Sarasota County, FL
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Name: Kari Furrow Year: Current 2022 ICMA Fellow Homewtown: Roanoke, VA Education: Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration – University of Lynchburg Master of Public Administration – Virginia Tech Master of Public Health – Virginia Tech Why you chose this fellowship, projects you worked on, where are you now? During my time in graduate school, I had the opportunity to get exposure to local government through an internship with the Town of Surf City, NC. I really enjoyed the time I spent with the Town Manager and Parks & Recreation Director and decided that I wanted to pursue a career in local government. Once I found out about the ICMA Fellowship, I thought it was the perfect opportunity for me to continue to learn and grow my professional skillset in the field. The ICMA Fellowship with Sarasota County has allowed me to do just this. I have been able to tailor my workload towards my interests and career goals. With this, my goal in the fellowship has been to maximize my experience as much as I can by having the opportunity to shadow and complete projects across the organization.
So far, I have been able to have vast opportunities with 10 different departments in different capacities. The project I am most proud of currently is a process improvement project which I have had to opportunity to serve as the team lead. For this project, we are working with several departments across the organization to understand our current organizational processes, have independent team research, and will provide recommendation to county administration on how the process can be more efficient in the future. I am currently unsure of my plan after the fellowship, but I am certain that the fellowship has been equipping me with many hard and soft skills to be successful in my next role.
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Name: Desiree Casanova Year: 2021 ICMA Fellow Hometown: Coconut Creek, FL Education: Bachelor is Sociology and Master’s in Public Administration both from Nova Southeastern University. Why you chose this fellowship, projects you worked on, where are you now? I wanted to continue to grow my skills in local government and after working for the City of Coconut Creek, I made the move to Sarasota to be closer to family. I wanted to work for an organization that embodied excellent leadership, opportunity for growth, and valued new talent/ideas. I also wanted to work in an organization where mentorship existed from the leadership team. When I found that this fellowship works directly with the Deputy County Administrator and receives one-on-one mentoring for personal and professional growth, I knew this was the right organization for me. During my fellowship I had the ability to work alongside the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) Manager with recruitment and outreach, assisted with the communication of the one-cent penny sales tax to residents, was able to create the first ever Sarasota County ICMA video, assisted HR with recruiting at high schools and colleges, was able to attend various local government conferences, and was able to attend all of the leadership meetings with the County and Deputy County Administrator. Because of my amazing experience as a Fellow, I was able to obtain a full-time position as the first ever, Assistant to the County Administrator which I am extremely blessed and honored for.
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Name: Laurel Varnell Year: 2020 ICMA Fellow Hometown: Winston-Salem, North Carolina Education: BA from Bowdoin College, Graduate Certificate in Public and Nonprofit Management from the University of Southern Maine, and Master’s in Public Administration from George Washington University with a concentration in state and local government Why you chose this fellowship, projects you worked on, where are you now? I chose an ICMA Fellowship with Sarasota County for the opportunity to try something new and challenging in a supportive environment. Prior to my fellowship, I worked for the District of Columbia government (Washington, D.C.) as a Policy Specialist in their Human Resources Department. I knew I wanted to continue working for a local government but was eager to learn about different departments in a smaller environment. Sarasota County’s ICMA fellowship offered me the opportunity to work on impactful projects that helped shape my career path. I began my Fellowship in the Summer of 2020 and with a non-traditional experience as the County responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sarasota was awarded 75 million dollars in COVID-19 recovery funds through the CARES Act and started a small business assistance program. I managed a group of employees temporarily reassigned to assist with CARES applications. When the program was finished, I ended my ICMA fellowship early to become the Program Manager of the Sarasota County’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program, a COVID-19 relief program for renters. During my time as Program Manager, the Program has disbursed over $20 million in two years to help residents across Sarasota County impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Name: Auria Spranger Year: 2019 ICMA Fellow Hometown: Fort Myers, FL Education: Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice; Master of Science in Criminal Justice; and Master’s in Public Administration