Michelle Ferguson

Michelle has 28 years of management experience with and for local governments across the country. As Organizational Excellence leader for Raftelis, Michelle oversees the firm’s management consulting services of organizational assessment, strategic planning, executive services, technology solutions, and strategic communications. As a consultant, she has spearheaded the work of over 200 local government reviews in some of the foremost governments across the country. Michelle has completed detailed organizational reviews of entire jurisdictions and recommended improvements to the structure, staffing, and processes within departments of all sizes. Specific department reviews have included development review, parks and recreation, public works, human services, human resources, capital budgeting, and finance. As a Lean certified professional, Michelle excels at helping local governments continuously improve and rely on data to make informed choices about services to the public. She is skilled in project management, process improvement strategies, performance measurement, consent building, and public process design. Additionally, she has provided customized training in the development and use of performance measures to assist numerous organizations continuously improve service delivery. Michelle is also a skilled facilitator, able to bring diverse groups of people together to articulate shared visions and priorities. She has led strategic planning engagements at the community, organizational, and department levels, and she has facilitated numerous staff and governing body retreats. Michelle began her consulting career in 2005 following ten years of direct experience in local government management, which included serving as assistant county manager in Arlington County, Virginia. During her tenure with Arlington County, Michelle oversaw the daily management and implementation of the County's capital program. She also led the organization-wide performance measurement initiative establishing their Balanced Scorecard. Before Arlington County, Michelle served as assistant city manager in Overland Park, Kansas.