Carl Swenson
City Manager
Carl Swenson was appointed City Manager on July 1, 2008 and has more than 30 years of municipal management experience in Arizona, Illinois, and Washington. Prior to serving as City Manager of Peoria, he worked as a Deputy City Manager for the City of Peoria from April 2006 to June 2008. From 1996 to April 2006, Swenson was the Village Manager of Oak Park, Illinois. Before moving to Illinois, Swenson served 14 years in a variety of city management positions in Bellevue, Washington, include three years as Deputy City Manager.
Swenson has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from the University of Washington and holds a Master of Public Administration degree from The Institute of Public Service at Seattle University. Swenson earned the Credentialed City Manager designation (ICMA-CM) from the International City/County Management Association in 2003, and is recognized as a Legacy Leader within the field of city management. He has earned advanced certificates in government management from The Center For The Improvement of Public Management at the University of Colorado, and The Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He is a frequent guest speaker in graduate courses in city management in the School of Public Affairs at Arizona State University.
Swenson is a member of the International City/County Management Association and has served in numerous leadership positions in the field of city management including, Chair of the Illinois City Management Association Committee on Diversity, the ICMA Center for Performance Measurement National Steering Committee, Board of Directors of the Arizona City/County Management Association, and Chair of the Maricopa Association of Governments Management Committee.
Three city departments report directly to the City Manager - The Human Resources Department, the Intergovernmental and Council Affairs Department, and the Office of Communications.