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I Have to Ask: Storytelling as a Buzzword

In this series, guest columnists respond to one of three topics selected by ELGL Co-Founder Kent Wyatt. This week, Glissette Santana, Content Strategist for the City of Sugar Land, Texas, writes about her definition of storytelling. When I landed in my role as the content strategist for the City of Sugar Land, I hadn’t realized...

Safety CAN Be Cool

Today’s Buzz is by Clay Campbell, Administrative Supervisor for the Downers Grove Sanitary District. Connect with Clay on Twitter and LinkedIn What I’m Listening To: Holiday Classics Station on Amazon Music What I’m Watching: Home Alone on Disney+, I'm not even going to link it because...c'mon. What January looks like: Getting some nice travel in...

Member Profile: Mitch Hammes

Mitch Hammes Neighborhood Services Manager, City of Colorado Springs If you had to live in a different city, what city would you choose? Seattle Storytelling or innovation? Which is the most overused word in local government? Innovation What year would the most important in your life? Why? 2001 - The year I started working in...

Starting a New Job During the Holidays!

Susan Barkman is the Management Analyst in the Mayor and City Council Office in Aurora, Colorado. Connect on Twitter or Linkedin. Last week, I started a new job within my organization. Any time you transition to a new job there is a lot that happens both in terms of paperwork and in wrapping things up. ...

Now Hiring: Assistant Director for Professional Education at the Davenport Institute

For the past decade, the Davenport Institute has been on the front lines of a movement to build stronger communities by promoting authentic, inclusive, and effective public participation in local governance. This movement is growing and so is our team! We are looking for our first Assistant Director for Professional Education who will work with...

Podcast: Childcare for Public Meetings with Politisit

Rachel Sowray Founder & Board Member Politisit LinkedIn Engaging families in civic activities. Rachel Sowray, the Founder of Politisit, joined the podcast to talk about encouraging parents to participate in public meetings. Politisit reimburses parents and other caregivers for child care costs while they attend meetings and activities. Rachel also talked about her time as...

I Have to Ask: Show AND Tell

ELGL Co-founder Kent Wyatt poses a question and a guest columnist answers it. This week, Emma Klues, Great Rivers Greenway Vice-President of Communications & Outreach, gets you prepared for your next interview. I love the process of hiring. From a communications professional who hires communication professionals and who nerds out about helping people with their...

Webinar Recording: Money Talks Grant Administration with Metro Nashville

Missed our Money Talks webinar on Administering Federal & State Grants and Loans with Metro Nashville from December 11, 2019? You can view the full recording of the Money Talks Webinar on Grant Administration with Metro Nashville here. You can download the slide presentation here. Whew. You Got the Money! Now the Real Work Begins:...

Webinar Recording: Unified Engagement with Public Input, Greenville, and H2M

Missed our Looking Beyond Online and In-Person: Unified Engagement webinar from December 12, 2019? You can view the full recording of Unified Engagement with Public Input, Greenville, and H2M here. You can download the slide presentation here. Thinking in terms of “online engagement” and “traditional engagement” limits our ability to see the big picture and...

Van Dyke Announced as Communications & Public Engagement Director

Here's an exciting news release about ELGL member Aly Van Dyke! GEORGETOWN - Aly Van Dyke will be Georgetown’s new communications and public engagement director. After an extensive search, Van Dyke was selected from more than 130 applicants to serve in the role. This is a new position for the City to help elevate and...

Announcing: City Hall Shelfie - ELGL's Book Club

ELGL is excited to launch our first formalized book club series in 2020. Stay in touch: join the Facebook group Learn about the Book Club: visit the webpage Why? To read and discuss non-fiction books related to leadership, business and psychology with an engaging group of colleagues while having fun Meet new people and engage...

Its The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year!

Today’s Buzz is by Meredith Reynolds, Park Planning & Partnerships Manager for the @LongBeachCity. Follow Meredith on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram. What I’m Listening To: Christmas Coffeehouse on Spotify What I’m Watching: The Bing Crosby classic, White Christmas What I’m Planning: What I will be doing on my January birthday off from work (more on that...

Everything's Not Awesome, It's An Unrealistic Expectation

The Buzz with Jordan Rae Hillman, Director of Planning & Development for the city of Jackson, Mississippi What I’m Listening To: Daring Greatly Audio Book, Brene Brown What I’m Watching: The Mandalorian We (humans) are terrible at estimating how much time we need to complete a task. We commit to way too much and have...

Choosing a Procurement Pathway? Start With These Three Questions

In this series, Mariel Reed and Brian Alexander of CoProcure break down the ins and outs of public purchasing. If there’s one thing that’s clear after spending more than a year speaking with procurement officials, suppliers, and government staff, it’s this: public purchasing is complicated. (Read up on how local public purchasing works.) As you may...

I Have to Ask: Misconceptions About Libraries

In this series, guest columnists respond to one of three topics selected by ELGL Co-Founder Kent Wyatt. This week, Hillary Ostlund, Library Services Manager Hillsboro Public Library in Hillsboro, Oregon, takes on common misconceptions about libraries. Libraries have been my jam for nearly two decades, and I frequently hear that I’m not what many think...

Member Profile: Timothy Eccleston

Timothy Eccleston Data Generalist, Engineer, & Scientist LinkedIn | Twitter So far, what's your proudest accomplishment in 2019? Transitioning to freelancing Valentine's Day is in February. What do you "love" about your job? That I work for myself (Complete the sentence) Before I die I want to... Publish and open data article 10 Year Challenge!...

Rethinking Work-Life Balance

Today's guest blog is brought to you by Rae Buckley, Director of Organizational and Strategic Initiatives, Town of Chapel Hill, NC. Like many discussions about work-life balance, the July PM magazine “Making Work-Life Balance a Priority” offers a series of articles about how local government employees can find more balance by being more organized, tapping...

Let’s Talk Planning: Pre-Applications

Today’s Buzz is by Christian M. Williams @MyPublicTweeter I have been getting settled in my new role as a (city) Planner here with the city of Goodyear. As I discussed in my last Morning Buzz, I recently made the transition from the Manager’s Office to the Planning world for a myriad of reasons. While I miss...

Navigating Family Leave - Part C

Today’s buzz is by Sarah Henricks (LinkedIn and Twitter) What I’m Watching: My almost-6-week old baby sleeping, hoping she wakes up happy and not screaming like a velociraptor What I’m Reading: I’m still reading The Goldfinch, because of the above What I’m Eating: Homemade lactation cookies (TMI?) This is the third installment of my experience navigating family...

Podcast: Communicator Turned Candidate with Chad Doran, Appleton, WI

Chad Doran Communications Coordinator Candidate for Mayor Appleton, Wisconsin LinkedIn | Twitter Running for office as a city employee. Chad Doran, the Communications Coordinator for Appleton, Wisconsin, joined the podcast to talk about his decision to run for Mayor. He discussed why he thinks his current role has prepared him to be Mayor and what...