Third Class of Mayors to Go Back to School
July 15, 2019
Yearlong program provides 41 mayors from around the globe with world-class executive training to help deliver results for residents
July 15, 2019, New York, NY: The Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative today announced the third class of 41 mayors from around the world who will participate in the yearlong education and professional development program designed exclusively for mayors and city leaders. The 41 mayors joined Harvard faculty and renowned management experts in New York City this week for a three-day, immersive classroom experience to kick-off the program.
The third class of mayors continues the program’s reflection of global trends toward more diverse city leadership:
The Initiative is a collaboration between Bloomberg Philanthropies, Harvard Kennedy School, and Harvard Business School that aims to provide an intensive learning experience for mayors and their senior leaders to equip them with the tools and expertise to effectively lead complex cities. Harvard faculty, staff, and students, alongside experts from Bloomberg Philanthropies’ global network, work with mayors and senior officials over the course of one year in the classroom, online, and in the field to foster professional growth and advance their capabilities to drive innovation and deliver results for residents.
The private sector invests more than $42 billion each year in executive development, but there is no equivalent in the public sector. The Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative aims to close this gap to help mayors excel.
"Cities are leading the way on most of the big issues we face, from fighting climate change, to protecting public health, to creating new jobs and giving people new skills,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg LP and Bloomberg Philanthropies, and three-term mayor of New York City. “The more we do to support mayors, the faster progress can happen—and that’s what this program is all about. This year’s group brings a wide range of perspectives on shared challenges, and we’re looking forward to seeing the results."
The third class of mayors to participate in the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative are:
Mohammed Adjei Sowah (Accra, Ghana), Sandy Verschoor (Adelaide, Australia), Kelly Girtz (Athens, GA), Hardie Davis (Augusta, GA), Richard Irvin (Aurora, IL), Steve Adler (Austin, TX), Matúš Vallo (Bratislava, Slovakia), Byron Brown (Buffalo, NY), Lori Lightfoot (Chicago, IL), Mary Salas (Chula Vista, CA), Scott Brook (Coral Springs, FL), Eric Johnson (Dallas, TX), Nan Whaley (Dayton, OH), Jenn Daniels (Gilbert, AZ), Eckart Würzner (Heidelberg, Germany), Steve Williams (Huntington, WV), Danene Sorace (Lancaster, PA), Leirion Gaylor Baird (Lincoln, NE), Satya Rhodes-Conway (Madison, WI), Jacob Frey (Minneapolis, MN), Bonnie Crombie (Mississauga, Ontario), Yxstian Gutierrez (Moreno Valley, CA), LaToya Cantrell (New Orleans, LA), Ras Baraka (Newark, NJ), Nuatali Nelmes (Newcastle, Australia), David Holt (Oklahoma City, OK), Kate Gallego (Phoenix, AZ), Nicholas Gradisar (Pueblo, CO), Claudio Castro (Renca, Chile), Hillary Schieve (Reno, NV), Kim Norton (Rochester, MN), Lovely Warren (Rochester, NY), London Breed (San Francisco, CA), Miguel Trevino (San Pedro, Mexico), Adrian Perkins (Shreveport, LA), Rick Kriseman (St. Petersburg, FL), Anna König Jerlmyr (Stockholm, Sweden), Jane Castor (Tampa, FL), Reed Gusciora (Trenton, NJ), Rafał Trzaskowski (Warsaw, Poland), and Brian Bowman (Winnipeg, Manitoba).
“The Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative provides an opportunity for mayors and their teams to share best practices with one another in a setting that encourages the free exchange of ideas and the thoughtful application of knowledge,” said Harvard President Larry Bacow. “We are delighted to create a nutrient rich environment in which those who shape the future of cities across the country and around the world have an opportunity to leverage the considerable intellectual capital of our faculty.”
ABOUT BLOOMBERG HARVARD CITY LEADERSHIP INITIATIVE
The Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative is a collaboration among Bloomberg Philanthropies, Harvard Business School, and Harvard Kennedy School. Its mission is to inspire and strengthen city leaders, as well as equip them with the tools to lead high-performing, innovative cities. For more information, visit www.cityleadership.harvard.edu.
