  | Shelburne, Vermont 

Fredi is from Dallas, Texas, and graduated with a master of public administration from the University of Arkansas. Since moving to Vermont, she has continued to participate in dog sports with her Dalmatian, Pluto, and started new sewing lessons to teach kids to quilt. Fredi plans to convert her town office into Arkansas Razorback and Buccees fans by the end of her fellowship. She hopes to gain real-life experience dealing with project management across different departments and bring her new problem-solving skills to wherever she ends up next.

Kayla Hickey | Bakersfield, California 

From Bakersfield, California, Kayla received her bachelor of science in environmental science and management and her master of science in environmental policy and management from the University of California—Davis. In her free time, Kayla enjoys spending time with her family and pets, reading, and running. In the future, she hopes to continue working in local government to serve and improve her community. In this fellowship, I hope to gain the management skills necessary to create positive change for my community.

Zoe Johnson | Edina, Minnesota  

From Ada, Minnesota, Zoe graduated with an undergraduate degree from North Dakota State University. She will graduate from University of Kansas with a master of public administration in May 2025. Zoe enjoys reading, going to the lakes, houseplants and gardening, and watching movies/series in her downtime. Her future plans include completing a fellowship with Edina, Minnesota, for the next couple of years while networking for a position in a suitable organization within Minnesota. Zoe hopes to gain insight into balancing elected official relationships across all levels of government while maintaining a strong sense of self, organization, and city. Additionally, she is curious to learn about the Twin Cities Metropolitan Council.

Korey Kneisley  | Wichita, Kansas

Korey is from Hiawatha, Kansas, and graduated from Kansas State University with a bachelor's degree in political science and history and a master's degree in public administration. When it's not super hot and miserable, he likes to be outside and enjoy the weather. He played a lot of disc golf this past summer and is still working on improving his skills. Korey hopes to learn more about the relationships between different levels of government, various local governments, and the process to best determine how to provide services to the citizenry.

Anna Le  | Tacoma, Washington 

Anna is performing her fellowship in her hometown. She earned her bachelor of arts in politics, graduating magna cum laude with honors from NYU. She then pursued a master of education studies at Johns Hopkins University. Anna's career began as a Teach for America corps member, where she taught ninth grade English full-time at the largest high school in the Baltimore Public School District. Her diverse professional background includes working on the legislative team for a member of Congress, teaching adult basic education to tribal-enrolled students as an adjunct community college instructor, serving as a policy analyst for a legal education advocacy nonprofit, and most recently, spending 4.5 years as the Washington State Democratic Party's Operations director. She is an avid reader, occasional international traveler, savvy thrift shopper, and a fair-weather Seattle sports fan. Locally, she hopes the fellowship will help her identify how and where she can leverage her skills and passion to best serve her community. Through ICMA, she aims to gain additional hard skills to become more competitive in the job market.

Lily Meadows  | Wichita, Kansas 

Lily was born and raised in Florida. This past May, she graduated from Auburn University and received a master of public administration with a graduate certificate in economic development. In her free time, she likes to travel, watch movies, and paddleboard with her dog Mako. Lily’s future plans include working in local government to improve the communities where she lives. She hopes to gain a better understanding of the departments and areas she wants to ultimately work in. Lily is most excited about the projects that will be entrusted to her. 

Harrison Netburn  | Pinellas County, Florida 

Originally from Coral Springs, Florida, Harrison earned his bachelor's degree from Denison University and his master's in public administration from Florida State University. In his free time, He enjoys playing sports and spending quality time with family and friends and aspires to become a city manager or county administrator one day. Harrison is eager to learn all about county government and work with various departments to gain a holistic understanding of how they rely on and support each other.

Jaritza "Jari" Nunez | Bakersfield, California  

Jari grew up in the charming town of Lamont, California, surrounded by grape fields, mountains, and sunshine. She earned her bachelor of arts in educational studies and sociology from Colgate University and her master of education in education policy and analysis, with a concentration in higher education from Harvard's Graduate School of Education. Jari is a passionate advocate for structural changes and is dedicated to transforming policies that oppress marginalized communities. In her free time, she enjoys creating playlists, taking walks with her Goldendoodle, and catching up with family and friends. She hopes to continue learning ways to increase authentic community engagement in city processes and create lasting change through policy development and inclusive practices. Additionally, Jari looks forward to connecting with others working in local governments to make a meaningful impact in their communities.

