Emerging Leaders Academy

As Topeka's chief executive officer since April 2006, Norton manages 1,400 employees and a $174 million budget. He previously served as city administrator for Plainfield, N.J., city business administrator for Camden, N.J., and has held other municipal management positions. Norton earned an urban studies degree from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and a master's in public administration from Cornell University.

Bernice is Assistant County Manager for Johnson County, Kansas. She came to Johnson County in 2005 from Arvada, Colorado, where she was Deputy City Manager for four and a half years. Bernice received a Bachelor's Degree in Secondary Education from Dickinson State College in Dickinson , North Dakota. She holds Master's Degrees in Urban and Regional Planning from Texas A & M University and in Political Science from Midwestern State University , Wichita Falls , Texas. .

Charles Jones is director of the Kansas University Public Management Center.  He has a BS in Biology from the University of Kansas and a Masters of Public Administration from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. His public service experience includes four years as the Governor-appointed Director of Environment at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, and ten years (1998 to 2009) as a Douglas County Commissioner. Within the MPA program Charles teaches Public Policy and Administration; Budgeting and Policy Analysis; Role, Context and Ethics of Public Administration; and Collaborative Leadership, Professionalism, and Citizen Engagement.  Charles also teaches in the Center’s Certified Public Manager, Emerging Leaders Academy, and other programs, bringing the perspective of elective, appointed and entrepreneurial success to policy and technical aspects of public management.

Gary is the Assistant County Administrator for the Unified Government. A native of Kansas City, Kansas, Gary was City Manager of Leavenworth, Kansas from 1998 until 2007. Gary holds a bachelor's degree from Benedictine College and a Masters in Public Administration from the University of Kansas, where he received the Robert Scott Brooks Award for outstanding student in Public Administration. .