At its annual conference the Washington City/County Management Association (WCMA) named Kirkland’s Deputy City Manager Marilynne Beard as its president.  Beard, who previously served as the Vice President and President-Elect, assumed her new responsibilities at the close of the WCMA conference held last week.

“Marilynne is highly regarded within WCMA and to be elected among her peers to serve as the Association’s president is an exceptional honor,” Kirkland City Manager Kurt Triplett said. “It’s nice to see the rest of the State recognize Marilynne’s talents and experience that have been such an asset to Kirkland.”

WCMA is an affiliate of the International City/County Management Association (ICMA), an organization devoted to enhancing the proficiency of city managers, county managers, and other municipal administrators, and strengthening the quality of local government through improved professional management.

“The coming year will be a busy one for WMCA as the Host Committee for the ICMA 2015 national conference to be held in Seattle in November 2015,” Beard said.

Beard is the second woman to serve as WMCA President.  Joni Earl, current Sound Transit Executive Director, was WCMA President in 1993 when she was the City Manager of Mill Creek.

Beard was hired in 1988 by the city of Kirkland as Finance Manager and promoted to Deputy City Manager in 2006.  She has managed Finance, Human Resources, Information Technology and other support services.  She oversaw all aspects of the annexation of the Finn Hill, North Juanita and Kingsgate neighborhoods which took effect in June 2011 which earned her being named “Deputy City Manager of the Year” by WCMA in 2012.  More recently, she has managed the overall coordination of the City’s “Kirkland 2035. Your Voice. Your Vision. Your Future” initiative.  Beard achieved the designation as an ICMA credentialed manager in 2012.  She volunteers for the City of Bellevue Mediation program and is a certified public involvement practitioner.