After 30 years in government service, 29 of them with the City of Foster City, Assistant City Manager Kristi Chappelle is retiring and her last day at work will be November 17, 2011.

Chappelle was hired by the City of Foster City as an Administrative Assistant in 1982. She was promoted to General Services Director in 1987, a position that included overseeing Human Resources and Information Technology. In 1992 the title Deputy City Manager was added in recognition of the support that Kristi provided to the City Manager’s Department. She has been the Assistant City Manager since 1994.

Throughout her career with Foster City, Kristi has willingly embraced new challenges and performed them with professionalism and integrity. She has provided strong leadership and direction to her staff and the organization as a whole. Kristi has been integral to the smooth functioning of City government operations over these many years.

As she looked back on all of her many accomplishments in Foster City, Kristi was especially proud of her efforts to inform and engage the community about important civic issues. She led the public information programs for the development of the Civic Center Master Plan and the design and construction of the Government Center facilities. More recently she has served as staff liaison to the busy and productive Environmental Sustainability Task Force. During the time Kristi was responsible for Human Resources, she introduced the City’s flexible benefits program and organized training in interest-based negotiations and problem-solving for all City employees.

Kristi has the respect of her peers as she has consistently attended to the challenges of providing sound, fair municipal management of City operations and excellence in service to the community. She has been an active participant in the organizations that support her profession, serving as president of both the Municipal Management Association of Northern California and the San Mateo County City Managers’ Association. In 2009, she was named a Paul Harris Fellow by the Foster City Rotary Club for her service to the community.

City Manager Jim Hardy expressed high praise for the accomplishments of Ms. Chappelle, saying, “With her incredible talents, skills and abilities, Kristi has left an indelible stamp on our organization. We will definitely miss her but our lives have been changed for the better because of her exemplary dedication and selfless service. We wish her nothing but the very best as she enters her well-deserved retirement.”

Upon retirement, Kristi is looking forward to spending more time with family and friends and reacquainting herself with her garden.