Karen Turner Named Assistant City Manager

Gaithersburg City Manager Tanisha Briley announced the appointment Karen (Boyd) Turner as the new assistant city manager. Turner will assume the duties of assistant city manager effective September 29, 2025.

Turner comes to Gaithersburg bringing more than 22 years of public-sector experience in human resources administration, with 13 years serving as a director and more than 13 years of experience in local government. Her experience includes serving as a strategic partner to executive and elected leaders in public education, college administration, and local government.

Prior to joining the City of Gaithersburg, Turner served as the human resources director for the Oxnard Union High School District in Oxnard, California and human resources manager for the Santa Barbara County Fire Department. Her experience also includes serving as human Resources director at Black Hawk College in Moline, IL, interim human resources director in Cleveland Heights, OH, and several positions with the City of Davenport, Iowa including interim human resources director.

Karen holds a Masters of Business Administration and a Masters of Organizational Leadership from St. Ambrose University. She is a certified Senior Human Resources Manager and a graduate of the Senior Executives in State and Local Government Program at Harvard University.

"Karen has a proven track record of cross-organizational process improvement and bringing people-centered innovative solutions to organizational challenges," said City Manager Tanisha Briley. "I'm looking forward to her contributions as a member of the Gaithersburg team."

"I'm honored to be appointed as the new assistant city manager for the City of Gaithersburg," said Turner. "I am excited to partner with a team dedicated to growth and success and I look forward to joining my new colleagues on this new chapter in Gaithersburg."

As a member of the City's executive leadership team, Gaithersburg's two assistant city managers support the city manager in the overall management of City operations and services, managing assigned special projects and coordinating activities with other City departments, officials, outside agencies, and the community to implement the City's mission, vision, core values, and goals. Learn more about the City Manager's Office here.

For more information, please contact the City Manager's office.