Henry Gardner

Henry L. Gardner has over 28 years of experience in local government. His more notable positions include serving as the City Manager and Redevelopment Agency Administrator of Oakland, California and, fulfilling the role of Senior Vice President and Manager of Public Finance of the Western Region for the investment-banking firm Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette. Mr. Gardner specializes in developing implementation strategies for restructuring government, downsizing organizations, and developing public-private partnerships and privatization. Other areas of consulting include revenue collections, expenditure reductions and budgetary controls. Mr. Gardner also provides assistance in the development of leadership skills of managers and supervisors to facilitate effective relations with subordinates. During a 12-year tenure as City Manager of Oakland, Mr. Gardner managed a budget in excess of $500 million and a workforce of 5,000 employees. He managed Oakland’s recovery from the massive earthquake damage of 1989 and the Oakland firestorm of 1991. He has also received a number of honors and awards including being named the Country’s most valuable City Manager by City and State Magazine; receipt of the National Forum for Black Public Administrators’ Marks of Excellence Award; inclusion as a delegate to the White House Conference on Library and Information Services; and selection as a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration.He founded Gardner, Underwood & Bacon to provide municipal management and financial consulting services to states, cities, counties, schools and special districts. And, participated in the structuring of over 50 municipal bond financings totaling over $1.5 billion.