Durham City Manager Wanda Page Announces Her Retirement

DURHAM, N.C. – City Manager Wanda Page has announced that she will retire from the City of Durham after 36 years of service. She emailed her notice to Mayor Leonardo Williams and City Council members earlier today (July 1), saying she “believes now is the right moment to begin the transition of passing the torch to new leadership and allow fresh perspectives to shape the future of our beloved city.”

Expressing her gratitude for their unwavering support and guidance to the Mayor and City Council members, Page added her heartfelt appreciation to the entire municipal government staff, saying that “their dedication, hard work, and unwavering commitment to the well-being of our community have been the backbone of our success.”

Page said that her decision to give a six-month notice for her departure to the City Council, which is responsible for appointing the city manager position, was to allow them to begin planning the search process when they return from their July break in August.

Page joined the City of Durham in 1987 as a senior staff accountant and served in several progressively responsible positions before being named deputy city manager in 2006. In October 2020, she was named interim city manager following the departure of former City Manager Tom Bonfield. City Council later officially appointed Page as city manager in March 2021. 

Page is a 1982 graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. She earned a master’s in Business Administration from North Carolina Central University in 1995. She has been an International City/County Management Association (ICMA) credentialed manager since 2010. She is also licensed by the North Carolina State Board of Certified Public Accountant Examiners and the Institute of Internal Auditors as a certified internal auditor.