Leawood has named its next city administrator, following the death of former city administrator Scott Lambers earlier this year.

Driving the news: At the Leawood City Council’s Monday meeting, Mayor Peggy Dunn announced Diane Stoddard as the council’s selection for its next city administrator.

Who she is: Stoddard previously served as one of the assistant city managers for the city of Lawrence, which is her hometown.

• She held this role for roughly 15 years, and from June 2015 to March 2016, she also served as the city’s interim city manager.
• Outside of Lawrence, she also worked as the deputy city manager in Manhattan, Kan. — in addition to working in various roles for the cities of Lenexa and Ottawa.

What else: Stoddard holds a master’s degree in public administration and an undergraduate degree in political science from the University of Kansas.

• She has also served as the president of the Kansas Association of City/County Management, an organization made up of local government management officials that focus on professional management and ethical standards for city and county governments throughout the state.
• Stoddard has also participated in the Leadership Lawrence and Leadership Kansas programs.

Wider background for Leawood’s city administrator position

• Stoddard follows previous city administrator Scott Lambers in the role. Lambers worked for the city of Leawood for more than 20 years.
• In a news release after his death in May, the city referred to him as a “champion of [Leawood’s] employees and a strong steward of the city’s finances.”
• Between May and now, local business executive Patrick Geschwind had served as the city’s interim city administrator.
• Geschwind’s last Leawood City Council meeting as the interim city administrator was this week.