TOWN OF EAGLE

Jessica Johnsen

Digital Trust Advocate

Finding Purpose in Public Service

Prior to public service, I worked for development companies and general contractors. What pushed me to the other side of the counter was mostly personal. In the early 2000s, the building and construction industry was booming, especially in Southern California. My work phone was going off at 6 am, and I was working long hours. By 2004, I had two kids under 4 years old, commuting over an hour each way to work, so work-life balance was non-existent. I saw a job posting for a Permit Technician in the city next to the one I lived in and decided to apply. It was a pay cut but provided much needed stability and good benefits.

Once I started learning about community development and working with contractors and developers through a different lens, it became a job that I love. Being a part of the creative design of a community is a very cool thing!

Leading through Experience and Collaboration

The biggest influence on my leadership skills has been the work experience that I have and the colleagues I have connected with. I have been doing this for over 20 years, from California to Texas to Colorado. I went to college late in life and was able to sharpen my critical thinking skills.

It is almost impossible to make everyone happy, but it starts with objective listening. Truly hearing and understanding the needs of all stakeholders is imperative in public service. Achieving that balance is recognizing that there will be many wide-ranging views or opinions, and all are important. We all have to work together to come up with solutions that can provide some benefit to everyone.

Meaningful impact requires bringing all of the diverse stakeholders along for the journey early in the process. Local initiatives often involve competing interests, regulatory constraints, political pressures and community needs/wants. Strong leadership relies on data, clear and concise land use code, policy interpretations and collaboration to make fair, defensible decisions under pressure.

“Truly hearing and understanding the needs of all stakeholders is imperative in public service.”

I have learned that sustainable local impact can be achieved with trust. We need elected leaders and the public to trust municipal staff. When you build transparent processes and empower your team, you create a more resilient community and an organization that consistently delivers on its promises.

Navigating the Future of Community Development

Sustainability and affordability will remain the defining trends of our industry. Because sustainability departments are still relatively new additions to local governments, many municipalities are currently transitioning from establishing their operational footholds to gaining real, actionable traction. There is also a need to integrate climate-resilient practices into core urban planning. And make all things more affordable. With federal and state grants focused on green infrastructure, these emerging departments are increasingly serving as vital revenue generators that help offset the capital costs of essential city/town projects.

One of the challenges that did not have such an impact when I started is politics. Today, an element of politics permeates almost every decision we make, requiring a much higher level of emotional intelligence, stakeholder management and strategic communication to keep projects moving forward.

Advice for Future Leaders

You have to love and want to help the community you are working for, and sometimes that role in growing a community is process-based. Change happens through local government ordinances, zoning laws and local government policies. Learn how to lead a room where people have conflicting ideas and guide them toward a shared vision or goal.

The best leaders are never the smartest people in the room. Strong leaders recognize and build up the strengths, confidence and leadership qualities of their staff. This builds a strong team that can enact systemic change that meaningfully impacts the community.