ABOUT BLOOMBERG PHILANTHROPIES
Bloomberg Philanthropies invests in 510 cities and 129 countries around the world to ensure better, longer lives for the greatest number of people. The organization focuses on five key areas for creating lasting change: Arts, Education, Environment, Government Innovation, and Public Health. Bloomberg Philanthropies encompasses all of Michael R. Bloomberg’s giving, including his foundation and personal philanthropy, as well as Bloomberg Associates, a pro bono consultancy that works in cities around the world. In 2018, Bloomberg Philanthropies distributed $767 million. For more information, please visit bloomberg.org or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter.
Twenty-two Harvard graduate students take their talents to U.S. and international cities
June 10, 2022, Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative, the flagship program of the Bloomberg Center for Cities, is pleased to announce the 2022 Bloomberg Harvard Summer Fellows. This group of 22 outstanding Harvard Master’s and professional degree students was selected from a highly capable pool of more than 150 applicants from across nine Harvard Schools.
Students will work in local government in the following cities, all recent participants in the Initiative’s programming for mayors and senior city leaders:
They will contribute meaningfully to innovating government services, applying the tools of data-driven decision-making, human-centered design, and cross-sector collaboration to help cities tackle complex challenges such as gun violence, youth mental health, equitable economic development, and homelessness, improving the lives of city residents.
Since 2018, the Initiative has placed 86 Harvard graduate students in paid summer roles in 59 U.S. cities and nine international cities (some with multiple placements). Fellows work closely with city leader supervisors, addressing complex problems such as affordable housing, community safety, early childhood development, equitable economic recovery, and racial equity and access. Fellows deliver work such as analyses, plan designs, and new resources to assist mayors and city staff in advancing key priorities.
This year’s class of Summer Fellows includes 12 graduate students from Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), four from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, two from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, one from the Harvard Divinity School, and one earning a joint degree at HKS and Yale Law School.
“Summer Fellows are catalysts and emerging leaders,” said Pascha McTyson, the Initiative’s Program Manager for Student Engagement. “The Fellowship is beneficial to everyone—the students who apply their skills and capabilities and gain valuable exposure, and the cities that gain extra capacity and new knowledge and tools to innovate and serve their residents.”
Seven emerging leaders take up new roles in US cities
August 4, 2022, Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative, the flagship program of the Bloomberg Center for Cities, is pleased to announce the first recipients of the Bloomberg Harvard City Hall Fellowship. Seven accomplished Harvard graduates have accepted positions in city halls around the country, where they will make significant contributions over the next two years.
The City Hall Fellows are working in these cities, which have participated in the Initiative’s programming for mayors and senior city leaders:
The Bloomberg Harvard City Hall Fellowship places Harvard master’s or professional degree graduates into leadership positions in city halls, where they will contribute to lasting change by applying skills and helping build capabilities in city government. The Fellows will help their host cities tackle pressing and significant challenges identified by each mayor. Central to each Fellow’s work will be strengthening their host city’s capacity to sustain the work beyond the two-year fellowship term.
The inaugural class of City Hall Fellows includes three master’s degree graduates of Harvard Kennedy School, two from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, and two from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
“I’m delighted by the knowledge and energy of this inaugural group of talented professionals,” said Bulbul Kaul, the Initiative’s Senior Program Director for City Support and Student Engagement. “The City Hall Fellows will take on complex challenges that are top priorities for each city’s leadership, ones that will benefit from fresh perspectives, new uses of data, and collaborative and innovative approaches to help diagnose and address the underlying causes and symptoms. We look forward to the cities’ future progress and accomplishments, achieved with their Fellows’ contributions over the next two years.”
The City Hall Fellowship team is planning future cohorts and will invite potential host cities to apply in fall 2022. Fellowship applications will open to eligible Harvard graduate students at that time, and the Initiative will announce the second annual cohort of Fellows in summer 2023, following a competitive application process. Fellows receive a competitive salary and benefits, robust professional development opportunities, and a unique opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives.
Visit our Fellowships page and join our email list to get the latest information.
