For Immediate Release: Friday, August 8, 2025

City Manager Mario Vasquez has appointed two respected City leaders, Diane Binckley and Tammy Queen, as Assistant City Managers for the City of Kansas City, Missouri. These appointments reflect a deliberate effort to strengthen the City’s executive leadership team, improve coordination across departments, and deliver more responsive, effective service to residents. 

Diane Binckley, AICP, will assume responsibility for guiding the City’s community development functions. With over 33 years of planning experience in both the public and private sectors, she has served Kansas City since 2010 in various roles, including Development Management Division Manager, Deputy Director, and most recently, Interim Director of the Planning and Development Department. 

Before her time with the City, Binckley served as Planning Director for the City of Leawood, Kansas, and as a partner at Ochsner Hare & Hare, a Kansas City-based planning and landscape architecture firm. She is a graduate of Kansas State University and recently received the Alumni Distinguished Service Award from the College of Architecture and Design. Binckley has also served in numerous leadership roles in the American Planning Association and currently serves as President of the Homesteading Authority Board. 

“I’m excited to work alongside a talented and experienced team! I look forward to making a difference in my hometown,” said Binckley. 

Tammy Queen will oversee departments that provide support for internal services. Queen has worked with the City for more than 30 years, most recently as Director of Finance. Her extensive background includes service as Deputy Finance Director, City Treasurer, and Cash Manager. She holds an MBA in Finance from the University of Missouri–Kansas City and a BSBA in Finance and Banking from the University of Missouri–Columbia. 

Queen is a Certified Treasury Professional (CTP) and the only City employee to have earned the Accredited ACH Professional (AAP) designation. She has served in national leadership roles with the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA), including as past Chair of the Committee on Treasury and Investment Management and current co-Chair of the Committee on Retirement and Benefits Administration. 

“I’m honored to be part of the leadership team working alongside City Manager Vasquez, and I can’t wait to see what we can accomplish in Kansas City,” said Queen. 

"I am honored to have Ms. Queen and Ms. Binckley join me in the City Manager's office.  They are capable and trustworthy leaders that will help me lead our organization,” said City Manager Mario Vasquez. "The City of Kansas City is fortunate to have this level of experience at its service and I'm even more fortunate to have them join my team." 

Binckley and Queen will begin their new roles on August 11, 2025. In the interim, Kyle Elliott will serve as Interim Director of City Planning, and William Choi will serve as Interim Director of Finance. 

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Media with questions may contact Sherae Honeycutt, Press Secretary of Kansas City, at Sherae.Honeycutt@kcmo.org.