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On Death and Dying...Lessons from Daddy

As most of you know by now, my sweet daddy passed away a little over a month ago after being the hospital for six weeks. On November 20th I had the task of being the opening and closing speaker at his memorial service. People who were there say I got through it extraordinarily well and...

The Write Stuff

Jenny Kosek is Communications Strategist for the City of West Allis. When not sharing her excitement for local gov, she can be seen onstage at theatres throughout Milwaukee, or at home, making breakfast foods for every meal. A November 2016 article in the Washington Post reported: “Approximately 32 million adults in the United States can’t...

ELGL & The Remaining 33%

While working on a paper for grad school, I came across an interesting statistic. According to a 2018 Pew Research Center poll, “two-thirds of those surveyed (67%) have a favorable opinion of their local government, compared with 35% for the federal government. In addition, nearly three-quarters (73%) say the quality of candidates running for local...

Reinvigorate Aging Transportation Corridors

This is the monthly blog series by AJ Fawver, the Planning Director in Lubbock, Texas. She shares her perspectives on land use, planning, and community development in this series. Learn more about AJ from her GovLove interview! We spend a lot of time in our cars. Far too much, in my opinion, but that’s for a future column....

I Have to Ask: Virginia Military Institute

In this series, guest columnists respond to one of three topics selected by ELGL co-founder Kent Wyatt. This week, Meredith L. Thompson, Budget Manager, County of Roanoke, VA, writes about her experience working for the Virginia Military Institute. Sign up to be a guest columnist for this series. Landing a job at the Virginia Military Institute (VMI)...

Building the Coalition

Right Now with Kevin Teater What I’m Listening to – The Avett Brothers What I’m Reading – Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson What I’m Watching – This Is Us (no spoilers! I’ve only just started.) What I’m Doing – In Denver visiting family for a few days “The funding coming from the federal level is a...

Local Government Rule Followers

This is the monthly blog series by AJ Fawver, the Planning Director in Lubbock, Texas. She’ll share her perspectives on land use, planning, and community development in this series. Learn more about AJ from her GovLove interview! One of the things we learn early on in local government circles is that we are rule followers. There are lots...

Homegrown Tools for Economic Development Launch

ELGL member NC Growth is launching its Homegrown Tools web tool for local government economic development, and you're invited to watch the launch and learn more. Homegrown Tools is developed by NCGrowth in partnership with UNC School of Government, NC Rural Center, UNC Department of City and Regional Planning and the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond....

Five Trends of Smart Cities of the Future

This guest blog is by Aeron Glemann. Aeron's a former Facebook engineering manager and UrbanLeap’s first engineer hire. It’s been an eye-opening experience since joining UrbanLeap a little over 4 months ago. The UrbanLeap platform allows cities and local governments to easily and accurately run small-scale experiments in order to find solutions to their large-scale...

New Member Profile: Cindy Dees

Cindy Dees Director of Public Affairs, City of Sugar Land, TX Twitter | LinkedIn Favorite song from 2018: “Thank U, Next” by Ariana Grande Favorite book from 2018: Build an A-Team: Play to Their Strengths and Lead Them Up the Learning Curve by Whitney Johnson Proudest work accomplishment in 2018: So many! I’ll pick 2...

New Member Profile: Cindy Gross

Cindy Gross Inclusive Change Agent & Strategic Advisor @ Befriending Dragons LinkedIn | Twitter | Twitter | Web Favorite book from 2018: So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo Proudest work accomplishment in 2018: Taking time away to slow down and think People who most positively impacted you in 2018: Ijeoma Oluo...

Podcast: A New Way of Doing Things in Jersey City with Brian Platt

Brian Platt Business Administrator (Chief Operating Officer) Jersey City, NJ LinkedIn | Twitter Problem solving in government. Brian Platt the Business Administrator of Jersey City, New Jersey joined the podcast to talk about managing the day to day operations of the city, innovation in local government and being named a babe of Jersey City. Brian previously...

Speak at the 2019 Code for America Summit

ELGL is proud to partner with Code for America on planning for the 2019 #CfASummit to make it the best Code for America Summit yet. To get started, we want ELGL members to submit proposals to speak at the big event on May 29-31 in Oakland, CA. Here's the call for speakers request from CfA:...

Show me your Mugshot!

Right Now w/ Joey Garcia (LinkedIn / Twitter) What I’m Reading - The Power Broker What I’m Watching - Star Trek: Enterprise What I’m cooking - M&M Cookie Mix in a Jar (Christmas Gifts!) Right now, you’re seeing a ton of mug shots coming through your newsfeed! Huge Shoutout to Ben McCready for organizing the #ELGLMugs Exchange One...

Tis The Season for the Fourth Quarter Mentality

What I’m reading: Becoming by Michelle Obama What I’m watching: Christmas Movies of course! What I’m listening to: The Nod I don’t know about everyone else, but I will admit that I am feeling burnt out! This year has had its fair share of ups and downs like any other, and even though 2018 is...

New Member Profile: Beau Bernhoft

Beau Bernhoft Masters Student & Management Intern, City of Oak Creek LinkedIn Favorite song from 2018: Simple by Florida Georgia Line Favorite book from 2018 The Final Day by William Forstchen Proudest work accomplishment in 2018 As an intern, I did a complete policy analysis for winter parking in the city of Oak Creek, and...

New Member Profile: Nicholas Matiasz

Nicholas Matiasz Senior Project Manager, City of Los Angeles Twitter | LinkedIn Favorite song from 2018: At Last…The Beginning — The Making of Electric Ladyland: The Early Takes Sampler Favorite book from 2018: The Book of Why: The New Science of Cause and Effect by Judea Pearl and Dana Mackenzie Proudest work accomplishment in 2018: Defending...

New Member Profile: Omar Sandoval

Omar Sandoval Director of Information Technology, Naperville Park District LinkedIn Favorite song from 2018: Panic! At The Disco - High Hopes Favorite book from 2018: Legacy Book by James Kerr Proudest work accomplishment in 2018: Being nominated for and then named as one of the Four Under 40 Achievements Awards Recipients People who most positively...

We're All Recruiters!

Right Now with Kylie Bayer (LinkedIn/Twitter) What I’m reading: The Power of Collaboration What I’m watching: Sabrina The Teenage Witch What I’m listening to: My ten-month-old puppy snoring next to me Everyone is a recruiter and employees (and former employees, more on that later) are one of your best bets in finding a great candidate for...

Podcast: Pizza to the Polls with Scott Duncombe

Scott Duncombe Founder Pizza to the Polls Website | LinkedIn | Twitter Hungry for democracy. The national non-profit, Pizza to the Polls, tries to make waiting in line to vote a little better. They take reports of long lines from people around the country and then find local pizza places to deliver slices to voters....