High Five with Adam Mitchell: A Career Sparked by Love, Shaped by Leadership
From yellow legal pads to ICMA credentials, the Fuquay-Varina town manager reflects on what it takes to lead well and stay grounded
Welcome back to High Five with a City Manager, the series where we spotlight the city and county managers shaping their communities, often doing it quietly, with remarkable resilience and resolve. These leaders operate at the intersection of strategy, politics, and service, managing long-term vision while responding to day-to-day realities, from personnel challenges to public expectations.
Each edition of High Five follows the same five questions, offering a consistent but personal look at the career paths, leadership lessons, and real-world challenges facing today’s public managers.
This time, we head to North Carolina to hear from Adam Mitchell, the longtime Town Manager of Fuquay-Varina—a fast-growing community in Wake County that’s grown from small-town roots into a dynamic and expanding metro suburb. (F-V also produces world-class State of the Town videos.) Adam’s path to leadership began with a detour for love, accelerated under the mentorship of a salty Army veteran, and has stayed grounded in humility, hustle, and a deep commitment to team.
Note: This profile is drawn from a live interview that’s been edited for clarity and flow.
About Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina
Located about 20 miles south of Raleigh, Fuquay-Varina is one of the fastest-growing towns in North Carolina. With a population nearing 50,000—up from just 22,000 when Mitchell took the reins in 2013—the town combines small-town charm with regional momentum. Known for its family-friendly feel, expanding commercial base, and strong community pride, Fuquay-Varina continues to grow while navigating the challenges of rapid development, rising expectations, and preserving what makes it unique.
1. Career Path
Adam Mitchell didn’t grow up dreaming of becoming a city manager. In fact, he was headed for a career in finance—until love and a job tip changed everything.
Fresh out of grad school and wanting to stay close to his college sweetheart (now wife), Adam applied for a finance director role in Ayden, NC, a town he’d only visited for affordable golf during college. He landed the job under the guidance of Don Russell, a retired Army officer and long-serving town manager who had returned as interim to steady the ship.
Russell saw something in the 23-year-old. After a year of hands-on mentorship—and one budget cycle done entirely on yellow legal pads and an adding machine—Don encouraged Adam to apply for the town manager job. He did, and after 13 months, was promoted.
“I would not be in this career path had Don Russell not given a young kid that was green as hell the opportunity to learn.”
Adam went on to serve Ayden for more than a decade before taking the helm in Fuquay-Varina in 2013, where he now manages a team of 400 in one of the most rapidly developing areas of the state.
2. Looking Back
Adam’s biggest lessons from the early years? Hard work, humility, and a hunger to learn.
“I am not an expert in anything … but I learn every day from the people around me.”
He credits much of his development to absorbing knowledge from all corners of the organization: whether it was how a power substation operates, how recreation staff run youth sports, or how crews tackle a sewer clog. That early, genuine curiosity helped him earn trust and credibility.
He also learned the importance of communication with elected officials: “Every board member wants you to carry their torch. But the manager works at the pleasure of the board—not a board member.”
Learning how to balance competing visions while building consensus became one of the defining skills of his career.
3. Biggest Internal Challenge
Managing people is Adam’s favorite—and least favorite—part of the job.
He loves leading a team and building a positive culture, but he’s candid about the toll that comes with hard personnel decisions, especially in a 400-person organization.
“Sometimes those decisions affect someone’s life and their family. Even if they brought it on themselves, it’s still hard.”
He’s also learned to be intentional about work-life balance, especially as a father of two. His daughter is headed to Ole Miss to run Division I track and cross country, and his son is a rising baseball standout. Mitchell tries to stay present in the evenings, coach youth sports, and be there for the big moments—with the support of a board that has, remarkably, made work-life balance part of his annual performance evaluation.
Another challenge: learning when to let go.
“Sometimes it’s hard to just trust that your team has it—especially when you know that if something goes off the rails, it’s your name on the line.”
But over time, he’s built a high-performing staff he can rely on.
4. Biggest External Challenge
Like many managers, Adam points to social media as the most difficult external force he faces today.
“When I started, social media was how grandma saw pictures of the grandkids. Now it’s a megaphone for misinformation, and you have to decide when to take it seriously—and when to ignore it.”
He acknowledges it can be a helpful temperature check, but it also requires time, strategy, and constant monitoring. Elected officials see it too—often in real-time—adding pressure to respond and clarify. Adam’s philosophy? Use it as a learning tool when possible, but don’t let it dictate decisions.
He’s also aware of how national and state-level politics can seep into local debates, even in a nonpartisan environment like Fuquay-Varina. But his north star remains the same: stay ethical, stay legal, and focus on community outcomes.
5. Best Learning Experience
Adam’s professional development journey has been rich and intentional.
He’s a longtime ICMA Credentialed Manager, and he makes a point to attend the ICMA annual conference for both the content and the connections. He also credits the UNC School of Government with shaping his management approach—especially the Municipal and County Administration Program (early career) and the Public Executive Leadership Academy (for seasoned leaders).
“College gave me the fundamentals. But the School of Government taught me what I needed to actually do this job.”
He also highlighted two leadership programs that ICMA once offered in Gettysburg and Williamsburg, where historical lessons were used to illuminate modern leadership challenges.
“Those were some of the most meaningful and memorable trainings of my career,” he said.
Onward and Upward
Adam Mitchell’s path wasn’t planned—but I get the feeling he wouldn’t change a thing. He’s navigated everything from smoke-filled budget meetings (Don was a smoker and a numbers cruncher), to social media firestorms with a steady hand, a servant’s heart, and a team-first mindset.
He also understands that while the job is deeply rewarding, it can be isolating. “It can be a lonely job sometimes,” he said, which is why he’s especially grateful for the close-knit network of fellow managers he’s built over the years. They’re more than peers; they’re friends, confidants, and sounding boards. In a role where the pressure never fully goes away, that kind of camaraderie makes all the difference.