all from University of Central Florida. Why you chose this fellowship, projects you worked on, where are you now? I became involved with ICMA in my last year of graduate school after I worked on a priority-based budgeting research project. I attended the 2018 ICMA Annual Conference with my professor to present this research and, for the first time, I was exposed to the opportunities available in local government. I applied for the ICMA Local Government Management Fellowship and was ecstatic to be placed with Sarasota County Government. I was most interested in working for Sarasota County Government because it is near family, and it is a great place to live. Who doesn’t appreciate some Florida Sunshine? I was also interested in the dynamic layout of Sarasota County’s fellowship work plan, which allowed for rotations in various areas of county government. During my time as a fellow, I worked in County Administration, Planning and Development Services, Health and Human Services, the Office of Financial Management, Emergency Services, and more. During my fellowship, I drafted amendments to county ordinances and interlocal agreements, assisted in budget preparation and submission of the GFOA Distinguished Budget application, attended collective bargaining negotiations, and participated in a number of tours and ride-a-longs with various county employees. One of the major projects I worked on was developing a code enforcement lien amnesty program, which I had the opportunity to present to the Board of County Commissioners during a public meeting. I now work in the Sarasota County Fire Department reporting directly to the Fire Chief and overseeing the department’s accreditation process and strategic planning. My goal is to lead the department in obtaining international accreditation for the very first time. |
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Name: Becca Truluck Year: 2018 ICMA Fellow Hometown: Myrtle Beach, SC Education: Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Coastal Carolina University and a Master of Public Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Why you chose this fellowship, projects you worked on, where are you now? During the final semester of my MPA program, I applied for the ICMA Local Government Management Fellowship to begin my public service career. I went directly from undergrad to grad school and wanted to begin building my professional experience while receiving mentorship to support my continued growth. I chose Sarasota County because of its well-deserved reputation of being a high-performing local government. During an internship for my MPA program, I worked with a prior Sarasota County employee. I view this person as my own leadership role model, and they spoke highly of their time with the County. When researching Sarasota County online, I was impressed by the County’s transparency in its budget documents and website, robust and innovative services, and exceptional public facilities and amenities. An aspect I especially appreciate about the fellowship is that I was able to complete a diverse array of projects. The County was responsive to my interests and allowed me to complete projects across different departments. I found this extremely helpful later on in my career, as it allowed me to have a more in-depth understanding of departmental operations. Some examples of projects include: completing focus groups and developing recommendations for employee outreach efforts, collaborating in a cross-departmental process improvement team to evaluate the elimination of library late fees, and obtaining the County’s first ICMA Certificate in Performance Management. Additionally, the Parks, Recreation, and Natural Resources Department welcomed me with open arms and provided mentorship, shadowing, and other learning opportunities that I am incredibly grateful for. My time with Sarasota County made me discover a passion for local parks that has changed my life. Today, I am the Associate Director of External Relations for the UNC-Chapel Hill Master of Public Administration Program (it is neat to be back as a staff member instead of a student). Between the fellowship and my current role, I also worked as a budget analyst for a local government and as a grants administrator for another university. In my current role, I work with current and future local government leaders every day and am grateful for the knowledge I gained during my time with the County. In my personal life, I volunteer on my local county’s parks and recreation council and am thankful for the memories I made down in Sarasota! |
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Name: Alexa Kaumaya Year: 2016 ICMA Fellow Hometown: Gilbert, AZ Education: MPA from Northern Arizona University Why you chose this fellowship, projects you worked on, where are you now? This fellowship was a great opportunity to learn about local government and have great hands-on experience in various departments in the county. I worked in teams and individually on assignments and coordinating projects throughout different areas of the County organization (Real Estate Services Division, Office of Financial Management, Neighborhood Services, Human Resources, and Public Works). Some specific projects include:
Since my fellowship ended, I have worked in various project management roles for the State of Arizona and currently with Contexture, the state health information exchange (HIE) for Arizona and Colorado. |