About Our Interim County Administrator

Cheryl Harrison-Lee

Ms. Cheryl Harrison–Lee was appointed to the position of Interim County Administrator for the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, KS effective Friday, January 7, 2022. Harrison-Lee brings more than 35 years of professional experience as a nationally-recognized public and private sector executive at a time when the Unified Government anticipates making generational investments in the community while managing a public health response to a global pandemic. Throughout her career, Harrison-Lee has worked to bring a more data-driven, accountable approach to public agencies through a commitment to collecting, using and sharing performance data to enhance transparency and continually improve organizations and communities; all skillsets she will apply in her role as interim County Administrator. 

Principal, Harrison-Lee Development Consulting

As Principal of Harrison-Lee Development Consulting, Harrison-Lee serves as a technical advisor on the City of Kansas City, Missouri Central City Sales Tax, a catalytic program to spur economic opportunity in disadvantaged urban neighborhoods.

Executive Director, Kansas Office of Recovery

Previously, Ms. Harrison-Lee served as the Executive Director for the Kansas Office of Recovery, where she developed strategic funding priorities, established management and financial systems for disbursing $1.034B CARES Act funds through the State of Kansas to address the impacts of COVID-19. She also spearheaded the implementation of strategies to provide guidance to all Kansas counties, including toolkits, webinars, templates, and financial reporting on ways to expend $1B in COVID-19 recovery funds.

Chief Executive Officer for the City of Gardner, KS

Ms. Harrison-Lee managed a leadership team tasked with municipal operations for a full-service city. She provided policy direction in areas such as economic development, quality of life, fiscal stewardship and infrastructure/asset management. She oversaw significant economic growth during her time in Gardner, positioning the city for more than $200 Million in economic development projects. These successes included a new Hilton Hotel, Justice Center, 700,000 square feet of industrial development plus more than 400 new single-family homes and more than 100 multi-family homes scheduled for construction.

Ms. Harrison-Lee developed a strategic plan resulting in the city receiving the Certificate of Excellence in Performance Management from the International City/County Management Association (ICMA). The ICMA awards this certificate to governmental entities that demonstrate a commitment to collecting, using, and sharing performance data to enhance transparency and continually improve their organizations and communities. This certificate is the highest level of recognition awarded.