Josephine Carpanzano

MPA Fellows, Class of 2028

Deputy Director of Operations, City of Stamford

Josephine Q. Carpanzano is an executive public-sector leader and U.S. Army veteran with more than 20 years of experience in strategic planning, organizational leadership, and complex operations across municipal government and military health and logistics systems. She currently serves as Deputy Director in the City of Stamford’s Office of Operations, where she oversees municipal services spanning seven departments and more than 125 public-facing constituent services. In this role, she oversees the management of over $135 million in combined operating and capital budgets, leads cross-departmental performance initiatives, and implements data-driven strategies that have measurably improved service delivery, transparency, and operational efficiency.

Previously, Josephine held senior project management and change management roles within Stamford’s Department of Administration and Department of Operations, where she led digital permitting and licensing platforms, CRM reengineering, and citywide service request systems. Her work modernized legacy processes, reduced project timelines, and significantly increased constituent access to online services. She is widely recognized for her ability to align policy, technology, and people while guiding organizations through complex change in highly regulated environments.

Josephine’s leadership foundation was shaped through a distinguished military career in the United States Army (Active), where she served in command and executive roles within large-scale medical and operational units. Her experience includes deployment in support of combat operations with the 1/25th Stryker Brigade (Infantry SBCT) in Iraq, where she led forward area support logistical convoy teams (2/8th Artillery), and force health protection efforts. Across her military assignments, she was responsible for the readiness, welfare, and performance of up to 450 personnel, multimillion-dollar budgets, and medical support for thousands of service members and civilians. She also served as a Master Resiliency Instructor, specializing in leadership development, conflict resolution, and organizational resilience.

Josephine holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Norwich University and has completed advanced professional training in resiliency instruction, emergency management, practice management, and risk management. Through her MPA fellowship, she seeks to deepen her expertise in public finance, governance, and policy implementation to continue building resilient, equitable, and high-performing public institutions.