Keynote Speaker

Suzanne Leland

Suzanne Leland is an associate professor in the political science department at University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where she teaches state and local politics, urban politics and intergovernmental Relations. She earned her PhD in Political Science at the University of Kansas 1999 and worked for the Wyandotte-KCK County Consolidation Study Commission from 1996-1997. She has published articles on municipal consolidation in Public Administration Review, Public Administration Quarterly, and The Municipal Yearbook. She is also the co-author of Case Studies of City-County Consolidation: Reshaping the Local Government Landscape with Kurt Thurmaier, and the forthcoming book, Case Studies in City-County Consolidation: Promises Made, Promises Kept?

Luncheon Keynote

Speaker Doug Mays is currently in his 7th term representing the 54th District, serving since 1993. The district includes South-central Topeka and Southwest Shawnee County. He served as the Speaker Pro Tem of the House from 1999-2000, and is currently the Speaker of the House since 2003.

Before serving in the Kansas Legislature, he served on the Topeka City Council from 1985-1989, and served as the Securities Commissioner for the State of Kansas from 1987-1991.

Speaker Mays earned a bachelor's degree from Pittsburg State University. In addition to his efforts as a Representative and the House Speaker, he is a securities regulatory arbitrator and consultant. He and his wife, Lena, have two grown children, Jesse and Aaron, and three granddaughters, Cassie, Faith and Merissa .