Jennings Selects Heather Brown to Serve as Assistant City Manager

PORTLAND, Maine – City Manager Jon Jennings is pleased to announce he has selected Heather Brown to serve as the new Assistant City Manager for the City of Portland. The City conducted a search process for an Assistant City Manager to replace Michael Sauschuck, who left to become Commissioner of the Department of Public Safety for the State of Maine. 


Ms. Brown, a native of Windham, will return to Maine after serving for the last 12 years in a variety of roles at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in Maryland. For the last year and a half, she served as the Director of Management and Strategic Initiatives and Acting Deputy Chief of Staff for the Office of the Commissioner. Earlier in her career at the FDA, she served as Deputy Director of the Office of Executive Programs in the Center for Drug Evaluation & Research, and as Director of Project Management in the Office of Regulatory Affairs.


“Heather is a results-driven project management executive with experience leading strategic initiatives and serving as an organizational change agent and trusted advisor,” said City Manager Jon Jennings. “She’s had a wealth of experience managing complex projects within a large organization, and I’m excited we were able to attract someone with her skill set and experience to join us as we continue our work of making municipal government more efficient and effective.”


“I am thrilled to be joining the City of Portland and moving home to Maine,” said Heather Brown. “This is a tremendous opportunity to continue my career in public service in a city I love.”


Ms. Brown holds a Project Management Masters Certificate from George Washington University, a Master of Public Administration from Baruch College’s School of Public Affairs in New York City, and a Bachelor of Arts in Corporate Communications from Marietta College
 in Ohio.


She will earn $138,879 annually and begin work on June 10.