GovLove - A Podcast About Local Government

Understanding the drivers of poverty. Two members of the Office of Innovation and Strategic Initiatives joined the podcast to talk about their work addressing poverty and working with departments to use data. Henry Fitts is the Grant Management and Research Coordinator and former Director of Innovation and Kate May is the City's Chief Performance Officer. They discussed the City's work in helping...

Making the career leap. Christian Williams, Planner for the City of Goodyear, Arizona, joined the podcast to talk about his recent career change to working in planning and his career path in local government. He shared how the City is engaging residents in the planning process and encouraging people to participate. Christian also discussed his recent post about his experience as a Black person and...

Don't be clever, be conscientious. Lawrence Greenspun, Director of Public Sector Engagement for the Drucker Institute, and Tanya Ange, Deputy City Manager of Boulder, Colorado, joined the podcast to talk about leadership in times of crisis and the new Drucker Playbook for the Public Sector. Lawrence shared the story of Peter Drucker and the principles of leadership that inform their training and a...

Keeping the fire lit. Joey Garcia, Senior Administrative Analyst for the City of Torrance, California, joined the podcast to talk about his career path and public works. He shared his experience finding that first job in local government, what he's learned from working in public works, and the impact of COVID-19 on their operations. Joey also discussed culture change and finding your passion. Host...

Creating a culture of health. Sean Knierim, the Co-Founder of SidePorch, joined the podcast to talk about resources for communities in reopening after COVID-19 shutdowns and expanding testing capacity. He talked about the need to be adaptive and flexible in procurement as well as being ready to scale small actions.  Host: Kirsten Wyatt

"Y'all, I'm hurt." Christina Roach, Digital Content Officer for the City of Dallas, Texas, and Victor Henderson, Communications Specialist for the North Central Texas Council of Governments, joined the podcast to talk about what it's like working in communications right now. They shared what they deal with as black government social media managers and managing social feeds with nonstop reminders o...

Do more of what works and less of what doesn't. Rick Cole, long time public servant and former City Manager of Santa Monica, California, joined the podcast to talk about his vision for how government needs to change to meet the new challenges it faces. He shared lessons on leadership and how to shift government from providing legacy services to solving problems. He also discussed his career path a...

Thinking creatively about being mission critical. Alison Rhodes, the Director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Boulder, Colorado, joined the podcast to talk about operating during COVID-19.  She shared how the pandemic has affected the work of her department and what they are doing to creatively offer services. Alison also talked about her career path and how she sees the parks profession c...

A bottom-up revolution. Chuck Marohn, the Founder and President of Strong Towns, joined the podcast to discuss about his new book and the work he is doing to shape the conversation about development in cities. He shared what led him to leave the engineering and planning field to start Strong Towns and his new book, Strong Towns, A Bottom-Up Revolution to Rebuild American Prosperity . He talked abo...

Smart cities for dummies. Jonathan Reichental, is the CEO of Human Future, author, and former Chief Information Officer of Palo Alto, CA. He joined the podcast to talk about the role of government technology and his view on what makes a smart city. He also shared what he thinks the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on government technology will be and how organizations will change. Jonathan discusse...

If it's not for all, it's not for us. Shannon Harding, the Council President for the City of Columbus, Ohio, joined the podcast to talk about how the City is responding to COVID-19 and the policy responses they are pursuing. He discussed the disparate impacts of the pandemic on marginalized communities and how they are bringing equity into the response, from providing a hotel for homeless communit...

From preparation to reopening. Greg Preece, Human Resources Manager in Oakland, California, and Matt Hartleib, Human Resources Manager in La Porte, Texas, joined the podcast to talk about how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted their organizations. They shared how each human resources office prepared and managed the crisis, as well as the unique leave and telework dynamics of their organizations. T...

Becoming an elected official during a pandemic. Josh Schoemann, the County Executive of Washington County, Wisconsin, joined the podcast to talk about running for office and leading a County during the COVID-19 outbreak. The form of government changed from an appointed County Administrator to an elected County Executive, and Josh chose to run for office to keep his position leading the County. He...

