The South Burlington City Council is pleased to announce that Jessie Baker has been selected to serve as the next City Manager. She will join the City on June 1, 2021 providing a smooth transition as the current City Manager Kevin Dorn will retire on June 30th.
“The entire South Burlington City Council was incredibly impressed with the caliber, competence, and persona of Jessie Baker. We are ecstatic that she will become both the first female and the next City Manager. We are confident that she will continue the legacy of excellence set by Kevin Dorn,” said Helen Riehle, City Council Chair.
With more than 15 years of municipal experience, Jessie is currently the City Manager of Winooski, where she has served for the last four years. Previously, she was the Assistant City Manager in Montpelier and worked for the Vermont Department of Health on systems improvement and performance management. She started her municipal work in Somerville, Massachusetts, a city of 80,000, where she held a number of management positions.
"I'm honored and excited to serve as the next City Manager in South Burlington," Baker said today. "South Burlington has it all - from a developing downtown to close-knit neighborhoods and protected environmental resources. I look forward to bringing my years of experience in municipal management and knowledge of Chittenden County and Vermont systems to bear on the important challenges the City will face in the years to come."
She went on to say, “Additionally, I'm thankful for the opportunity to follow the strong leadership of City Manager Kevin Dorn and Deputy City Manager Tom Hubbard. I look forward to learning from them, the staff, and the community as we continue South Burlington's work to be an affordable, community based, walkable, green, and opportunity-oriented city!"
Jessie is a graduate of Harwood Union High School in Moretown, VT. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology and Psychology from Columbia University and a master’s degree in Social Policy and Planning from Tufts University. Additionally, she completed executive education through the John F. Kennedy School for Government at Harvard University.