Engaging Local Government Leaders

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Indianapolis, IN
Engaging Local Government Leaders

We engage the brightest minds in local government. You may know us from GovLove Podcast, Top Influencers in Local Gov, and Day: Aug. 12, 2025.

We believe we can make a difference in people’s lives and communities. We believe telling stories about people, ideas, trends and approaches in local government is the best way to make a positive difference. We believe that working creatively, harder and smarter makes our professional association unique, relevant and timely. We believe that building a network of support will attract and retain th

e best and brightest to the local government profession. We believe that anyone with a passion for public service can become a member, and understand that there is no longer one path to leadership.

06/17/2026

🌮🍞 We've serving up two delicious opportunities! 🍞🌮

Whether you're bringing big Tenderloin Energy in Indianapolis or ready to Taco 'Bout Your Future in Long Beach at ICMA, we have TWO 2026 ELGL Analyst Academy events officially open for registration!

This isn't your average training. It's a full day of practical skills, collaboration, networking, and professional development designed specifically for the people who keep local government moving forward.

📊 Budget analysts.
📈 Data nerds.
💡 Innovation champions.
📋 Strategic planners.
🎙️ Creative Comms Pro.
🤝 Problem solvers.

In other words: your people.

This year we're serving up TWO unique Analyst Academy experiences:
🍞 Indianapolis – featuring our legendary Indiana Tenderloin-inspired curriculum and an ELGL Supper Club networking event.
🌮 Long Beach – featuring tacos, tacos, more tacos, and an ELGL Supper Club held alongside the ICMA Conference.

Both academies are intentionally capped at just 30 participants to create a highly interactive, collaborative experience where real connections can happen.

Because at ELGL, we believe learning is better when it's personal, practical, and shared with people who understand the work you do.

So grab your seat before they're gone at the link below in the comments!

After all, these spots are going to disappear faster than free tacos at an ELGL event. 🌮😎

ICMA - International City/County Management Association

06/16/2026

"Your mama's so..." 👀

If that phrase takes you back to the schoolyard, Adrianna Tušek Erickson is here to give it a much-needed upgrade.

This Morning Buzz flips an old joke into something far more powerful: a recognition of the leadership, resilience, adaptability, emotional intelligence, and strategic thinking that mothers develop every single day.

Local government talks a lot about workforce development, talent retention, and leadership pipelines. This article asks an important question:

What if some of our most qualified future leaders are carrying experience we haven't fully learned to value?

💡 Your mama's so adaptable.
💡 Your mama's so resilient.
💡 Your mama's so strategic.
💡 Your mama's so ready.

A thoughtful read about caregiving, career paths, and the many ways leadership shows up long before it appears on a résumé.

Your mama so... quickly clicked the link to read the whole article!

06/08/2026

🚨 Fam, we need your help with a very important research project. 🚨

We measure potholes. We measure response times. We measure permit turnaround. But do we really understand the people doing the work?

Today's Special Edition from Harvard Kennedy School's Elizabeth Linos dives into this fascinating challenge; local government has surprisingly little data about the experiences of the public servants who keep our communities running.

Burnout. Purpose. Trust. Teamwork. Pride. Bureaucracy. Joy.

The new Public Servant Pulse survey aims to create a national benchmark for what it's actually like to work in state and local government today.

Think of it as a love letter to the planners, librarians, analysts, public works crews, communicators, finance pros, firefighters, permit techs, and everyone else making happen.

📊 If you work in state or local government, take a few minutes to complete the survey and share it with your colleagues. The more voices included, the stronger the data—and the better we can build workplaces where public servants thrive.

Because if no one leads alone, we shouldn't be trying to understand public service alone either. Read the article and click over to the survey below. 👇

06/04/2026

Culture isn’t magic. It’s the tiny stuff. The sticky notes. The “yes, and.” The coffee chats. The honest feedback. The clean office kitchen (okay… maybe that one is magic). ✨

This Morning Buzz from Michael Baskin, Chief Innovation Office with Montgomery County Government, is such a good reminder that the culture we want in doesn’t appear overnight — we build it one action, one norm, and one interaction at a time.

Also: “You are not the toilet paper police” may now be one of my favorite leadership lines of all time. 😂

If you’ve ever wondered how to create a more innovative, connected, reflective, or human workplace… this one’s worth the read.

Because the best local government cultures aren’t accidental. They’re intentional. 🚀

Give it a read here: https://elgl.org/build-culture-in-action/

06/02/2026

🎓 It’s graduation season… and apparently we have feelings about it.