Curbside pickup to digital story time. Jamie Eustace, the Library Director for the City of Baytown, Texas, joined the podcast to talk about how running the library has changed during the COVID-19 pandemic. She shared how staff have found creative ways to continue serving library patrons and how operations will change once they are allowed to open the library again. Host:  Kirsten Wyatt

Strategic planning and managing resources during a crisis. Gregory Patrick, the Budget Director for the City of Norfolk, Virginia, joined the podcast to talk about how his office is putting together an annual budget during COVID-19. He shared how their process has changed and what the financial impacts of the crisis may be. Gregory also talked about budget engagement and his department's telework...

Providing water and wastewater during a pandemic. Todd Danielson, Chief Utilities Executive of Avon Lake Regional Water, joined the podcast to talk about how COVID-19 is impacting utility operations. He shared how they have changed shift schedules to protect staff and adjusted their billing to aid customers. Todd also talked about working with the Ohio EPA and how they have adjusted their planned...

From economic resiliency to teleworking. Blaine Williams, the Manager of Athens-Clarke County, Georgia, joined the podcast to talk about how his organization has been responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. He discussed preparation, issuing a stay at home order, and coordinating with the State of Georgia. He also talked about working with the Mayor and Commission in the response and enforcing social...

Outreach and operations during a pandemic. Lorena Molina, the Director of Operations for the Census Open Innovation Labs, joined the podcast to give an update on how Census 2020 is being impacted by COVID-19. She also shared outreach tools and the value of continuing to share the importance of completing the Census during this time of uncertainty. Host: Kirsten Wyatt

From public comment to live broadcasting. Lindsay Lara, the City Clerk for the City of San Rafael, California, joined the podcast to discuss how the City Clerk and Digital Services teams set up public meetings in an age of social distancing. She talked about the changes to public meetings rules in California and how residents of San Rafael are still able to participate through YouTube comments. Ho...

Strategy and public health information. Warren Kagarise, Digital Engagement Manager, and Colette Cosner, Public Health Digital Lead, from King County, Washington joined the podcast to talk about communicating during COVID-19. King County has been one of the epicenters of the outbreak and has been dealing with cases since February. They shared their tips for communication strategy, keeping resident...

Data science for public service. Sarah Martin, the Vice President of Health Solutions for mySidewalk and former Deputy Director of the Kansas City Health Department, joined the podcast to talk about the role of public health and responding to disease. She talked about the policy role of public health departments and how they are responding to COVID-19. Sarah also discussed her work for mySidewalk...

Changing how communities are built. Two people joined the podcast from Verdunity, a planning, engineering, and engagement firm focused on fiscal sustainability. Kevin Shepherd, the Founder and CEO, and AJ Fawver, Program Leader, talked about the mission of Verdunity, how cities can build better places, and the cost of maintaining infrastructure.  Host: Kirsten Wyatt

Intersection of community development and arts. Lynn Osgood, the Executive Director of Civic Arts Austin, joined the podcast to talk about bringing arts and culture into the way cities are built. She discussed some example projects of how artists have helped communities with visioning and design.  This is part of ELGL's Creative Community, a partnership with ArtPlace America and Civic Arts to writ...

It does not happen by accident. Councilor Juan Carlos Gonzalez from Oregon Metro, the regional government for the Portland, Oregon area, joined the podcast to talk about his choice to run for office and how to build inclusive communities. He talked about engaging with residents to ensure local government meets their needs and a ballot measure for dealing with homelessness. Councilor Gonzalez also...

The best of American politics. Emily Farris, Associate Professor of Politics at Texas Christian University, joined the podcast to talk about teaching local politics. She shared how she includes local government in her courses and gets students to learn about what's going on in Fort Worth, Texas. Professor Farris also shared her career path and what influenced her to study this field.  Host: Kent W...