After 20 years in previous roles with the city of Iowa City, former director of parking and transit Chris O’Brien has returned to the city as the new deputy city manager, providing high-level support to the city manager, city council, and city of Iowa City.
O’Brien, who has a master’s degree in business from the University of Iowa, previously worked for the city from 1997 to 2017. During that time, he held roles such as operations supervisor, parking manager, and director of parking and transit.
O’Brien said he and his wife, Mindy, decided to leave in 2017 after she received her Ph.D. from the UI and was offered a job in Kansas City. Following a short stint in Kansas City, the O’Briens moved to Des Moines, where Chris O’Brien worked for a private environmental engineering firm.
When the former Deputy City Manager Redmond Jones II resigned, it was the perfect opportunity to relocate once again, as Mindy O’Brien was able to work remotely.
“It was a chance to sort of re-engage those relationships and come back and get into the public sector work, which I’ve always enjoyed and always loved doing, and it just timed out well for us,” Chris O’Brien said.
During his initial 20 years with the city, Chris O’Brien said he was able to cultivate many relationships and grow partnerships with people working closely with the city.
One person Chris O’Brien worked closely with as director of parking and transit was Betsy Potter, director of the Iowa City Downtown District. Potter said she most vividly recalls working closely with Chris O’Brien on the “first-hour free” program, making all downtown parking ramps free for the first hour.
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“He’s an incredibly hard worker and a really great person to work with,” Potter said. “There’s a great team at the city manager’s office right now, so it’s just a rather great person to add to a terrific team.”
Just over two weeks into his new role, Chris O’Brien is still getting used to his new responsibilities. He said his goals include working closely with the downtown district and Greater Iowa City and contributing to Iowa City’s overall greatness.
“We’re extremely happy to be coming back. I think things are coming back really, really quick,” he said. “I’ve got a chance to meet a lot of people that I didn’t know before, as well as a chance to catch up with those people that I had known prior. I think it’s going well.”
City Manager Geoff Fruin was working for Iowa City while Chris O’Brien was previously employed by the city and said he is excited about Chris O’Brien’s return, expecting him to shine in his new role.
“Chris is great at seeing partnership opportunities and connecting resources together to solve some of the complex challenges that face local governments from time to time,” he said. “His knowledge of our organization and knowledge of the community, and just his natural ability to bring people and resources together to solve problems, will be a great benefit for us.”