Joanne Keene Comes Home to the City of Flagstaff

As deputy city manager, Keene is focused on improving her mountain town

By Betsey Bruner, FBN

Acomfortable office chair now has a new occupant on the second floor at Flagstaff City Hall downtown. As of May 30, Joanne

Keene has been filling that chair and its accompanying desk in her new post as deputy city manager. She also is enjoying commanding views from her office windows of the San Francisco Peaks, an exchange for a view of the red rocks of Sedona, as she has left her most recent job as deputy city manager for the City of Sedona.

Keene, a resident of Flagstaff since 2004, was selected out of nearly 200 candidates for the Flagstaff position after her final interview April 6. “When I left my last position, I was given a painting of the San Francisco Peaks that hangs in my office in Sedona,” Keene recalled. “Now, I’m excited to look at the real deal every day!”

Keene joins City Manager Greg Clifton and Senior Deputy City Manager Shannon Anderson on the city’s executive leadership team. “We are very excited to have Joanne join our team,” Clifton said. “She knows Flagstaff, her credentials are amazing, and she will be able to hit the ground running. We welcome her and look forward to her leadership.”

In addition to her recent Sedona job, her “amazing” credentials include a post as deputy county manager for Coconino County, as well as her position as executive vice president and chief of staff at Northern Arizona University.

In total, Keene, 48, has amassed an impressive 25 years in federal, state and local government roles serving the State of Arizona, including govern- ment relations director for Coconino County and public information officer for the Arizona Department of Water Resources.

That quarter century of service also includes eight years working for the U.S. House of Representatives, with five of those years in Washington, D.C.

She also is a certified public manager through Arizona State University.

Keene’s interest in local government came early at Marcos de Niza High School in Tempe during a “Tempe Government Days” event. “Students could apply to shadow an elected official or department director,” she said. “I was selected to shadow the community development director. This experience gave me an initial exposure to local government, and I was certainly intrigued. After working at the state and federal level, I quickly realized that local government is where you get the most accomplished and it’s the best way to make an impact.”

Keene is a graduate of Northern

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