Melissa Reynolds

After nearly 10 years of professional experience in Civil Engineering and 8 of those years dedicated to public service, I have embarked on a journey of obtaining a Master's Degree in Public Administration. As the Assistant City Engineer for a growing City in Central Texas, I have a responsibly to the public to effectively and efficiently manage development and City growth with the resources available. It is a very sensitive balancing act, as an increase in resources generally equals an increase in financial burden to residents, however insufficient resources leads to ineffective government. Mastering the skill of optimizing this task along with increasing my skills and abilities as a manager and leader have led my desire to increase my knowledge base and overall asset to the public.
My level of management has grown in my years in the engineering and public service profession, from effective time management, to include management of multiple design and/or construction projects, to now management of public information and a substantial staff. Managing department budgets, construction timelines, along with contracts and staff resources is a typical day in my current position. Gaining new insight and tools for increasing my effectiveness as a manager and leader is something I hope to attain with a Masters of Public Administration.
Public service is not only the nature of my job with the City, but a responsibility I have to my profession as an engineer. As a professional engineer, we take an oath of ethics to safeguard life and protect the health, safety, property, and welfare of the general public. It is a responsibility that I value and am honored to be a part of, but it is also a difficult task to manage when development is a driving force for increased revenue and, at the same time, impacts to our existing systems and infrastructure. The difficulties we face are not easy to communicate effectively to the general public, our political leaders, or even the development community at times.