Dr. Lazenby serves as Adjunct Associate Professor for the Center for Public Service and has taught courses in both the EMPA and MPA programs since 2007. In his research and projects role at CPS, Lazenby specializes in local government management; projects he has worked on in the past have included boot camps for newly elected city council members and leadership training for county commissioners and executive staff.
Lazenby's research and interests include innovation in both management and service provision, government budget and finance, urban renewal, staff-governing board relationships, project management, economic development, use of technology including municipal Internet service, strategic planning, continuous process improvements, contract management, and development of municipal code language and administrative rules.
In 2019 he retired from a 40-year career in city management, having served as City Manager of Lake Oswego and Sandy, Oregon, Director of Management & Budget for Glendale, AZ, and Assistant to the City Manager for Vancouver WA. He has also served as President of the Oregon City/County Management Association (2006) and member of the Board of Directors of the League of Oregon Cities (2016-18).
Lazenby is the author of five novels, two of them in the newly emerging genre of city management thrillers (Playing with Fire and State of the City). He is also author of the non-fiction The Human Side of Budgeting: Budget Games and How to End Them.
Dr. Lazenby holds a PhD in Public Administration & Policy from Portland State University, an MS in Public Management & Policy from Carnegie-Mellon University, and a BA in Physics from Reed College.