Roles with Johnson County Government

Penny Postoak Ferguson was appointed County Manager effective July 15, 2018. She served as interim county manager for Johnson County from Jan. 1 through July 15, 2018. Previously, she served as deputy county manager from August 2012 through the end of 2017. Between June 2010 and August 2012 she was assistant county manager.

Postoak Ferguson oversaw the human services departments from 2010 to 2012. From 2011 through 2017 she oversaw the infrastructure and development departments. From 2013 to 2017 she served as the County Manager’s Office liaison to both the Johnson County Park and Recreation District board and the Airport Commission.

Accomplishments with Johnson County Government

• Led the efforts to partner with WaterOne, cities and other key stakeholders to develop NotifyJoCo, an emergency notification system.
• Saving Johnson County taxpayers a collective $1 million annually by leading the following restructuring efforts: Merging Emergency Management and Emergency Communications, merging the Departments of Health and Environment, merging the Johnson County Museum into the Johnson County Park and Recreation District and the management agreement with KCATA for transit.
• Leading the change to have the Airport director report to the County Manager’s Office, which resulted in greater support and partnership with county departments.
• Worked with key stakeholders to oversee the Fire Services study for Rural Districts.
• Played a key role in the agreements for Meadowbrook Park between Johnson County Board of County Commissioners/Johnson County Wastewater, City of Prairie Village, developers and Johnson County Park & Recreation District.
• Helped guide the Tomahawk Wastewater Facility planning and selection process as well as work with key stakeholders.
• Serving as lead for the integrated planning process with Johnson County and City of Kansas City, Missouri to explore stormwater and wastewater solutions within a key watershed.
• Paving the path for the creation of a Planning Department subcommittee to execute a much-needed review of county zoning policies.
• Leading the negotiations for a multi-year agreement with the City for Lawrence regarding the K-10 connector.
• Heading up efforts to stabilize the Transit Fund, impacting it positively by $3 million annually.

Prior Work Experience

Postoak Ferguson came to Johnson County from the City of San Antonio, Texas, where she served as assistant city manager for nearly four years. While there, she oversaw the San Antonio International Airport; the Convention, Sports and Entertainment Facilities department; Downtown Operations, the five-year $500 million Capital Improvement Management System, the Office of Cultural Affairs, and Purchasing.

Prior to her time in San Antonio, Postoak Ferguson worked for the City of Overland Park for four years, as a deputy city manager and assistant city manager. Her career also includes serving as core manager and executive director of Budget and Research (2000-02) for the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas, and assistant city manager (1997-2000) for the City of Hays, Kansas.

Community Involvement/Professional Associations

Postoak Ferguson serves on the boards of the United Way of Greater Kansas City and the Kansas Association of City/County Management. She is past president for the Kansas University City Managers and Trainees (KUCIMAT), the KU MPA alumni organization.

She also serves on the Olathe Economic Development Council, the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) Leadership Advisory Board and the United Community Services Advisory Committee.

She is a member of ICMA (served as Co-Chair for the 2016 ICMA Annual Conference), Kansas Association City/County Management (KACM), and National Association of County Administrators (NACA).

She has served on the following boards: Leadership Kansas, United Community Services of Johnson County, San Antonio Sports Foundation, Overland Park Convention and Visitors Bureau, and Overland Park South Rotary.

Credentials, Education and Family

Postoak Ferguson is an International City/County Management Association — Credentialed Manager (ICMA-CM).

A native of Lawrence, Kansas, Postoak Ferguson attended Haskell Indian Nations University, located in Lawrence, and is a member of the Choctaw Tribe of Oklahoma. She received her bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Kansas, also in Lawrence, and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Kansas.

She and her husband, Dwight, have a daughter, Peyton. The family lives in Johnson County.