Adrienne Burke Named Fernandina Beach CD Director
Welcome to the new and (somewhat) improved version of our member introductions. If you are puzzled by the column name, take a minute to watch the above scene from Austin Powers.
Background Check
Adrienne is the director of the Fernandina Beach, FL Community Development director. She began her career with the city in 2008 as a planner. Her responsibilities have been primarily focused on historic preservation planning while also assisting with a variety of community planning activities. She received her Juris Doctor and Masters of Science in Architectural Studies: Historic Preservation, with a minor in Urban and Regional Planning, from the University of Florida in 2007.
Q & A with Adrienne
(Complete the sentence) Today is……FRIDAY!! Currently watching a serious storm brew on the Georgia horizon.
Your hometown? Best known for?
Arlington, Virginia. Home to Arlington Cemetery and the Pentagon, and in planning geek world, successful examples of transit-oriented development.
Describe the state of local government in your area.
Somewhat stagnant. Not many projects being accomplished at the elected official level, but staff is keeping very busy and doing our best to keep things moving.
What topics or practitioners would you like to see ELGL profile?
Being taken seriously by elected officials, department heads, and the public even if you are younger. How to encourage innovation within an organization, even if the top doesn’t seem too interested in it.
If you could interview anyone people (dead or alive), who would it be?
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Stevie Nicks
Bill Clinton
(Complete these phrases) Best thing about the….
80’s was……puffy paint T-shirts, slumber parties, and buying cassette singles.
90’s was……concerts, punk shows, hating Catholic school, and general teen angst.
00’s was…..life changing – graduated from college and grad school, met my now husband and stepson, adopted my furkids, started working in local government.
Last year was…..exhausting, but challenging in a good way. Transitioned into my first management position.
Today is….satisfying. I am truly enjoying all aspects of my life and am thankful for each day.
(Complete this sentence) I feel old when I……..hear songs from the 1990’s on classic rock stations.
What are the best things about the internet?
Oh, I LOVE the internet. I am a perpetual learner (perhaps known as a nerd in some circles) and I still marvel at the amount of new information that is available in an instant. In my job, it’s fantastic to learn what other communities are doing with just a click.
Parent(s) can be influential in career choices of their kids. What was the career path of your parent(s)?
My dad worked his way up the government ladder – started local, then state, and for the past twenty or so years, has been with the federal government.
My mom is a nurse and now a mental health counselor, but for a good part of my childhood worked in public health at the state and county levels. So I think public service is in my genes.
(Complete the sentence) ELGL is……a breath of fresh air. I am impressed by the whole vibe. Making local government fun…and hopefully helping people realize we are real people, and yes, we actually CHOSE to work in local government even at a time when government jobs are seen as bottom of the barrel.
Where do you hear about ELGL? Truthfully, it’s brand new to me. I stumbled upon it while looking around the ICMA site, I think.
Two ideas for attracting talented individuals to the public sector.
- Getting local government to embrace a culture of innovation, so that people know they can come in and try new things, shake things up!
- Sharing the variety of work that is available in local government. You can go in so many directions.
What’s one question that we should ask the next person who completes this profile?
What made you get into public service?
(Complete the sentence) Tomorrow is……
….another day. (Love Gone with the Wind!)
Supplemental Reading
- City of Fernandina Beach holds historic window workshop
- Adrienne Burke named director
- Fernandina Beach, FL Downtown Design Guidelines
- University of Florida visits Fernandina Beach
- Community Development Department initiates new mapping
The Archives
- Julie Eckenrode, Town of Carrboro, NC
- Cathy Wilson, Town of Carrboro, NC
- Brandi Leos, Clackamas County
- Christian Williams, City of Goodyear, AZ
- Justyn Miller, Boone County, IL
- Liza Druck, City of Cincinnati, OH
- Sarah Bledsoe, City of Beacon, NY
- Jared Wiener, Portland Development Commission
- Nathan Mehmed, West Michigan Regional Planning Commission