Today’s Morning Buzz from Jennifer Teal, senior manager at Raftelis, is part reflection, part love letter to public service, and part “how did my kids get this old already?” 😭

After working with 140+ local government organizations across 29 states, Jennifer shares one big takeaway: The people doing this work are extraordinary.

Also:
✔️ “We need more staff” usually isn’t the whole story
✔️ Strategic plans are the starting line, not the finish line
✔️ The future of local government is still full of smart, creative, mission-driven people

Also shoutout to everyone currently crying over old school photos while simultaneously facilitating a strategic planning retreat. Truly the experience. 😂

Cue up the Vitamin C Graduation Song and give it a read here: https://elgl.org/its-graduation-season-and-apparently-i-have-a-lot-of-feelings/

05/28/2026

No one leads alone. 🏛️ 👁️ 👄 👁️ 🤳

Not the city manager trying to navigate impossible budgets.
Not the comms person answering comments at 10 p.m.
Not the planner juggling growth, housing and “one more quick question.”
Not the intern wondering if they belong in hashtag .

That’s why ELGL exists.

We’re a community built on connection, creativity and unapologetic joy in public service. We are the place where people share ideas, celebrate wins, ask hard questions and remind each other that local government is still one of the coolest ways to make a difference.

Whether you’re new to local gov or decades into the work, there’s a seat for you here.

🚂 Hop on the Joy Train.
🏁 Join the Government Grand Prix crowd.
🤝 Find your people.

Because no one leads alone.

05/27/2026

⏰ Solid, hands-on and practical tools for using AI at City Hall.

is gradually transforming how cities communicate, grow and operate.

From elevating customer service to developing smarter economic development decisions, local governments are evaluating various practical and responsible ways to integrate and into municipal operations.

In today's , Alexander Fung, MPP with the City of Eastvale, CA, highlight his recent success in leveraging AI and GIS tools to enhance data-driven decision-making and elevate our economic development programs.

05/21/2026

The rusty, old filing cabinet could become you next IT Department project!

Today's from Jorge Valens, MPA, Innovation & AI manager for Miami-Dade County, is a must-read for anyone trying to figure out what AI actually means for local government beyond the hype cycle.

The big takeaway? Your SOPs, policy manuals, workflows, FAQs, and “tribal knowledge” aren’t just dusty documents anymore… they’re becoming the building blocks for AI-powered systems. 🤯

Turns out the future of innovation might not start with coding. It might start with finally updating that 94-page PDF everyone avoids opening.

This article does a great job explaining how:
📂 Documentation becomes infrastructure
🤖 AI thrives on clarity and process
🏛️ Local governments may already have more AI-ready assets than they realize

Also, shoutout to every frontline employee who has ever said: “Well… the process technically says this, but what we ACTUALLY do is…”

Congrats. You are now part of the system architecture. 😂

Excellent read from Jorge on practical, grounded AI implementation in .

05/19/2026

📚 Local Gov should be more like a serious book club. Today’s Morning Buzz from Josie Peery, enterprise account executive at Zencity and ELGL Board Member, takes something wonderfully simple; a group of friends reading books together and turns it into one of the best reflections on community, leadership and culture we’ve seen in a while.

The big takeaway?
✅ Show up.
✅ Respect disagreement.
✅ Take turns leading.

Whether you work in city hall, public works, communications, budgeting or somewhere in between, this is a reminder that strong communities aren’t built by everyone thinking the same thing — they’re built by people who keep showing up for each other anyway.

Honestly, local government really is just one giant group project/book club/community meeting hybrid.

👉 Give this one a read.

05/18/2026

🏁 LADIES AND GENTLEMEN… START. YOUR. NETWORKING. 🏁

The green flag is about to drop on the 🏎️ ELGL Government Grand Prix 🏎️ and this isn’t your average annual conference pit stop.

We’re intentionally capping attendance at around 100 racers because the goal isn’t a bigger crowd; it’s better connections.

As a volunteer organization committed to the idea that No One in Local Gov Leads Alone, we are going for less “find your people in a sea of thousands.” And want more “you leave knowing people by name.”

Expect fast ideas, meaningful conversations and enough energy to fuel the whole track. ⚡

So grab your crew chief, tune up your stories, and get to the starting line before all the spots are gone.

🚦Ready to race?

Address

850 Massachusetts Ave
Indianapolis, IN
46204

Website

http://elgl.org/

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