Terry Schutten is the County Executive for Sacramento, and assumed these duties in June, 1999. As County Executive, Terry reports to a five-member, elected Board of Supervisors, and manages a workforce of approximately 13,000. While he as been County Executive, he has focused on a wide range of issues, including increased community participation in futures planning, regional air quality and transportation issues, water resources, preserving open space, and city-county cooperative problem-solving.

Terry came to Sacramento from Ramsey County, Minnesota, where he served as its County Manager for 13 years. In that position he reported to a seven-member Board of Commissioners. While Terry was County Manager, Ramsey County twice won the Ford Foundation award for government innovation. During his tenure in Ramsey County, he fostered programs to reduce family violence by linking many community organizations with local government to combat child and spousal abuse. He also implemented a road consolidation plan, expanded and renovated a number of county facilities, and worked with communities in creating county-wide collaborative projects.

Before coming to Ramsey County, Terry served eight years as County Administrator in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. He is the former Project Director for the National Association of Counties and served as Executive Director of the Central Arizona Association of Governments and Director of the Institute of Public Administration in New York City. Terry contributed to the International City/County Management Association's (ICMA) Dialogue for the Profession, and was a member of the Board of Regents for ICMA University. He has served in the public sector for over 30 years.

Terry holds a Masters' degree in Public Administration, and was a project director in Nigeria, West Africa as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Terry and his wife Freddie have three children, two of whom are presently attending college.