Michael A. (Mike) Conduff is the President & CEO of The Elim Group, a motivational speaking and organizational consulting firm. Mike has extensive leadership, management and governance experience, having served as the City Manager of four different University communities, and most recently as the City Manager of Denton, Texas. Denton is the home of The University of North Texas and Texas Woman’s University. Located in the dynamic North Texas Corridor, Denton is an innovative and rapidly growing community of 110,000. Prior to assuming the City Manager’s position in Denton in May 2001, Mike was a nine-year City Manager of Bryan, Texas, a 1998 & 1999 All-America City Finalist and the birthplace of Texas A&M University. Before he came to Texas, Mike served as City Manager in Manhattan, Kansas, home of Kansas State University, for five years. He also served as City Manager of Pittsburg, Kansas, home of Pittsburg State University, for 5½ years.
Mr. Conduff earned his B.S. in civil engineering at the University of New Hampshire, graduating Cum Laude. His M.B.A. is from Pittsburg State University. He is also a charter graduate of the Carver Policy Governance® Academy in Atlanta, Georgia, and serves on the Board of Directors and as Secretary of the International Policy Governance® Association. Mike’s clients have included the International City Management Association, The National League of Cities Leadership Training Institute, The National Council on Planned Giving, The Community Associations Institute and many cities, associations, and other non-profit and for-profit corporations. He is the co-author of The OnTarget Board Member – 8 Indisputable Behaviors a book about highly effective board members, and The Policy Governance® Fieldbook, a book on the practical applications of Policy Governance®. He is a frequent keynote speaker at professional and civic events. His is working on another book, Democracy at the Doorstep – True Stories from the Green Beret of Public Administrators. He has published numerous articles in national publications on topics as diverse as neighborhood empowerment to citizen linkages in the governance process.
Mr. Conduff is a Fellow of the prestigious National Academy of Public Administration, a member of Who’s Who Worldwide, and a Paul Harris Fellow in Rotary International. He has been honored with the prestigious 2004 Award for Career Development in Memory of L. P. Cookingham from ICMA. The Center for Digital Government (a national research and advisory institute on information technology policies and best practices in state and local governments) has awarded Mike their coveted “Best of Texas 2004 Visionary Award.”
A fourth generation Native American, Mike grew up on stories of his Cherokee ancestry, and attributes his love of speaking and telling stories to his grandmothers. A graduate of the 1988 Leadership Kansas Class, Mr. Conduff is active in a number of professional and civic organizations. He serves on the Athletic Council for the University of North Texas. He is a full member and Past President of the Texas City Management Association. He is a fully credentialed member of the International City/County Management Association, and serves on its International Board. He also served six years on the Board of Directors of the Kansas Association of City/County Management, chairing the Ethics Committee and holding all of the statewide offices including President of the Association. He is a Past President of the Kansas Engineering Society; a charter member of the Board of Directors of the Kansas Entrepreneurial Center, located at Kansas State University; and a past member of the Board of Directors of the League of Kansas Municipalities Governing Body. Mr. Conduff is licensed as a Professional Engineer and a Registered Land Surveyor in the State of Kansas.