Emerging Leaders Academy

Noel has been Assistant Director of the KU Public Management Center since April 2009 and serves as program manager for the Emerging Leaders Academy. She has worked in a variety of capacities at KU, including providing advising for some master’s programs in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences and serving as a writing consultant at the KU Writing Center. Before coming to Kansas in 1998, Noel worked for the American Red Cross. She holds a BA from the University of Michigan, a master’s of urban planning from KU and is currently completing a doctorate in American Studies. While she didn’t grow up in Kansas, many of Noel’s family members are lifelong Kansans and she has enjoyed settling in among them. As the mom of a toddler, Noel spends a lot of time trying to keep up with her son and has fun attending bluegrass shows in Lawrence while she awaits the Winfield Music Festival each year.
 
For ELA, Noel teaches sessions on Workplace Communication, Generations in the Workplace, Networking Skills, and putting StrengthsFinder results to work. Additionally, Noel facilitates participants’ development of their portfolios and the mentor-shadowing activity.

Norton has served as the City Manager and CEO of Topeka since April 2006. In this role, he manages 1,300 employees and a $225 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. When not working he is often seen jogging the streets of Topeka.

For the Emerging Leaders Academy, Norton teaches sessions on Leadership and on Ethics.

Terri Callahan

Terri directs the Kansas Certified Public Manager Program at the KU Public Management Center. She provides training in a variety of managerial topics, is a qualified instructor for the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, and is certified to administer the Emotional Intelligence Quotient (EQi) and the Strengths Deployment Inventory. Before coming to the Public Management Center, Terri served as a staff development specialist in the Department of Administration's Division of Personnel Services. She holds a bachelor's degree in total quality management from Friends University and is an affiliate member of the American Academy of Certified Public Managers.

With the Emerging Leaders Academy, Terri facilitates a session examining the power of attitude in the workplace.

Leisha Dehart Davis

Leisha is associate professor in the Public Administration Department at KU. Her research interests center on bureaucracy, effective rules in public sector organizations, the gender dimensions of public administration, and diversity in local government. She has an MS and PhD in Public Policy from the Georgia Institute of Technology and is currently working on a book about “green tape,” creating effective rules in the public sector workplace. For the Emerging Leaders Academy, Leisha teaches a session offering practical applications of the research from her book.

Bernice has been Deputy County Manager for Johnson County, Kansas since September 2009. In this role she oversees environmental, transit, automated information mapping systems, infrastructure, public works, wastewater, and planning, development and codes services. Bernice has been with Johnson County since 2005, previously serving as the assistant county manager. She came to Johnson County from Arvada, Colorado, where she was deputy city manager for over four 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.

With ELA, Bernice teaches a session on Leadership.

Marilu Goodyear

Marilu is associate professor and chair of the School of Public Affairs and Administration at KU.  She teaches courses on information policy and technology, organizational analysis, and organizational change. Her research focuses in the intersection between technology transitions in organizations and organizational change, and her recent publications focus on the leadership implications of technology transition failure. From 1999 to 2005, she served as the vice provost for information services and the chief information officer for the University of Kansas. In this role, she led all campus-wide software, hardware, and networking technology services, printing services, and the KU libraries. Marilu holds master's degrees in library and information science and public administration from the University of Missouri, as well as a doctorate in public administration from the University of Colorado.
 
For ELA, Marilu teaches a session called Mentoring: Reaching Out for Professional Success.

Charles Jones is Director of the KU 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. Charles teaches in the KU MPA program, in the PMC's Certified Public Manager Program, and with the Emerging Leaders Academy and is currently serving in an instructor role with the National Urban Fellows program. In his spare time, Charles hones his skills on the ukulele and can often be seen cruising around Lawrence on his Vespa scooter.

For the Emerging Leaders Academy, Charles teaches a session on The Future of the Public Sector.

Lougene Marsh

Lougene serves as the Director of the Johnson County Health Department. Lougene has been in this position since April of 2009, after working eight years as Director of Lyon County Health Department/Flint Hills Community Health Center.  Prior to that time, she worked many years for Kansas Social and Rehabilitation Services, managing financial assistance programs. Her education includes a Bachelor of Arts from Phillips University in Enid, Oklahoma, and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Kansas.  Lougene completed the Kansas Certified Public Manager program, the Kansas Public Health Certificate Program, the Kansas Public Health Leadership Institute and the Johnson & Johnson/UCLA Health Care Executive Program.
Lougene teaches a session on Organizational Culture and Change for ELA.

Jenny Mehmedovic

Jenny Mehmedovic is an assistant to the provost at The University of Kansas. Her primary responsibilities are coordination of academic program review and the academic program proposal process. She also serves as co-chair of the Staff Learning and Development Council. Before joining the Office of the Provost in 2008, she served for six years in the Office of the Vice Provost for Information Services as coordinator of information technology policy and planning, where she developed and educated users on information technology policy for the university community. Jenny has presented nationally on topics including information security, records management, and policy development, as well as leadership, ethics, organizational and professional development, and strengths in the workplace.
 
For ELA, Jenny facilitates a session on Strengths in the Workplace.

Gary is the Assistant County Administrator for the Unified Government (UG) of Wyandotte County. A native of Kansas City, Kansas, Gary served as 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. He also happens to be a trained tenor, though he typically does not bring that skill set to his work with the UG.

With ELA, Gary teaches a session on Managing Conflict as a Strategic Advantage.