By Diana Whittle
Nachie Marquez is a new assistant city
manager for the city of Chandler.
Marquez is a familiar face to many
local residents as she most recently served
as Chandler’s Communications and Public
Affairs Director; she also performed in a
similar capacity for the city of Tempe from
1996 to 2000.
Her career includes more than 25
years of experience in city government
– specifically in the public information,
media and community relations areas. This
role allowed her to develop a close working
relationship with other top city staff, as
well as elected officials. She also interacted
frequently with residents and gathered
their feedback on issues and concerns to
provide to senior management.
“Nachie’s energy and expertise in
communications are valuable assets to the
city of Chandler, Mayor and Council, and
the executive management team,” said City
Manager Rich Dlugas.
“I look forward to seeing her put
those leadership skills to work in this new
capacity.”
Marquez fills the position left vacant
by Assistant City Manager Pat McDermott,
who retired in February. She is one of two
assistants; the other is Marsha Reed.
In her new role, Marquez says
she wants to help the city to focus on
succession planning, as many of the staff
will retire in the next few years; to ensure
that high-quality jobs remain in Chandler;
and to find resources to maintain the city’s
infrastructure.
“I have been fortunate to see Chandler
grow,” said Marquez. “When I joined the
organization in 2000, it was rated as the
second fastest growing city in the nation.
Now we’re known as a premier innovation
and technology hub throughout the Southwest.”
Her time with Tempe also offered some
unique experiences, such as working for
the entire year of 1995 as the coordinator
for the first Super Bowl in the state. She
interfaced with a wide-range of people to
help produce the event, which exposed
her to new skills in planning logistics and
negotiating contracts.
“The experience was definitely once-ina-
lifetime and I learned a great deal from
it,” said Marquez. When the Super Bowl
was finished, she became Tempe’s director
of community relations.
While her career has been filled with
interesting challenges and her new duties
in Chandler will broaden to overseeing
multiple municipal departments, some
of her routine will remain the same. A
dedicated runner and fitness buff, her
alarm rings each weekday morning at 4:45
to allow her time for her morning run.
“I am used to working long days,
and the exercise gives me the energy to
keep going,” said Marquez. Her personal
achievements include leading a community
delegation that earned Chandler the All-
America City designation by the National
League of Cities and receiving the 2007
Valle del Sol’s Profile of Success Exemplary
Leadership Award.
Marquez received a Bachelor of
Arts degree in 1985 from Arizona State
University with a major in broadcast
journalism, and went on to earn a Master
of Arts degree in vocational education from
Northern Arizona University in 1989.
The entire Marquez family is dedicated
to the Sun Devils as alumni of ASU. She
and her husband Juan are high school
sweethearts. They met over 36 years ago
and have been married 29 years. Their son,
Derek, graduated in 2012 and a younger
son, Taylor, will graduate later this year.
In addition, Marquez is on the
ASU’s Minority Advisory Council for the
ASU President. She takes seriously the
opportunity to mentor young people and
speaks to both high school and college
classes; specifically, she invites them to
seek careers in public service.
“I do feel a critical charge to encourage
the next generation of public administrators
who will manage our communities.
“Working in city government offers a
wonderful variety of assignments and has
given me greater opportunities to grow
than I ever imagined I would have,” said
Marquez.
