Arlington Deputy City Manager Jennifer Wichmann Recognized with Linda Keithley Award for Women in Public Management

By Office of Communication

Posted on July 06, 2023, July 06, 2023

The North Central Texas Council of Governments recently recognized Deputy City Manager Jennifer Wichmann with the Linda Keithley Award for Women in Public Management for her accomplishments during her 20-year career with the City of Arlington.

The award, established in 1986, is presented each year to outstanding women in public management who display integrity, dignity, poise, loyalty, commitment, and dedication while serving as a faithful public servant. Since joining the City of Arlington in 2003, Wichmann has held roles in the Mayor and Council Office, Office of Management and Budget and Administrative Services before serving as director of Management Resources. In her current role as Deputy City Manager, Jennifer serves as the highest-ranking woman in the Arlington City government with oversight for more than half of the City’s workforce, including Parks and Recreation, Code Compliance and Police.

“It didn’t take long for Jennifer to be seen as a rising leader within the organization, progressively enlarging her portfolio to eventually become the leader of a broad team responsible for weaving together communications and legislative issues into an understandable, engaging narrative for residents and elected leaders alike,” stated the letter nominating Wichmann for the Linda Keithley Award. “Her results-oriented, quiet leadership style has enabled Jennifer to consistently manage complex projects to bring meaningful change to our community.”

Examples of Jennifer’s leadership can be seen throughout Arlington and include:

• Coordinating all of Arlington’s lobbying efforts in Austin and Washington, DC, for a decade.
•  Implementing the Arlington Unity Council, a group established in the aftermath of the George Floyd murder to bring greater equity to Arlington.
•  Leading the organization-wide implementation of the Unity Council report, a 60-page document that serves as the City’s roadmap to increase equity and equality in Arlington.
•  Launching the City’s Data Governance and Innovation Team, a multi-departmental team whose data-driven work has not only enhanced transparency and created efficiencies for citizens and city employees but has earned Arlington prestige as the first Texas city to achieve What Works Cities gold certification and as the first city in the United State to publish a Data Service Standard.
•  Leading the City’s pilot program to address public concerns about panhandling, which includes the creation of “It’s OK to Say No Panhandlers” signs at highly traveled intersections that are designed to encourage drivers to donate to or volunteer at one of Arlington’s Homeless Service Providers instead of handing cash to panhandlers.
•  Investigating the tragic death of a toddler who contracted a deadly amoeba at a City splash pad, and implementing a plan to ensure it never happens again. This plan, known as the Bakari Williams Protocol, is being shared with aquatics operators at the state and national level, and elements are being considered for state law.
•  Revamping Arlington’s holiday tree celebration to include the largest artificial tree in Texas.
•  Forging regional coalitions to provide additional support to daycare providers in an effort to address the lack of affordable childcare in our community.

 Wichmann received a dual master’s in social work and public administration from the University of Texas at Arlington and a bachelor’s degree in English and Political Science from Rutgers University in New Jersey.

 She is a member of numerous professional organizations, including ICMA, Texas Municipal League, Texas City Management Association, North Texas City Management Association, United Way Tarrant County and Texas Health Resources Arlington Memorial Health Exchange. Wichmann is also volunteers for the Holiday Gift Drive at First Unitarian Church of Dallas, which provides gifts to the elderly or developmentally delayed and their families.