Overview

The Congressional City Conference is an annual legislative forum that brings together more than 2,000 elected and appointed city leaders to focus on the federal policy issues that are important to local governments. In addition to providing opportunities to learn about innovative practices implemented at the local level, the conference connects city leaders from across the country with NLC-the organization that members of Congress, the White House, and federal agencies look to for solutions to addressing the nation's economic challenges.

Stand up for the issues that matter to cities.

As the 113th Congress gets underway, come to Washington, DC and join your fellow city leaders in calling on House and Senate members and the Administration to set aside partisan differences and break through the gridlock in order to find ways to support economic recovery and job creation efforts in our communities.

Make your voice heard at NLC's annual legislative conference, where you can share your hard-won insights with members of Congress, the White House, and federal agency representatives, as well as with your colleagues from across the country.

Key federal policy issues to be addressed include:

• Federal budget deficit reduction plans
• Federal job creation and economic development strategies
• Federal tax code reform and municipal finance
• Immigration Reform
• Water and transportation infrastructure investment
• Public safety 
• Regulatory reform and streamlining

NLC's Congressional City Conference offers city leaders from across the country a unique opportunity to gain valuable insights into and influence actions in Washington that will impact local communities.

Schedule

Saturday, March 09, 2013

• 9:00 am
  L01: Building Public Private Partnerships (Show details)

  Time: 9:00am-5:00pm
  Registration Fee: $190
  Competency: Catalyst/Competent Practitioner (4 Credits)
  
  Public‐private partnerships (PPPs) are a popular policy tool used by governments around the
  world to finance, build, operate, and maintain public infrastructure assets. The incentive for government to partner with for‐profit and nonprofit organizations is driven largely by the desire to leverage expertise, experience, and the ability to finance projects that government does not have the capacity to develop and execute. In this session, participants will gain a thorough understanding of the type of PPP arrangements that can be used by local governments, an introduction to the range of frameworks used to develop, implement, and monitor PPPs, and learn how to evaluate and manage risk throughout the PPP process while developing the skills needed to effectively engage stakeholders at different points of the process to maximize goal alignment and partnership performance.
  Instructor:
  David M. Van Slyke, Professor, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY

• 1:30 pm
  L04: Managing Your Message in a Multi-Mass Media World (Show details)

  Time: 1:30pm-5:00pm
  Registration Fee:  $125
  Competency:  Communicator (2 Credits)
  
  Historically, leaders dealt with newspapers, magazines and television as the primary media outlets. Their responses would be recorded through press releases or television statements and the information would often take an entire day before it would reach the target audience. With the Internet, new media forms have emerged with the capability of reaching audiences instantaneously. Today, people are just as, if not more so, attentive to social networking (i.e. Twitter and Facebook) as they are to more traditional forms of media. It is advisable for every leader to have a New Media Plan in place designed for dealing with the media in the event of a publicity crisis. Bad publicity can have the power to affect funding and ultimately destroy the affected leader and their city's image. Participants of this seminar will learn valuable tools to effectively manage each type of media in times of crisis, and learn to develop a clear message that can be communicated when needed.
  Instructor:
  Carolyn Sawyer, President, Tom Sawyer Company,
  Columbia, SC

• 1:30 pm
  L02: The Ethical Leader: Rules and Tools (Show details)

  Time: 1:30pm-5:00pm
  Registration Fee: $125
  Competency: Competent Practitioner/Cornerstone (2 Credits)
  
  Ethical public leadership is more than simply following the law. This seminar enhances municipal leaders’ abilities to assess ethically difficult situations and to make ethically defensible choices. Beginning with fundamental elements of ethical decision making, this seminar draws the audience into active participation to establish the elements of a personal ethical framework, and then challenges participants to apply that framework to ethically difficult choices involving real municipal government actions. Examine the three key elements of ethical decision making (values, facts, and principles), and observe various ethical principles and how they guide decision makers in applying relevant values to a specific set of facts. Learn how to cultivate, guide, and encourage public service reflecting a very high standard of ethical thinking and conduct.
  Instructor:
  Scott Paine, Associate Professor, University of Tampa, Tampa, FL

• 1:30 pm
  L03: Making Shifts Happen: From Political Drama to Finding Common Ground (Show details)

  Ms. Donna Zajonc - Bainbridge Leadership Center
  

  Time: 1:30pm-5:00pm
  Registration Fee: $125
  Competency: Collaborator/Catalyst (2 Credits)
  
