Municipal Leaders: Develop Faster, Lead Stronger, Build Better
Every week, you’ll get insights and actionable steps to help you navigate personal growth and professional success.
When Jennifer Poirrier joined the City of Clearwater as an HR director, becoming city manager wasn’t remotely on her radar. In fact, she explicitly told mentors throughout her career: “I do not want to be a city manager.”
Yet today, she leads one of Florida’s premier tourism destinations through recovery from devastating hurricanes and manages the complex dance between 15 million annual visitors and residents who cherish their “small town feel.”
Jennifer’s path to public service began with the September 11th attacks. Working in manufacturing at the time, she felt compelled to contribute something meaningful following the national tragedy.
“I just felt a call to do something and wanted to get involved to do what I could to support,” Jennifer shares. This led her to apply for government positions, launching a decades-long career in public service that would eventually take her to one of Florida’s most prominent cities.
While HR isn’t a typical pathway to city management, Jennifer believes it uniquely prepared her for leading a complex organization:
“Knowing the value of relationships and the relationships that I’ve made throughout my career, I think is what actually prepared me for this role, uniquely prepared me for this role, because those relationships are just invaluable.”
Her people-first approach earned recognition from the Tampa Bay Business Journal and helped modernize Clearwater’s compensation structure, making the city more competitive in attracting and retaining talent.
In a story that will resonate with many in municipal leadership, Jennifer’s journey accelerated dramatically when she became assistant city manager in 2022. Just two months later, the city manager departed, and Jennifer found herself appointed as interim, then permanent city manager.
“I didn’t really have time to process it,” she explains. “It was one of those things that…the job is here, and I’ve got the council, the community, other city managers, the County has been phenomenal to me and like, ‘We’ve got you, you can do this.'”
Perhaps the most dramatic challenge came when Clearwater faced back-to-back catastrophic storms that Jennifer describes as “100-year and then a 500-year event.”
The recovery effort cost over $80 million and required extraordinary leadership to restore crucial infrastructure and operations. Under Jennifer’s guidance, the team accomplished “nothing short of miraculous,” reopening the beaches and welcoming tourists back for a successful spring break season.
Ironically, the city’s efficient response created a new challenge: “Almost to a detriment, right? Like ‘Clearwater wasn’t even hit.’ It’s like, ‘Oh, yes, we were. We need help. We need funding…Please don’t punish us for doing it well.”
One of the most touching aspects of Jennifer’s story is how public service has become a family mission. Her husband is a firefighter moving into assistant city management, and her daughter is in the police academy.
As she navigates the challenges of work-life integration (not balance, which she agrees is “baloney”), Jennifer involves her family in city events and activities, making her leadership role a shared experience rather than a competing priority.
Whether you’re considering a career in municipal leadership, already serving in local government, or fascinated by how cities navigate crises, Jennifer’s unexpected journey offers valuable insights about adaptability, people-centered leadership, and finding purpose through public service.
Listen to the full episode now on your favorite podcast platform or at haltingwinter.com.
The HaltingWinter Podcast celebrates and elevates the people who power local government. Through in-depth conversations with leaders from cities of all sizes, host Seth Winterhalter explores the journeys, challenges, and innovations happening in municipal leadership across America.
