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RANDOLPH – Sheila Korth’s smalltown agricultural roots are planted deep.
It didn’t matter whether she was in Omaha, Washington, D.C., or overseas in the United Kingdom – her passion never strayed too far from the Randolph farm she grew up on. And now she’s ready to bloom where she was planted as Randolph’s next city administrator.
Korth is a 2004 Randolph High School graduate who earned a degree from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in economics and management information systems.
She received the Truman Scholarship in 2007, which took her to D.C. and then a fellows program where she worked for former Congressman Jeff Fortenberry.
In 2009, Korth completed her master’s degree in environmental policy from The London School of Economics and Political Science.
“A lot of environmental policy was folding into ag policy, which was my passion, and working on stuff that affects the farmers here, where I grew up,” she said.
Korth moved to the Omaha area next and went to work for budget watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense (TCS) for two years.
Motherhood ushered in a handful of years doing consulting work for agriculture and energy policy focused nonprofit organizations before returning to work for TCS while living in Omaha and also for a time in Scotland.
In February, Korth’s work for TCS brought her to Randolph, meeting with local farmers to gather input on the federal farm bill.
She happened to see an issue of the Randolph Times with an article detailing Ben Benton leaving the City of Randolph as administrator to take a position with the state of Nebraska.
“I thought, ‘Huh. I wonder if they are hiring someone new.’ I didn’t know if the position was open or not so I called the city office,” Korth said. “I applied and that’s how it went from there.”
The city administrator position, and rural economic development in particular, has held appeal for her for many years.
“It’s something I’d talked about doing way back when I was in college and right out of college,” Korth said. “That’s what I wanted to do.”
But the Truman Scholarship led her to D.C. and an alternative career path.
“If I had taken a job like this a long time ago, I wouldn’t have the experience I have now,” Korth said. “Environmental policy, supervisory roles, some of the opportunities for grants, an umbrella understanding and the experience I’ve had make me better prepared at this time than I would’ve been before. At the crux of that is just the love of Randolph and the passion for seeing Randolph grow.”
As a city leader, residents can expect her to dive in and address any issues while working together with the council, mayor and others.
Korth is excited to reconnect with Randolph residents she hasn’t seen for awhile and meet new residents to town since she’s been away.
“I just want to thank the community for being so welcoming and giving me this opportunity,” she said.
Outside of her new job, Korth is looking forward to biking with her children, ages 8 and 10, and showing them more of her hometown. She also enjoys running, gardening and playing softball.