  Public leaders are often conflicted about what it means to find common ground. On one hand the public wants problems solved and progress made, and on another hand, many citizens want leaders to stick to their guns and never give in. In this critical time in history, with massive challenges looming everywhere we look, public leaders must be highly self-aware of their leadership traits that may stand in the way of forging common ground. This seminar is not for the faint of heart. You will be challenged to tell the truth about your personality traits, attitude or opinions that may stand in the way of creating common ground. This is not about fixing the other guy, or blaming circumstances on why common ground has not, or cannot, be achieved. This seminar is about taking the time to listen to what others have learned about how they let go of the need to be right, dominate, win or prevail at all costs. You will go home with a new sense of courage and willingness to develop your leadership qualities in a way that emphasizes your capacity to see in new ways, listen to others with an open heart and cultivate a genuine desire to work together.
  Instructor:
  Donna Zajonc, Executive and Leadership Coach, Bainbridge Leadership Center, Bainbridge Island, WA

Sunday, March 10, 2013

• 9:00 am
  L07: Hiring and Evaluating the CEO: What Councils and Managers Need to Know (Show details)

  Julia Novak - The Novak Consulting Group
  

  Time: 9:00am-12:00pm
  Registration Fee:  $125
  Competency: Competent Practitioner/Cornerstone (2 Credits)
  
  Selecting the manager or administrator for your city, town or village is arguably the most important decision you will make as an elected official. Yet, responsibility for this selection is not usually your major reason in running for office, or your primary motivation to continue in tough economic times. When your community needs to hire a new manager and/or evaluate the your current manager, the process can potentially be overly politicized, rushed, or mishandled due to a lack of experience. In most other key decisions, elected officials can depend on staff expertise to inform their deliberations, including input from the manager or administrator. However, in hiring and evaluation processes, staff is not usually in a position to advise elected officials as they might on other issues. This session is designed to help elected officials navigate the processes of hiring and evaluating their top appointed official. It is also designed to assist the manager/administrator in effectively working with elected officials during the evaluation process so that their resulting feedback is constructive, meaningful, and useful in improving the manager/administrator's performance.
  Instructors:
  Julia Novak, President, The Novak Consulting Group
  

• 9:00 am
  L05: Civil Discourse in the Face of Incivility: Leading to a Succesful Resolution of Community Conflict (Show details)

  Malcom Chapman - City of Rapid City
  

  Time: 9:00am-5:00pm
  Registration Fee:  $190
  Competency: Collaborator/Communicator (4 Credits)
  
  Learn to develop your leadership skills in both every day and divisive situations, explore listening with the goal of understanding as an essential part of leadership, and provide an opportunity to
  practice your skills to plant seeds of leadership and civility in the governing bodies of your communities. Participants will be introduced to The Five Powers as a roadmap to work in groups to develop a plan that could be implemented for success. This interactive session will use the case study as a way to explore the tools presented in the seminar. You will group and re-group, adopting the role of different characters in the case study, to explore the situation from different leadership positions. Ultimately, you will formulate a plan in which all characters in the case study can come together to lead their community through the challenging situation. After exploring the tools, you will be encouraged to think of how you can apply the tools you used in the hypothetical situation, to a real situation in your community.
  Instructors:
  Malcom Chapman, President, The Chapman Group,
  Rapid City, SD
  

• 9:00am
  L06: Innovative Strategies for Involving and Engaging Citizens (Show details)

  Mr. Steve Brigham - America Speaks
  Mr. Theo Brown - America Speaks
  

  Time: 9:00am-12:00pm
  Registration Fee:  $125
  Competency: Competent Practitioner/Communicator (2 Credits)
  
  In these days of instant access to information,
  citizens expect and in some cases demand better  engagement and communication, not only online, but in person as well. Through this session, participants will learn about specific ways to improve the recruitment of citizens for public meetings and learn about the benefits of having demographically representative groups of people participate. We will explore innovative ways to actively engage participants during meetings and, in particular, will demonstrate some of the ways that technology can be used to get detailed input about citizens’ priorities.
  Instructor(s):
  Theo Brown, Senior Associate, America Speaks, Washington, D.C.

