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IAMMA Spotlight: Josh Wray, City of Pekin

February Spotlight Josh Wray

Josh Wray

Director of Economic Development, City of Pekin

 

Tell us about your journey into the profession:

I was a senior in college and planning for a future in academia. My thesis advisor was taking me to conferences and lectures, I was in the middle of research design and statistics courses, I was preparing applications to PhD programs, and I was utterly unexcited about it all. I just wasn’t sure I wanted to study such a narrow field for the rest of my life (judicial politics in my case). I happened to sign up for a new course being offered in the department called Local Environmental Sustainability, which was being taught by a city planner turned professor. It really dug into the nitty gritty of how specific regulations could be enacted at a local level to help deal with such a complex issue like sustainability, and that turned me on to local government. My dad was the city clerk in my hometown, so I had known department heads and city managers growing up. I decided to have a conversation with the city manager at the time, and she described a very engaging profession that was different every day and interacted with all sorts of people and problems. Maybe she oversold it a little, but it sounded awesome. At the same time, I had just come off two summers of working as the program director for a Scout summer camp where I had 8 direct reports and about 30 total staff working in several program areas. I loved that summer job, and the basics really seemed to click with city management – not an expert in any operational field but a master at organizing, communicating, collaborating, planning, and leading. I quickly got my applications into a couple MPA programs and ended up at NIU soon thereafter. I started working as an intern in the Village of Hampshire where the village manager, Jay Hedges, really let me learn and grow in a small town experiencing extreme growth. I spent a bit under four years there working on projects in all areas to include water/wastewater utilities, finance, street maintenance, zoning, business development, and more. I got to lead the creation of the Village’s first capital improvement plan, write some major grants that got funded, and end up running the operations for community development. When the time came to move on, I was very supported and felt very prepared to do so. I now work as the Director of Economic Development for the City of Pekin where there’s a whole new set of challenges and opportunities. The city manager and department heads are all really a team in Pekin, and they have made me feel very welcome in my first year. I do still plan on being a city manager, but I’m going to hang out here for a while and embrace the opportunity to run and build-up a department.

 

Why is local government a good career path?

I had a lot of classmates from college go on to MBAs, consulting firms, top law schools, etc. I certainly looked at that route, and I could be making double or triple what I make now, but I was drawn to local government because I believe it is, or at least can be, a truly honorable profession. I have never really been someone who has a passion for anything in particular, and always worried that I would end up working somewhere that was a decent enough job but that would make me wonder what I was doing with my life. Working in local government, working for a community of people, businesses, and visitors, I feel assured that I will get to the end of my career knowing I did good for this world. On top of that, the pay is decent after the first few years, and I rarely work more than 50 hours per week, so I never feel jealous of my Wall Street classmates.

 

Fun fact about yourself:

My wife and I got married this year on top of a mountain in Roosevelt National Forest in Colorado.

 

If you could give one piece of advice to future local government leaders, what would it be?

There can be a lot of politics and games around you – from elected officials, members of the public, or even coworkers. Always do the right thing, especially when no one is looking. It will be noticed, good people will trust you, and you will never regret it.

 

Shows/music/books you’re currently watching/listening to/reading:

Hardcore History

Turnpike Troubadours

Killed by a Traffic Engineer by Wes Marshall

Ranger Confidential by Andrea Lankford

 

Hobbies:

Fly fishing and fly tying

Traveling state and national parks

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