Ms. Sharon L. Landers is an executive-level strategist and project manager in the public and private sectors. She is also an attorney. Ms. Landers has over 30 years in state, regional and municipal service on both coasts including half a dozen cities, several regional transportation authorities, one of California’s largest redevelopment agencies, multiple successor agencies, and two state agencies.
Ms. Landers’ experience in managing financial transactions in dynamic environments has resulted in a reputation for successfully advancing high profile and complex projects working collaboratively with government and private sector stakeholders. Her achievements include winning the passage of sales tax measures, implementing EIFDs and pension obligation bonds, and leading public/private partnerships that involved establishing an automated toll collection system in collaboration with a dozen East coast states and creating a revenue source for highway expansion in Atlantic City. She has extensive experience overseeing professional and technical disciplines.
Ms. Landers has served as a City Manager, Assistant City Manager, and Director of Planning in the cities of Carson, Irvine, and Rancho Cucamonga respectively. She has been the Assistant CEO for the San Jose Redevelopment Agency, Deputy CEO for LA Metro, Deputy Commissioner for the New Jersey Department of Transportation, transportation and/or clean air policy advisor for two New York governors and two New York City mayors, and General Counsel and Deputy Commissioner for the New York City Department of Transportation.
Licenses and Affiliations
Ms. Landers has been admitted to the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S District Court for the Northern District of New York, and the New York Bar. She is a member of the International County/City Management Association (ICMA) and California City Managers Foundation (CCMF), is an ICMA-credentialed city manager and has been a speaker on professional and academic panels focused on economic development strategies, municipal financial tools, and leadership including:
- League of California Cities – Panelist and Panel organizer
- International City/County Management Association (ICMA) – Panelist, Panel organizer, and Mentor
- Women Leading Government – Panelist, Panel organizer and Mentor
- Women in Leisure – Guest Lecturer
- University of California, Irvine (UCI)/Association of California Cities – Orange County (ACC-OC) – Guest Lecturer on Public Finance
- Fullerton University MPA program – Guest Lecturer on Leadership
- Fullerton University City Management Fellowship Program – Manager/Mentor
- Municipal Management Association of Southern California (MMASC) – Panelist and Mentor
Ms. Landers has served on or is serving on:
- Southern CA Tri-Counties Branch of the International Dyslexia Association – Board of Directors
- Cal-International County/City Managers Association (Cal-ICMA) – Board of Directors
- Women Leading Government (WLG) – Board of Directors and Advisory Board
- Orange County Council of Governments (OCCOG) – Executive Management Committee
- ICMA Local Government Management Fellowship Program – Advisory Board
Education
Ms. Landers attended the Harvard Kennedy School Senior Executives in State and Local Government Program during her service in municipal government. While working as a lawyer in New York, she received a federal scholarship to attend the University of Southern California’s (USC’s) Environmental Management Institute. She obtained her Juris Doctor degree from Albany Law School, Union University in New York, and her Bachelor of Science degree from the State University of New York at Stony Brook where she double majored in computer science and psychology and minored in education.
Professional Experience
Click to view/download Sharon Landers’s resume.
Interim Chief Operating Officer – Bay Area Air Quality Management District – Feb 2023-present
Interim Executive Officer – Bay Area Air Quality Management District – May 2022-Feb 2023
City Manager – Carson, CA – May 2019
Principal, Landers Consulting – Orange County – Jan 2019 – May 2019
Assistant to City Manager – City of Irvine – 2006-2018
Interim CEO, Orange County Great Park – Irvine, CA – 2007-2008
Assistant Executive Director – San Jose Redevelopment Agency – San Jose – 2002-2006
Principal – Management Consulting Firm – Los Angeles, CA – 1999-2002
Deputy CEO – LA County Metropolitan Transportation Authority – Los Angeles, CA – 1998-1999
Deputy Commissioner – New Jersey Department of Transportation – Los Angeles, CA – 1994-1997
Counsel for Legislative Affairs – Orange & Rockland Utilities – Albany, NY
Special Advisor to the Mayor for Transportation and Air Quality – City of New York – General Counsel & Deputy Commissioner for New York City Department of Transportation
Transportation Program Associate – Office of the New York State Governor – Albany, NY