• 9:00 am
  L08: Enhancing Council Effectiveness: Part I-Understanding and Enhancing Emotional Intelligence (Show details)

  Dr. Neil Katz - Nova Southeastern University
  

  Time: 9:00am-12:00pm
  Registration Fee:  $135 (includes $10 survey tool fee)
  Competency: Communicator/Collaborator (2 Credits)
  
  Studies demonstrate that among capabilities that drive outstanding performance, Emotional Intelligence was twice as important as Technical Ability or Cognitive/Conceptual Reasoning, and accounted for up to 90% of the difference in the profile between “average” and “star” performers at senior levels of professional practice. This workshop will present some of the important research findings and skill building being done in the area of Emotional Intelligence. Daniel Goleman’s four part framework on emotional intelligence—Self Awareness, Self- Management, Awareness/Understanding of Others, and Relationship Management—can be viewed as a template for assessing and displaying competencies in influencing others with integrity. This workshop will follow the Goleman framework and work with theories, concepts, exercises and skill practice in each of the four critical segments of emotional intelligence to enhance confidence and competence in understanding and managing ourselves and working collaboratively with others.
  Instructor:
  Neil Katz,Professor, Training Manager, NOVA Southeastern University and Syracuse University  

• 1:30 pm
  L11: Violence Reduction: Comprehensive Planning and Funding Strategies (Show details)

  John Calhoun - National Crime Prevention Council
  

  Time: 1:30pm-5:00pm

  Registration Fee: $125

  Competency: Competent Practitioner/ Flex Competency (2 Credits)
  
  Learn how to develop community-anchored violence and gun violence reduction initiatives and marshal the resources to build and sustain them. Cities that tackle community violence effectively do so by committing themselves to a comprehensive strategy that blends prevention, intervention, and enforcement.  This training session will help participants develop skills to:
  clarify desired results and develop comprehensive strategies; engage the right partners (including non-traditional stakeholders); present a strong case for investment; evaluate potential funding strategies and opportunities to “blend” and “braid” funding from multiple sources; and build a leadership structure that sustains and improves the city’s efforts over time.
  Instructors:
  John A. "Jack" Calhoun, Senior Consultant, Office of
  Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice and Senior
  Consultant, Institute for Youth, Education and Families,
  NLC
  Andrew O. Moore , Senior Fellow, Institute for Youth,
  Education and Families, NLC

• 1:30 pm
  L10: Leading a Diverse Generational City (Show details)

  Todd Arwood - Todd Arwood Performance Partners
  

  Time: 1:30pm-5:00 pm
  Registration Fee:  $125
  Competency: Collaborator/Cornerstone (2 Credits)
  
  Today’s city is a blend of people from various generational backgrounds. How does a “fifty-something” manage, sell or even work with a “twenty-something”? And what on earth do we do with those teenagers sporting orange hair and body piercings? The differences of the generations lead to differences in values, perspectives, motivators, and work ethic. This fun and exciting program will arm you with the information necessary to understand how to deal differently with people from the generations.
  Instructor:
  Todd Arwood, President, Todd Arwood Performance Partners, Louisville, KY

• 1:30 pm
  L09: Enhancing Council Effectiveness: Part II- Managing Conflict in the Workplace (Show details)

  Time: 1:30pm-5:00 pm
  Registration Fee:  $125
  Competency: Communicator/Collaborator/Catalyst (2 Credits)
  
  Conflict is an inevitable aspect of organizational life. The ability to manage and resolve conflicts constructively is a critical skill that affects morale and productivity. The principal focus of this workshop is developing skills of conflict awareness, assessment, and management. Participants will identify their own style of dealing with conflict, and will learn the process of moving a conflict to a problem-solving mode. The resolution of two types of conflicts will be learned: resolving conflicts of needs and resolving conflicts of values. A specific model for conflict resolution is introduced that allows one to manage the negative emotional states involved in typical conflict situations and negotiate constructive agreements.
  Instructor(s):
  Neil Katz,Professor, Training Manager, NOVA Southeastern University and Syracuse University

Hotel/Travel

Marriott Wardman Park Hotel
Washington, DC
(202)328-2000

Book your room

Presenters

1. Arwood, Todd

   Todd Arwood Performance Partners
   Todd Arwood founded Todd Arwood Seminars, Inc. in March of 1999 in Louisville, Kentucky. Through a determination to make a positive difference in workplace environments, Todd Arwood Seminars experienced phenomenal business growth and Mr. Arwood became a sought out trainer for organizations seeking excellence. Through the process of working intimately with organizations, Todd Arwood Seminars slowly began to shift business paradigms from just basic seminars to full-fledged organizational development via customized learning programs. After months of research and strategic planning, he decided to change the business name and image to more clearly reflect the mission, hence Todd Arwood Performance Partners.
2. Brigham, Steve

