Washington County Administrator Joshua Schoemann has been recognized on a national “top 100 list.” The list places Schoemann at No. 14 among other prestigious local government professionals noting him as “the new face of local government.” Dallas Police Chief David Brown tops the list at No. 1 and four other Wisconsinites are named – Maurice Cheeks, City of Madison, Chad Doran, City of Appleton, Mark Rohlof, City of Oshkosh, and Gali Sumi, League of Wisconsin Municipalities.
The list is named after NBC’s “Parks and Recreation” character Chris Traeger (actor Rob Lowe). In the fictional series, Traeger is a City Manager who displays a great amount of positive energy and enthusiasm for local government. According to Emerging Local Government Leaders (ELGL), creators of the list, “Our perfect Traeger List award winner is someone who has a jammed packed daily schedule, but makes time for an informational interview or to present a webinar to a nationwide audience. Our list is full of individuals that quiver at the phrase “I’m too busy.”
“Josh is very deserving of this recognition,” said Washington County Board Chair Rick Gundrum. “His level of hard work and dedication has never dropped off since becoming our administrator. He is committed to making Washington County a great place to live, work, and play. Our staff and the citizens can all be real proud to have him leading our team!”
Schoemann joined Washington County in early 2014 after serving as Administrator in Richfield and Princeton, WI. In his time with Washington County he has executed a four part jurisdictional asset transfer with West Bend, collaboratively worked to create a multi-county health department with neighboring Ozaukee County and initiated Priority Based Budgeting in conjunction with Strategic Planning. Prior to local government, Josh joined the WI Army National Guard, was called to active duty and was deployed to Kuwait and Iraq where he served in Operation Iraqi Freedom. He currently serves as the Hartford Union High School Board President.
“Beyond his leadership experience in the military and government, Josh influences local government professionals throughout the country because he is accessible, articulate, and motivated to improve his community,” added Kent Wyatt, co-founder of Engaging Local Government Leaders.