EVANSTON, IL - Evanston Interim City Manager Kelley Gandurski today announced that she will resign from her position effective July 11 for a new opportunity with Elrod Friedman LLP, a land use and government law firm serving the public and private sectors.

Gandurski has served the City of Evanston for more than two years in several key leadership roles, including corporation counsel, deputy city manager, and, most recently, interim city manager, a position she has held since October 2021.

“It has been a great honor and privilege to have served the City of Evanston and members of the City Council as interim city manager,” said Gandurski. “I am proud of the work that we’ve accomplished together during this short time, and I look forward to seeing the community build on the progress that has been made on so many fronts. Thank you to the City Council and the entire Evanston community for providing me the opportunity to serve in this critical role and to lead such fine, professional and capable staff.”

“Kelley Gandurski stepped into the role of interim city manager with very little warning, and with the expectation that it would last a few short months. Instead, she was called upon to lead our staff for more than eight months as we encountered enormously complex and high-stakes challenges,” said Mayor Daniel Biss. “Our whole community owes her a great debt of gratitude for an extremely difficult job very well done. I personally thank her for her service and wish her all the best in the next phase of her career.”

During her time as interim city manager, Gandurski has led a number of key initiatives, including overseeing development of the City’s $43 million American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) plan, working with key community partners to build a citywide Coalition to End Homelessness, overhauling lakefront operations and improving staff training, collaborating with all four employee unions to implement a COVID-19 vaccination policy for all City staff, and working with the City’s Human Resources Division to revamp City policies and to ensure adequate staffing, training and support for all departments.

Prior to her role as interim city manager, Gandurski served as deputy city manager beginning in April 2021, focusing on the day-to-day management of City operations, long-term projects and community partnerships.  She joined the City of Evanston in March 2020 as corporation counsel/city attorney.

Next Steps

Information regarding the appointment of a new interim city manager will be announced in the coming days. In addition, Mayor Biss will partner with the Evanston RoundTable to hold a Town Hall Meeting on the city manager search process on Tuesday, July 12 at 7 p.m. Community members are invited to attend the meeting in person at the Morton Civic Center, Parasol Room, 2100 Ridge Ave., or can tune in live on Cable Channel 16 or the City’s YouTube channel.

For more information, please call/text 847-448-4311 or simply dial 311 in Evanston.