   America Speaks
   Steve became President of AmericaSpeaks in July, 2012, after serving for 12 years as the organizations Chief Operating Officer. Steve has experience in every aspect of AmericaSpeaks’ projects and organizational work. He has led several dozen public engagement and stakeholder engagement projects and has deep experience in project design, meeting design, and large and small group facilitation. He led the growth of AmericaSpeaks from a $1 million annual budget to a $5 million-plus annual budget. He has led projects at the city, state, region, and international levels on policy issues ranging from health care reform and strategic budgeting to urban planning, global poverty, and climate change. Prior to joining AmericaSpeaks, Steve served as a senior associate for the Kaludis Consulting Group in the Strategy Group, working primarily on strategic planning and organizational assessment projects for higher education clients. He also served as a principal at Group Decision Support Systems.
3. Brown, Theo

   America Speaks
   Theo Brown has more than 30 years of experience as an organizer, administrator, facilitator, and trainer working on behalf of social justice, human rights, racial reconciliation, and intercultural understanding. He has worked with a wide variety of national organizations, regional coalitions, and local community projects which seek to empower and involve individuals in efforts to make a difference on important social issues. Theo began his career as a social change organizer in the 1970s when he worked as a community organizer in Roanoke, VA. He later spent three more years working in similar programs in inner-city neighborhoods in San Francisco, CA and Waco, TX. After his time as a community organizer, he worked for eight years for national organizations working for human rights, political reform, and nuclear arms control. Specific position he held include: Western Regional Director of Amnesty International, Texas State Director of Common Cause, Regional Director of Common Cause, and Executive Director of Ground Zero. During the past 15 years, Theo has served as a consultant for many community organizations, educational institutions, and other groups working to increase understanding and cooperative action across ethnic, cultural and religious lines. Organizations he has worked for include: the Interfaith Alliance, the National Conference for Community and Justice, the Fetzer Institute, the Faith and Politics Institute, Alexandria Interfaith Ministry, American University, and the Maryland Commission on African-American History and Culture. Since 1998, he has also been a Senior Associate with AmericaSpeaks. In this capacity, he has helped to coordinate outreach and recruit participants for town meetings that were attended by thousands of people in Washington, DC, New York City, Los Angeles, Cincinnati, Akron, New Orleans, Atlanta, Dallas, Albuquerque, and many other cities across the country.
4. Calhoun, John

   National Crime Prevention Council
   An internationally renowned public speaker, Jack Calhoun in his “retirement,” directs the 13-California City Gang Prevention Network for the National League of Cities, and serves as Senior Consultant to the U.S. Department of Justice for its National Forum to Prevent Youth Violence. He is the author of Hope Matters: The Untold Story of How Faith Works in America. Jack served as Commissioner of the Department of Youth Services in Massachusetts where he chaired the Adolescent and State of the Family task forces. In 1979 President Carter appointed him as U.S. Commissioner of the Administration for Children, Youth and Families, overseeing such programs as Head Start, foster care and adoption. He helped to write the landmark Child Welfare and Adoption Act of 1980, called “one of the three most important laws affecting children in the last 100 years.” He was Vice President of the Child Welfare League of America and , in 1983, the first President of the National Crime Prevention Council, where, for 20 years, he revolutionized crime prevention by focusing on building vital communities, and involving youth as positive community change agents. Beginning as a teacher and community organizer, he created employment, court diversion and restitution programs for Action for Boston Community Development and Justice Resource Institute. In constant demand as a speaker, jack has also testified before city councils, county commissions, state legislatures and Congress. A frequent media guest, he has served on numerous boards, published many articles, and received many awards. Listed in WHO’s WHO IN AMERICA and THE WORLD, he earned a BA from Brown University, a Master’s Degree in Theology from the Episcopal Divinity School, a Master’s degree with honors in Public Administration from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and, from Heidelberg College, an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters.
5. Chapman, Malcom

