Assistant City Manager
City of Lee's Summit
Lee's Summit, Missouri, United States
Donna Lake (EFO, MPA) is currently an Assistant City Manager in Lee’s Summit, Missouri and recently retired Fire Chief of the Kansas City, Missouri Fire Department (KCFD). While KCFD Fire Chief, she provided executive leadership envisioning a safer and more accountable department. She created the Fire Chief’s Areas of Focus to address challenges and improve community outreach, workforce development, and equity and inclusion. Lake developed and launched the KCFD Community Paramedic Program to meet the healthcare needs of the unhoused and reduce the burden of high utilizers on the emergency response system.
Lake holds a bachelor’s degree in public relations from the University of Central Missouri and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Kansas. She is a member of the University of Kansas School of Public Affairs and Administration Board, the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the International City and County Manager’s Association, the International Association of Emergency Managers and the Mid-America Regional Coordinating Council where she serves as co-chair of the Regional Homeland Security Coordinating Committee. She holds the following certifications: Cornell University Certificate Program in Diversity and Inclusion and Certified Facilitator/Advanced Facilitator from the Mid-America Regional Council.
As a seasoned veteran of the fire service, Lake has seen loss and been exposed to trauma. She knows firsthand the burden and personal cost of losing a member of our fire service family having lived through the overwhelming sense of responsibility and survivor’s guilt a stoic leader faces. Wanting other leaders to know they are not alone, she serves as a member of the regional Commander Level Peer Support Team. Lake sees it as a sign of strength and leadership when commanders recognize their own need to ask for support.
CE-203: A Safe Place to Remove Your Cape: Commander Level Peer Support Team
Thursday, August 17, 2023
3:30 PM – 5:00 PM