Ryan A. Elam Appointed Director of the City’s Development Center
After an extensive search, the City of Lee’s Summit is proud to announce the appointment of Ryan A. Elam, PE, as the director of the Development Center – a one-stop shop for community-wide development activity.
“I'm looking forward to helping our community grow and continuing to build strong relationships with the development community in order to better serve the citizens of Lee's Summit. It's an exciting time for the city, and together we will make Lee's Summit a preferred destination to do business,” said Elam, who began his duties with the city today, Fri., Sept. 30.
In regard to him joining the organization, Assistant City Manager of Development Services and Communications Division Mark Dunning said, “We are pleased to welcome Ryan to the organization and to the position of leadership with the Development Center. Ryan’s extensive engineering background and experience in the civil engineering field will be beneficial in this role as he interacts with employees and the business and development community. We look forward to continued progress and enhancements of the development processes under his leadership as well as his continual relationship-building with our business and economic development partners on the local, state and national levels.” Dunning has been serving as the director of the Development Center for two and a half years.
Among Elam’s responsibilities as the head of the Development Center will be overseeing the activities and operations of development services and programs, including business and contractor licensing and economic development incentives. Coordinating assigned projects with other city departments and outside agencies and providing support to the city’s leadership and other boards and commissions are also among his duties.
Elam, a professional engineer, has an extensive background in engineering services having worked in various capacities within the field for several noted firms across the metropolitan area.
Prior to joining the City of Lee’s Summit, he was a project manager for BHC Rhodes in Overland Park, Kan., where he was responsible for the overall scope, schedule and budget of various civil engineering projects in addition to leading multiple design teams through the process of performing design calculations, preparing construction documents, designing proposals, engineering reports and city submittals. He served in this capacity from March 2014 until accepting the job at the city.
Elam also worked as a project engineer at BHC Rhodes for two years, beginning in July 2012. Before this position, he was a design engineer for Schlagel and Associates, P.A. in Lenexa, Kan., from May 2007 – July 2012.
He has a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla, Mo., and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in engineering management from the University of Kansas in Lawrence.
He is a lifelong resident of Lee’s Summit and is a graduate of Lee’s Summit High School. Elam married his high school sweetheart and they are the proud parents of two children.
Please join the City of Lee’s Summit in congratulating Ryan A. Elam as the newly appointed Development Center director.