   City of Rapid City
   Malcom “Chap” Chapman is president and founder of the Chapman Group, founded 1996, which offers a variety of consulting services including retreat facilitation, strategic planning, training, leadership development, course development, seminars, and keynote addresses. Additionally, he offers course work based on models he has designed: Harvesting the Company Mind and The Five Powers. Chap draws from wide-ranging experience in both public and private sectors to enrich his work through the Chapman Group. He served in the U.S. Marine Corp and held the rank of Captain at his discharge, enjoyed a career in professional sales, worked as a consultant to the Center for Naval Analysis—a Washington, D.C. think tank, and is active with American Society for Training and Development. Elected to the Rapid City Common Council in 2004, Chap served as Ward 5 Alderman for three two-year terms. He was elected by his peers to the leadership position of vice-president and later to the position of president. As president, he chaired budget hearings which adopted a $126 million budget while serving as liaison to sixteen different committees. Committees Chap served on during his time on the Council included Legal and Finance Committee (Chair), Vision 2012 Committee, Public Works Committee, Capital Improvements Program Committee, Safe Streets Task Force (Chair), Rapid City Regional Airport Board (Liaison), Task Force on Strengthening Families and Improving Outcomes for Children and Youth, Dakota Land Trust Board (President), Floodplain Development Policy Committee, Tax Increment Finance Committee, Deer Herd Management Committee, Emergency Management Committee, Water Advocacy Task Force, and Annexation Sub-Committee. While on the Council, Chap was active with the SD Municipal League which extended to his participation on the Resolutions Committee and Taxation and Revenue Committee. Chap’s commitment to local government led him to become active in the National League of Cities (NLC). In addition to presenting at NLC Leadership Training Institute (LTI) Seminars, Chap has served on the Board of Directors, NLC’s Human Development Steering Committee, LTI Board, Governance Taskforce, and Advisory Council. That same commitment has led Chap back to school to peruse a Masters in Public Administration. Service has been central to Chap throughout his life. His activity with community organizations includes Optimists International, Optimists of the Black Hills, Leadership Rapid City, United Way of the Black Hills, Rapid City Chamber of Commerce, Youth and Family Services, and Rapid City Library Foundation, and life member of the Military Officer Association of America. Chap’s current priority is to work to further early childhood education and affordable housing issues. Chap and his family live in Rapid City, SD.
6. Katz, Neil

   Nova Southeastern University
   Over the past 38 years, Dr.Neil Katz has distinguished himself as an innovator, leader, teacher, scholar and highly successful practitioner in academia and in organizational consulting. Dr. Katz currently serves both as Chairperson and Professor of the 400 member graduate Department of Conflict Analysis and Resolution at Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale, and as Program Manager for Training and Organizational Development for the Executive Education Programs in the nationally renowned Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. After receiving his doctorate from the University of Maryland in 1974, Neil’s academic career at the Maxwell School included service as founder and director of the Program in Nonviolent Conflict and Change, founder and director of the Annual Summer Institute on Creative Conflict Resolution, co-founder and faculty supervisor for the Campus Mediation Center and the Conflict Resolution Consulting Group, co founder and associate director of the Program on the Analysis and Resolution of Conflicts and associate professor of Social Science and Public Affairs. In addition, Neil also is on the faculty of the Newhouse School of Communication at Syracuse, Mcmaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, and is President of his own consulting firm, Dr. Neil Katz & Associates. Dr. Katz is the author of over 35 books, articles and book chapters on conflict resolution, interest-based negotiation, mediation, and nonviolent action, and is a board member of national organizations, He is a Danforth Teaching Fellow, a mediator, a process consultant, a facilitator, and a trainer/consultant in organizational leadership, conflict resolution and negotiation skills for business, government, education, and community groups. Katz's clients for professional consultation and training services include: The National League of Cities, Smith-Barney Financial Services, Alstom Transportation Systems, Eaton Corp. Rural/Metro Corp., American General-U.S. Life Insurance Co., Bristol Myers-Squibb, Inc., Mutual of New York, the Internal Revenue Service, the Office of Personnel Management, the National Science Foundation, the Patent and Trademark Office, the Census Bureau, the Department of the Interior, the Defense Security Services, Rome (N.Y.) Laboratories (U.S.A.F.), the N.Y. State Martin Luther King Jr. Institute on Nonviolence, the National Forum for Black Public Administrators, Onondaga County (N.Y.) Police Services, the Bergen County (N.J.) Dept .of Probation, the Danforth Foundation, the N.Y. State Council of School Superintendents, the N. Y. Office of Mental Health, the N.Y. State Governor’s Office of Employee Relations, the National Association of School Board Members, The Downtown College Consortium (Oklahoma City), the Municipal Courts of California, Santa Barbara (Ca), The Solid Waste Authority (N.Y.) the Onondaga County (N.Y.) Legislature and Office of the County Executive, and the International Red Cross, University Hospital and Mayor’s Office in Reykjavik, Iceland. His clients include many school districts throughout the country in training and successfully facilitating school contract negotiations using an interest-based approach. Dr. Katz headed a consulting/training team from the Executive Education Programs of the Maxwell School that worked closely with the U.S. Social Security Administration and with the New York State Departments’ of Health, Labor and Education. In this capacity he directed over 150 programs in communication and conflict resolution skills, team building and group dynamics, leadership and learning, and interest-based negotiations for members of over 40 labor-management teams and over 8000 managers throughout the country. During his career, Dr. Katz has received many accolades, among them, the Martin Luther King Jr. Human Rights Award from the Syracuse community for his career long commitment to nonviolent conflict resolution and the principles embodied in Dr. King’s life and work.
7. Novak, Julia

