Monday, June 15, 2015

HR Director Named New Assistant City Manager

Edina, Minn., June 11, 2015 – The City of Edina recently promoted Lisa Schaefer to Assistant City Manager.

Schaefer was hired by the City in August 2011 as Director of Human Resources (HR) where she oversaw the department responsible for recruitment, compensation, benefits, payroll, employment policies, risk management and leadership development.

Local government and public service have always been a part of Schaefer’s life. She has spent her entire career working in local government and is looking forward to this opportunity. The position opened after former Assistant City Manager Karen Kurt resigned.

“My family has always been active in local government,” said Schaefer, whose dad was the Mayor and a volunteer firefighter along with her grandfather and brother in Rockville, Minnesota, where she grew up.

“I am passionate about the services provided by local government, and in being a responsible, strategic and fiscally prudent public servant,” she said. “It’s about improving how we provide services to the public. In local government, you can directly see the results of that very quickly.”

As Assistant City Manager, Schaefer is looking forward to the opportunity to focus more on overall internal operations and determining how the City can be more effective in how it supports City employees, and ultimately the public. City Manager Scott Neal will now focus primarily on external operations of the City.

“I’ve always been really excited about both HR and the administration side of local government,” Schaefer noted. “I’m really excited about being able to take a bigger-picture look at the operations within the City and how to continually improve.”

One of Schaefer’s biggest focuses will be technology and how to better incorporate it into every department’s daily tasks. “I think it’s really important that we, as an organization, stay current with technology so that we can spend less time managing records and more time delivering results for our residents,” she said.

“Lisa has a great management skillset. Because her core discipline is Human Resources, she has had in-depth exposure to all aspects of city government operations, and it’s her operational management where I expect her to make her initial mark as Assistant City Manager,” said Neal.

Schaefer holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Psychology from St. Could State University and received her master’s degree from the University St. Thomas. Prior to working for Edina, Schaefer worked for the League of Minnesota Cities and the City of Eden Prairie.

Schaefer assumed her new duties as Assistant City Manager on Monday, June 8, but will continue the transition from HR through the summer as the City completes the hiring process for a new director. The City hopes to have a candidate selected by the end of August.

For more information, contact the Administration Department at 952-826-0364.

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The City of Edina
4801 W. 50th St., Edina, MN 55424
mail@EdinaMN.gov 952-927-8861

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