Winter 2025 Meeting

Mayors across the country are working to reshape local economies to ensure wealth and assets are broadly held, locally rooted, and recirculated within the community. This panel will highlight city-led efforts to champion policies and programs that uplift underrepresented groups and foster inclusive growth to create resilient, sustainable economies where prosperity is shared broadly, and where long-term stability benefits the entire community.

Speakers and Presentation Slides:

• Nairuti Shastry | Fellow | Democracy Collaborative
• Caprichia Spellman | Director, Office of Community Wealth Building | City of Richmond, VA
• Mayor Kim Norton | Rochester, MN
• Mayor Victoria Woodards | Tacoma, WA

Briefing Book Resources:

1. Action Guide for Advancing Community Wealth Building in the United States, Sarah McKinley and Neil McInroy, Democracy Collaborative, Aug. 2023
2. Annual Impact Report, Office of Community Wealth Building, City of Richmond, VA, 2024
3. Built Environment Project Summary, Kevin Bright, Julie Brock, Lauren Jensen, Chao Mwatela, and Jess Roberts, City of Rochester, MN, 2023
4. Results of ‘GRIT’ income program released, The Tacoma Weekly, The Dispatch, Dec. 10, 2024
5. We are laser-focused on connecting workers to… good jobs, Laura Aka, WorkingNation, Jul. 11, 2023

Download the Full Briefing Book

Mayors play a crucial role in shaping the character of their cities. As the faces of local government, they have the unique ability to foster a welcoming environment for all residents – and to defend those conditions – regardless of background, economic status, primary language, or neighborhood. Inclusive cities can meet their highest civic and economic potential by unleashing the power of their biggest asset – its people. This panel will highlight mayors leveraging their positions to create inclusive communities to counter the growing tide of divisiveness and create formal pathways for all residents to inform local policy.

Speakers and Presentation Slides:

• Daniel Valdez| Chief External Affairs Officer, Welcoming America
• Mayor Lauren McLean | City of Boise, ID
• Mayor Danene Sorace | City of Lancaster, PA
• Kerri Talbot, J.D | Co-Executive Director, The Immigration Hub

Briefing Book Resources:

1. Standing Up for Welcoming, Welcoming America, Dec. 2024
2. A Guide For Mayors For Preventing and Responding to Hate, Extremism & Polarization, Strong Cities Network, Sep. 2023
3. City of Boise website, Refuge Liaison, City of Boise, ID, Dec. 2024
4. A city in Pennsylvania embraces immigrants as tensions over ‘sanctuary’ policies rise across the country, Madison Lambert and Nicole Acevedo, NBC News, Mar. 18, 2024
5. Ordinance No. 01-2024, City of Lancaster, PA, Feb. 27, 2024
6.  A Welcome Mat, Not a Wall: How Nonprofits in One City Embrace Newcomers, Kristi Eaton, The Commons, Nov. 19, 2024
7. Flourish Tulsa Hiring Guide for Internationally Trained Professionals, City of Tulsa, OK, 2022

Download the Full Briefing Book

Many areas of the country are still reeling from the effects of the 2024 hurricane season, and the new administration is expected to cut federal funding for disaster recovery, making resilience ever more critical for US cities. This panel will explore data, leadership, and financing tools to ensure communities are prepared to withstand and recover quickly from floods.

Speakers: (This panel used no slides; for more information, please reference the Briefing Book materials below)

• Melissa Roberts | Executive Director, American Flood Coalition
• Mayor Ravinder Bhalla | City of Hoboken, NJ
• Shalini Vajjhala, PhD | Executive Director, PRE Collective
• Andrea Limauro | Senior Neighborhood Planner, District of Columbia

Briefing Book Resources:

1. Flood Finder Tool, American Flood Coalition
2. Water Rising: Equitable Approaches to Urban Flooding, US Water Alliance, Aug. 11, 2020
3. Best bang for your buck: Flood resilience projects and long-term return on investment, American Flood Coalition, Nov. 15, 2022
4. A Climate Change Success Story? Look at Hoboken., Michael Kimmelman, New York Times, Nov. 3, 2023
5. Climate-resilient infrastructure that brings people together, Medium, Jun. 18, 2024
6. Resilience Focus Area Strategy, Department of Energy & Environment, District of Columbia, 2023
7. Financing Resilience through Municipal Bonds, Matt Posner, Court Street Group LLC, Jul. 15, 2024

Download the Full Briefing Book

Effective leadership hinges on strong and collaborative relationships between mayors, city councilmembers, and city staff. Respectful and productive relationships promote civil discourse, support recruitment and retention of quality staff and elected officials, and allow mayors to accomplish more for their communities. This workshop, led by former mayors, is designed to equip mayors leading under both strong mayor and council-manager forms of government with skills and strategies needed to build and maintain productive partnerships.

Speakers and Presentation Slides:

• Karen Freeman-Wilson | Former Mayor, Gary, IN | President & CEO, Chicago Urban League
• Jake Spano | Former Mayor, St. Louis Park, MN | President, Spano Group Advisors LLC

The Innovation Showcase is a beloved MIP tradition. Mayors in attendance have the opportunity to share an innovative policy, program, or other effort that they’ve successfully implemented in a fun and fast-paced 3-minute presentation format. It’s the ultimate embodiment of “Good mayors borrow – great mayors steal” and an opportunity to share and take home good ideas to your city.

Speakers and their presentation slides:

• Mayor Katjana Ballantyne – Somerville, MA – Networked Geothermal
• Mayor Barbara Buffaloe – Columbia, MO – Civic Academy
• Mayor Paige Cognetti (MC) – Scranton, PA – Mayor Minute
• Mayor Kelly Girtz – Athens-Cark County, GA – School District Youth Sports Partnership
• Supervisor Brian Kulpa – Amherst, NY – Accessory Dwelling Incentives
• Mayor Thomas McLeod – Tukwila, WA – Community Leadership Initiative
• Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway, Madison, WI – Transportation Demand Management
• Mayor Sean Shultz – Carlisle, PA – Land Use Reform
• Mayor Danene Sorace – Lancaster, PA – Water Affordability
• Mayor Victoria Woodards – Tacoma, WA – Faith Audit

We’re deeply grateful to our meeting sponsors, without whom this event would not have been possible. Here are slides from sponsors who spoke at the meeting; to learn more about all our meeting sponsors, please click through the logos at the bottom of the page.

Next Street

Trust for Public Land