City Manager Search Process

Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui and City of Cambridge Personnel Director Sheila Keady Rawson, co-chairs of the Cambridge City Manager Initial Screening Committee, have announced the names of the four finalist candidates being forwarded to the entire City Council for consideration.

The four finalists are:

Iram Farooq - Ms. Farooq is currently the Assistant City Manager for the Community Development Department (CDD) in the City of Cambridge since 2015. Prior to that, she served as Chief of Policy & Planning in CDD and as a Senior Project Manager for Land Use & Zoning starting in 1999. Ms. Farooq has a Master’s in Landscape Architecture with special emphasis on Land Planning from Harvard University.

Cheryl Watson Fisher - Ms. Fisher is currently the City Solicitor for the City of Chelsea, MA since 2003, and is a partner in the Cambridge based law firm Galluccio & Watson, LLP. She served as Assistant City Solicitor for the City of Cambridge from 1999-2003. Prior to that, she served as Assistant Regional Counsel II for the Department of Social Services for the Commonwealth of MA and a Field Attorney for the National Labor Relations Board in Boston. Ms. Fisher has her Juris Doctor (Law degree) from Boston College.

Yi-An Huang - Mr. Huang is currently the Executive Director of Boston Medical Center (BMC) Hospital Clinical Operations since 2021. Between 2018 and 2021 he served as Chief Transformation Officer and Senior Director - Population Health Analytics for the BMC Health Plan. From 2013 to 2018 he served as Senior Director of Clinical Operation, Director of Strategy and Senior Project Manager for the BMC Hospital. Mr. Huang has a Master’s in Business Administration from Harvard University.

Norman Khumalo - Mr. Khumalo is currently the Town Manager of Hopkinton, MA since 2009. He served as Assistant Town Manager of Westford, MA from 2002-2009, and served for 6 months as Interim Town Manager. Prior to that he served as a Town Planner, Planner and Transportation Project Manager in Massachusetts. He also served from 1993 to 1997 with Oxfam America in the Boston office, and served in the Planning Field in Zimbabwe. Mr. Khumalo has a Master’s in Public Administration from Carleton University, Canada and a Master’s in Regional & Urban Planning from the University of Zimbabwe.

For more information on the City Manager finalists, click here.

To read more about the finalists, you can access their resumes and their answers to the candidate questionnaires here.

A “Meet the Finalists” forum will be held on Tuesday, May 31st, 2022, from 6-9 p.m., in the Fitzgerald Auditorium at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, 459 Broadway, where members of the public will have an opportunity to hear from each finalist in person or on Channel 99 about their vision for the City and answer questions. You can attend the meeting in-person on the 31st at the Fitzgerald Theater, or you can watch from home on Channel 99 or stream on the web via Zoom (view recording).

The City Council will conduct public interviews with the finalists on Wednesday, June 1st, beginning at 6:00 p.m., in the Sullivan Chamber, 2nd floor of Cambridge City Hall, which the public can view in person, on 22-CityView (the municipal cable channel), and live online via Zoom (view recording).

The City Council is expected to vote to appoint the next City Manager during a Special City Council Meeting on Monday, June 6th, which the public can view in person, on 22-CityView, and live online via Zoom (view recording).

Thank you to the over 750 residents and stakeholders who provided feedback on the City Manager search process over the last 6 weeks through our dedicated website! Curious what your friends and neighbors had to say? Check out the feedback by clicking the box below! Your feedback helped us develop the job description for the next City Manager, will guide us in finding ideal candidates for the role, and help the City Council when they make their final decision!

Mayor Siddiqui has announced the appointment of an Initial Screening Committee to assist in the selection process of the next City Manager. This group of 4 City Council members and 15 community members will be facilitated by Randi Frank LLC, the executive search firm hired by the City Council to conduct the search. In the coming weeks, this group will meet for 3 days and ultimately help decide which candidates move on as a finalist. The 15 committee members below represent a diverse array of Cambridge community members, residents, and stakeholders and were selected for participation by the ad-hoc committee chaired by Councillor McGovern, and members of the ad-hoc committee Councillor Azeem, Councillor Toner, and Councillor Zondervan. The Initial Screening Committee members are: 

• Brian Burke - Resident Advocate 
• Kathleen Moore - Resident Advocate 
• Susan Fleischmann - Resident Advocate 
• Banti Gheneti - Resident Advocate
• Mo Barbosa - Health & Human Services Representative 
• Rachel Weinstein - Cambridge School Committee Representative
• Christine Elow - Public Safety Advocate 
• Michael Monestime - City Planner 
• Vernon Walker - Non Profit Representative
• Thomas Lucey - Higher Education Representative 
• B. Kimmerman - Large Business Representative 
• Jason Alves - Small Business Representative 
• Elaine DeRosa - Affordable Housing Advocate 
• Chris Cassa - Arts/Recreation Advocate
• James Kaufman - Municipal Finance Representative 
• Mayor Siddiqui - City Council Representative
• Councillor Carlone - City Council Representative
• Councillor Nolan - City Council Representative
• Councillor Simmons - City Council Representative

For more information on the Initial Search Committee, read the Mayor’s update here.

As part of the City Manager search process, we have developed a series of small, issue based focus groups using Cortico: Local Voices Network software. These conversations are designed to elicit deep, issue based, feedback from residents and stakeholders on what they'd like to see in the next City Manager as well as challenges and opportunities that exist for this position. The focus group feedback will help form the leadership profile as we post the job description and attract candidates.

All conversations were recorded, please find the links to the full conversations below as they come on line! You can review the entire transcripts, listen to the whole conversation, or peek at the highlights. We hope you find these conversations informative!

1. Non-profit Community Leaders
2. Affordable Housing Providers
3. Senior Representatives
4. Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School Students
5. Homeless Shelter Providers
6. Small Business Owners
7. Racial Justice Organizations
8. Environment and Climate Leaders
9. Cambridge Public School and Community School Parents
10. Arts Community
11. Transportation Advocates
12. Faith Based Community
13. ACT/CHA & Tenant Councils/Non-Market Renters
14. Disability Community
15. Unhoused Residents - This conversation was not recorded, per the participants' request.
16. Neighborhood Associations (Part 1)
17. Neighborhood Associations (Part 2)
18. Immigrant Community

• June 6, 2022 - City Council Meeting
  •  Watch Meeting Video
• June 1, 2022 - Special City Council Meeting
  • Watch Meeting Video
• March 9, 2022 - Government Operations Committee Meeting
  •  Watch Meeting Video
• March 2, 2022 - Government Operations Committee Meeting
  •  Watch Meeting Video
• February 16, 2022 - Government Operations Committee Meeting
  •  Watch Meeting Video
• January 26, 2022 - Government Operations Committee Meeting
  • Watch Meeting Video
• August 4, 2021 - Government Operations Committee Meeting
  •  Watch Meeting Video
• July 12, 2021 - Government Operations Committee Meeting
  •  Watch Meeting Video

A “Meet the Finalists” forum was held on Tuesday, May 31st, 2022, from 6-9 p.m., in the Fitzgerald Auditorium at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, 459 Broadway, where members of the public had an opportunity to hear from each finalist in person.

• May 31, 2022 - Meet the Finalists Forum
  • Watch Forum Video

For general questions regarding the search process, please contact:

Vice Mayor Alanna Mallon
Cambridge City Hall
795 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02139

617-349-4263
amallon@cambridgema.gov