Alexandria Rinne  | Overland Park, Kansas 

Alexandria grew up in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and earned her bachelor of arts in global studies from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Currently, she is pursuing a master of public administration at the University of Kansas. Alexandria’s hobbies include reading, painting, and ballroom dancing. At the moment, she does not quite know what her next steps are as she continues her public service career, but she is excited for whatever opportunities may come her way. Alexandria is eager to create and work toward meaningful impacts in the community she is serving. She looks forward to working on projects that cover everything from new sustainability and social equity initiatives to reimagining internal processes to make room for innovation and efficiency.

Brian Seo  | Phoenix, Arizona 

Brian has a master of public policy degree from Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy with a concentration in energy and environmental policy. He has experience in environmental policy research at the Korea Environment Institute, where he conducted policy evaluation and developed policy proposals, such as the guideline for financial aid to local governments for the operation and maintenance of water and wastewater treatment facilities and the national wastewater infrastructure asset management policy. In his spare time, Brian enjoys traveling with his family and going to the movies. He hopes to network with people working in various areas of local government and gain a better understanding of the intricacies of how local government works and what it means to work in a local government.

Destinee Sior | Phoenix, Arizona 

Born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, Destinee earned her master degrees in social work and public administration from Arizona State University. She is honored to be completing her management fellowship with Phoenix and is eager to learn more about city initiatives that contribute to public health and human services. In her free time, she loves to read and complete the New York Times crossword. Destinee hopes to gain a deeper understanding of the city process for starting new programs and projects from start to finish.

Larenz Taylor | McKinney, Texas

Originating from St. Louis, Missouri, Larenz earned his bachelor’s degree in health science with an emphasis in leadership and policy from the University of Missouri—Columbia. He recently earned his master’s degree in public policy administration with an emphasis in local government management from the University of Missouri - St. Louis. Larenz loves to spend his free time with friends and family and has interests in sports and gaming. Working for the city of McKinney, he plans to develop his knowledge, skills, and abilities as he advances his career within local government. From this fellowship experience, Larenz hopes to learn the day-to-day operations of the upper-level management within his host city's local government and the process behind decision-making and policy implementation among the community.

Max Valdez  | Fort Collins, Colorado  

Max graduated with his master of public administration from the University of Georgia prior to starting his role with the Fort Collins, Colorado. Currently, he works as a graduate management assistant in the city manager's office, where he assists with special projects across the organization, participates in the city's bi-annual budgeting for outcomes process, facilitates technology and public comment for weekly city council meetings, and more. Max is a lifelong baseball fan and loves watching, reading, and listening to podcasts about the Boston Red Sox’s. He hopes to grow professionally in the field of local government management and make a positive and meaningful impact on his community. Above all, he aims to acquire the knowledge and context needed to make meaningful contributions to a city's daily management. Through his roles in various projects, initiatives, and city-wide goals, he aspires to play a significant part in the city's operations.

Chance Wood | Cedar Park, Texas 

Originally from the gold country foothills of northern California, Chance is a graduate of Sacramento State University and obtained his master of public affairs from the University of Texas at Austin, LBJ School of Public Affairs. Chance has professional experience in water treatment and certification in water management. He aims to gain a comprehensive understanding of local government leadership, policy implementation, sustainability initiatives, and innovation throughout his fellowship.

Fellows Not Pictured: 
 

Matthew Gray| Bellevue, Washington 

Brandon Harris | Dublin, California  

Justin Randall | Meqoun, Wisconsin 

Justin Redman | Hayward, California 

The LGMF program has placed over 400 fellows over the past 20 years. See where they are now! 

View an interactive flipbook of "Where Are They Now" on Issuu »

Are you interested in being a fellow? Applications for the 2025-2026 Local Government Management Fellowship are open! Get more information and apply. 

Are you interested in being a host community? Apply to host a fellow or email lgmfprogram@icma.org.