Deborah Witzburg, the Inspector General for the City of Chicago, Illinois, joined to the podcast to discuss her current role. She shared the difference between an inspector general and auditor, how she determines which programs of the City to evaluate, and important changes she has implemented related to criminal justice reform.

Host: Lauren Palmer

India Adams-Jacobs, Town Manager of the Town of Bowling Green, Virginia, joined the podcast to talk about her career path and managing a small town. She talked about taking on her current role managing her hometown, the transition to get to know the organization, and how her previous roles prepared her for this role. She also discussed a "returnship" program she started in Colonial Beach that brought retirees in to help add capacity and skills to that small town.

This episode was recorded at the 2024 ICMA Conference in Pittsburgh, PA.

Host: Ben Kittelson

Two guests from the City of Long Beach, California joined the podcast to discuss civic user research. Ryan Kurtzman is the Technology Partnerships Officer and Gati Wankyo is a Training Coordinator. They discussed how civic user research helps the City to improve digital services and technology. They also shared examples of the research in practice and information on the learning cohort.

Host: Meredith Reynolds

Andy Pederson, the Village Manager for the Village of Bayside, Wisconsin joined the podcast to discuss his work on the ICMA Governance Task Force. He shared why the Task Force was formed, the need to rebalance the regions, and how the Code of Ethics influenced the work of the Task Force.

This episode was recorded at the 2024 ICMA Conference in Pittsburgh, PA.

Host: Lauren Palmer

Dan Hoffman the City Manager for the City of Winchester, Virginia joined the podcast to discuss his career path of Innovation Officer to the role of City Manager. He shared how changing jobs allowed him to implement projects at scale and how innovation principles have prepared him for leadership roles. He also discussed transitioning from Assistant to City Manager to City Manager and taking on his first City Manager role. Then he shared the City's new strategy for public transportation.

This episode was recorded at the 2024 ICMA Conference in Pittsburgh, PA.

Host: Ben Kittelson

Allison Laskey, Associate Editor for Nature Cities joined the podcast to discuss her academic journal, Nature Cities. The journal aims to deepen and integrate basic and applied understanding of the nature of cities, including their roles, impacts and influences — past, present and future. She shared what is like to be an editor of an academic journal, emerging topics, and the importance of collaboration between academics and practitioners.

This episode was recorded at the 2024 ICMA Conference in Pittsburgh, PA.

Host: Meredith Reynolds

Tony Gardner, Senior Vice President for the Commonwealth Center for High-Performance Organizations joined the podcast to discuss his ICMA Distinguished Service Award. He shared his work aboard in Poland, innovations in local government, and provided advice to the next generation.

This episode was recorded at the 2024 ICMA Conference in Pittsburgh, PA.

Host: Lauren Palmer

Three guests joined the podcast for a very special session of GovLove and Open Space Radio. Ali Rhodes is the Parks and Recreation Director for the City of Boulder, Colorado, Bernita Reese is the Recreation and Parks Director for the City of Columbus, Ohio, and Michele White is a Senior Program Manager for the National Recreation and Parks Association (NRPA). They joined to talk about environmental resilience and sustainability strategies in the parks and recreation sector. Ali and Bernita shared the work they have done in their organizations to mitigate and manage the impacts of climate change, as well as in collaborating with other departments in their cities. Michele talked about NRPA's recent Sustainability in Practice program focused on helping organizations take the next step in environmental resilience.

This episode was produced in partnership with NRPA's Open Space Radio Podcast and recorded live at the 2024 NRPA Conference in Atlanta, GA.

Hosts: Ben Kittelson and Cort Jones

Two guests joined the podcast to share their generational perspective on local government. Sam Badger is the City Manager's Office Marvin Andrews Fellow at City of Scottsdale, Arizona and Decker Ploehn is the City Administrator for the City of Bettendorf, Iowa. They each shared their career path, talked about the importance of relationships, and asked each other questions to gain knowledge from the others perspective.

Host: Lauren Palmer

Two guests joined the podcast to talk about starting their careers in public service. Olivia Perfetti is the Municipal Engagement Manager for Allegheny County Conservation District and Lily Neilsen is an Environmental Justice Intern for a non-profit, New Sun Rising. They both attended, or are attending, Carnegie Mellon University for their Master's in Public Policy program and were part of a fellowship program to connect students to local government. They discussed what brought them to public service, what they have learned in their roles so far, and what they are looking for from their employers.

This episode was recorded at the 2024 ICMA Conference in Pittsburgh, PA.

Host: Meredith Reynolds