   The Novak Consulting Group
   Julia established The Novak Consulting Group in September 2009 when she acquired Public Management Partners. From 2003 to 2009, she served as a Vice President for a local government consulting firm. Julia has more than 20 years of experience working with and for local governments. She is a consultant, trainer and facilitator who has worked with numerous organizations and community groups. During her local government career, she worked in Fort Collins, Colorado; Lexington, Massachusetts; Rockville, Maryland; and was City Manager of Rye, New York. Julia has extensive experience as a facilitator and trainer. She has worked with elected official and appointed officials across the country to conduct goal setting, develop strategic plans and prioritize service delivery. She has conducted training for elected officials as an individual trainer, through the National League of Cities, and through a consortium of cities in California. Topics included leadership style and evaluating elected officials. Julia has also established herself as a thought leader in the area of governance and administration. In April 2002, Julia was one of 20 practitioners who participated in the ICMA-sponsored symposium on the future of local government administration. Her response to Dr. James Svara’s paper, “City Council, Roles, Performance, and the Form of Government,” is included in the ICMA-published book, “The Future of Local Government Administration.” In 2009, she co-authored an article with Dr. John Nalbandian for publication in Public Management Magazine called "Preparing Councils for Their Work." In 2000, the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) awarded Julia its Assistant’s Excellence in Leadership Award for work she did building community and increasing organizational capacity as Deputy City Manager of Rockville, Maryland. Julia has been a speaker at national conferences for the ICMA, National League of Cities and American Society of Public Administrators. She has been a featured speaker/trainer for many state associations, including Ohio, Vermont, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, the Metropolitan (D.C.) Association of Local Government Administrators and the Illinois Assistant Municipal Managers Association. Julia earned a bachelor’s degree in government and politics from George Mason University and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Kansas. Julia was in the first class of individuals certified by ICMA as Credentialed Local Government Managers, and maintains that designation. She is certified to administer several level-B psychological assessments, including the Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator, Apter Motivational Styles Profile and the Strength Deployment Inventory. She also is trained in popular level-A assessments, including the Thomas-Killman Conflict Modes Inventory and the Human Element-B.
8. Zajonc, Donna

   Bainbridge Leadership Center
   Donna began her career as a community mental health nurse in Oregon. Later, she was the sole owner and CEO of her multi-store food retail company in Portland, Oregon. Donna soon parleyed her love of community and leadership into a career in elected office, having served three terms in the Oregon Legislature. She was her party’s nominee for Secretary of State and served on numerous policy committees such as vice-chair of the state Trade and Economic Committee and chaired the Governor’s Commission on Mental Health. Her book, The Politics of Hope: Reviving the Dream of Democracy is a primer on the new leadership attributes crucial for success during these chaotic times. Donna has been an executive coach and leadership development consultant for ten years, coaching public leaders who serve as city councilors, mayors, county commissioners and state legislators as well as business leaders. Donna also has had the privilege of working with women in Cuenca, Ecuador and Tunis, Tunisia, who aspire to become public leaders. She is a keynote speaker and seminar leader focusing on developing collaborative leadership skills.