Long-time Olathe city manager retires. Meet the woman taking his place
Olathe will welcome a new city manager at the end of January, following the retirement of a man who served in the role since 1999 and led the city through years of significant change, growth and development.
Susan Sherman, Olathe’s current deputy city manager, was selected to replace Michael Wilkes, the city announced last month. Wilkes retires after a 27-year journey with the city, making him the longest-serving city manager in Olathe.
Some notable city projects that took place under Wilkes’ tenure include: raising the rails projects, which improved road safety near railroads, renovating Lake Olathe, downtown revitalization, the construction of new libraries, a new police department building, and parks and streets sales taxes that funded new parks and a trail system.
Wilkes is also credited with creating a culture of teamwork, leadership and community pride within Olathe city government, Olathe Mayor John Bacon said at Tuesday’s city council meeting.
At the meeting, Wilkes shared remarks about his time spent as a leader in local government.
“It’s been a blessing for me and my family to be able to raise my kids here and have my folks live here now,” Wilkes said. “I love the organization, I love the community. We’re staying here.”
“Thanks to all the many wonderful people that I’ve worked for on the city council over 27 years, and the staff, I can’t say enough about the staff here and the folks who really make the things work,” Wilkes said.
Sherman readies for city manager role
Sherman has worked in the city manager’s office since 1989, and said she has spent the last three decades learning from leaders in Olathe, including Wilkes.
In a phone call Thursday, Sherman said she believes her experience with significant projects like the 2040 Strategic Plan, the Santa Fe interchange project, and the Elevate Olathe Initiative have prepared her to continue public service with new, challenging responsibilities.
“I really feel like I’ve been able to grow along with the city,” Sherman said.
Sherman said one of her strengths that she brings to the table is having community conversations about what is important to citizens and creating actions from their feedback.
One example of this, she said, has been open house meetings for Elevate Olathe, an initiative to update the city’s comprehensive plan. The plan provides recommendations and policies for future growth and development over the next 15 years.
“We always have to be thinking beyond the next five years, right, so in the next 10-20 years, what does the next generation of Olathe want to see happen?” Sherman said.
Leading a growing Olathe
In a news release, the city of Olathe said Sherman is known for building relationships and that she, “has a proven track record in transforming government operations into values-driven metrics-based systems.”
Her work has led to “high resident satisfaction, and strong financial stability,” according to the release.
Sherman earned a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Kansas. She was awarded the 2006 Assistant Excellence in Leadership Award by the International City County Management Association (ICMA). She was also awarded the 2014 ICMA Career Development Award.
In 2019, Sherman was awarded the Kansas Association of City Manager’s Buford Watson Excellence in Public Management Award. In 2022, she was named the Citizen of the Year by the Olathe Chamber of Commerce. Sherman will begin as new city manager Jan. 31. She said she believes Olathe is poised for more transformation in the years ahead.
“We know that people don’t necessarily love paying taxes,” Sherman said. “But we want them to value what they get for their tax dollars. ... You know, let’s always stretch ourselves. Let’s always think differently.”
“Let’s always make sure that we are focused on what this community wants, and doing it in the best possible way at the least possible cost.”
This story was originally published January 22, 2026 at 3:07 PM.
