Our Team
PRINCIPAL
Elizabeth A. Hansen
Elizabeth Hansen, Founder and President of Midwest Municipal Consulting, L.L.C., will serve clients with short and long-term goal setting, strategic planning and community visioning. She will assist with a variety of human resource needs, including executive professional searches filling critical leadership positions.
A native of the Midwest, Mrs. Hansen has over 17 years of experience in local government management, including as City Administrator in Elk Point, South Dakota as well as Jefferson, Nevada and Windsor Heights, Iowa. Her communities benefited from her proficiency in grant writing, citizen leadership facilitation – volunteer recruiting, board effectiveness training and citizens surveys. These experiences are vital tools to promote and develop growth in rural and small communities throughout the Midwest.
Hansen was named Manager of the Year in 2014 by the Iowa City/County Management Association, and in 2007 she became the first recipient of the organization’s Emerging Leader award.
Education
University of South Dakota, Vermillion, South Dakota
Master of Public Administration
Credentialed City Manager from the International City/County Manager’s Association
Certified Municipal Clerk in the State of Iowa
Certified Human Resource Manager from the National Society of Human Resource Management
Affiliations
• International City/County Manager’s Association (ICMA), past committee and member since 2002
• Iowa City/County Manager’s Association (IaCMA), past executive board and member since 2004
• Iowa League of Cities, past board and committee member since 2004
• Professional Developers of Iowa, member since 2016
• Iowa Municipal Professional Institute, Lecturer
• Society for and Central Iowa Human Resource Management, member since 2018
PartnerS
President Hansen has partnered with several professional facilitators in order to provide the best service to our clients.
Testimonials
“I had the opportunity to work alongside Elizabeth for over 5 years and witnessed her exceptional community planning and organizational skills. As a community leader, her strength is developing actionable plans that can be easily followed and implemented. Her long track record has provided her the skills, abilities, and experiences in the field that her reputable, credible, and familiar with the needs in the public sector. Additionally, Elizabeth has excellent presentation skills and is a great facilitator that makes planning enjoyable. Elizabeth is filling a very important need in the industry.”
“I have had the pleasure of knowing Elizabeth for approximately 15 years. I have also had the opportunity to work with her in a professional capacity through the Iowa City/County Management Association Board of Directors and her role as the President-Elect while I served as President. Her wealth of knowledge and expertise that she brought to the board and to myself was invaluable. Elizabeth is extremely personable and approachable and a true joy to work with. She is very well known and respected in the industry, a great facilitator who is well organized with excellent presentation skills. The public sector industry is ever evolving and becoming more difficult every day. The opportunity to have someone like Elizabeth to help and guide our communities through these difficult discussions about how we could or should move forward is a great asset. I would strongly endorse the services of Elizabeth Hansen, through Midwest Municipal Consulting.”
“I worked with Ms. Hansen for over seven years while she was the city administrator and I was a city engineer in Nevada. She is extremely skilled and knowledgeable on putting together a realistic long-term capital improvement plan. She worked closely with a financial advisor, our engineering team and public works employees to create a master street plan, which is incorporated into a five-year strategic action plan. We are still implementing her plan since her tenure in Nevada. If you don’t have a capital improvement plan, you should call Elizabeth.”
“It was an honor and pleasure working with Elizabeth for the last year and 1/2 of my term. During that time she was able to create a capital improvement plan, a comprehensive plan, an urban renewal plan, economic development incentive program, wrote development programs and redefined our TIF Programs. Her experience was invaluable. And, while she was getting our city back on our feet; she helped council build a walkable; bike-able trail and sidewalk program to get our children to school safely and find additional funding for infrastructure projects. Liz’s professionalism helped our city re-establish relationships that previous administrations and councils had damaged. She was admired by all. She was the ICMA City Manager of the year in 2014, A Past Executive Board Member of the Iowa League of Cities and Board Member of the Iowa City Manager’s Association and received numerous awards including her ideas for creating a comprehensive public safety program. She has vision and passion.”
Goal Setting Work Session in Keokuk, IA