Dr. Brandon Whipple was elected as the Mayor of Wichita in the Nov. 5, 2019, election and was sworn in to office on Jan. 13, 2020. Prior to being elected Mayor, Dr. Whipple served District 96 in the Kansas House of Representatives for 7 years and was a professor at Wichita State University.
In December 2019, Mayor Whipple was honored to attend the biennial Seminar on Transition for Newly Elected Mayors at The Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School. Mayor Whipple participated in sessions on various topics including leading in times of crisis, supporting youth civic engagement, and effective policing. The seminar was developed in collaboration with the U.S. Conference of Mayors and led by current and former mayors, prominent scholars and policy experts.
Mayor Whipple graduated from Dover High School in Dover, New Hampshire, and also earned his Associate of Arts in liberal studies from Hesser College. He moved to Wichita in 2003 at age 21 in a year-long education-service mission with AmeriCorps. In that program he worked with at-risk youth at Wichita South High School, and ultimately made a decision to call Wichita home.
He graduated from Wichita State University where he earned a Bachelor of General Studies and a Master of Arts in Liberal Studies with an emphasis on cross-cultural studies and public administration. Whipple also earned a Doctor of Arts in Leadership Studies from Franklin Pierce University.
Mayor Whipple is married to his wife, Chelsea, and they have three young children, Adrian, Tristan and Julian.
When not working, Mayor Whipple enjoys studying history, teaching martial arts and spending time with his family exploring all that Wichita has to offer. He is also a member of Vestry at St. James Episcopal Church.
- Ranking Minority Member of Higher Education Budget
- Ranking Minority Member of Joint Information Technology
- Ranking Minority Member of Commerce, Labor and Economic Development
- Utilities and Telecommunications
- Elections
- Joint Corrections and Juvenile Justice
- Financial Institutions and Pensions
- Taxation
- House Select Investigating Committee
- Children and Seniors
- Judiciary
- Vestry member at St. James Episcopal Church
- Teaching martial arts and self-defense seminars
- Member of Southwest Neighborhood Association
- Wichita State University, Bachelor of General Studies
- Wichita State University, Master of Arts in Liberal Studies
- Franklin Pierce University, Doctor of Arts in Leadership Studies
- Seminar on Transition for Newly Elected Mayors, The Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School
