Attracting aspiring local government leaders. Eric King, City Manager, and Stephanie Betteridge, Chief Innovation Officer, joined the podcast to talk about a new recruitment in the City of Bend, Oregon. The City is hiring for a Strategic Initiatives Manager (and other roles) and they shared what led to creating this position, what skills they are looking for, and what the first few months on the job will be like. Eric and Stephanie also shared their own career paths in local government and what makes Bend unique. Host: Kirsten Wyatt

GovLove - A Podcast About Local Government

#386 Recruiting in the City of Bend, OR with Eric King & Stephanie Betteridge

From public meetings to communications. Two guests joined the podcast to talk about how communication and engagement has changed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ashley Traynum-Carson, Communication Specialist for the City of Asheville, North Carolina, and Jay Dawkins, CEO of Public Input, shared their perspectives and lessons learned. They discussed how receiving comments changed and how local governments are using technology. They also shared how the changes made make participation more accessible for residents. Host: Kirsten Wyatt

#404 Community Engagement During COVID-19 with Ashley Traynum-Carson & Jay Dawkins

Adapting the Agriculture and Consumer Services Department. Nikki Fried, Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services for the State of Florida, joined the podcast to talk about her journey to becoming Commissioner and what her Department does. She discussed how COVID-19 has impacted the work of the Department and how they have adapted, highlighting the Be SMART Florida campaign. She also shared advice to other women considering running for office or applying for executive-level positions in government. Host: Alyssa Dinberg

#403 Consumer Safety & COVID-19 with Commissioner Nikki Fried, State of Florida

Reducing unnecessary warrants and jail time. Alissa Fishbane, Managing Director at ideas42, and Dr. Aurélie Ouss, Assistant Professor of Criminology at the University of Pennsylvania, joined the podcast to talk about their study to reduce the number of arrest warrants for failure to appear in court in the New York City criminal justice system. The guests highlighted the use of behavioral interventions, or nudges, that were low cost and easy to implement. They also shared how other local governments can apply behavioral science practices. Host: Toney Thompson

#402 Using Behavioral Nudges in Local Government with Alissa Fishbane & Aurélie Ouss

Social services, not jail. Christopher Leonard, Administrative Supervisor for the City of Forth Lauderdale, Florida, joined the podcast to talk about the City's community court that serves individuals experiencing homelessness. The program focuses on the root causes of each defendant’s issues and applies mandates such as community service, drug treatment, or social services to have their cases dismissed. He also explained how the court has continued to operate during the COVID-19 pandemic. Host: Kirsten Wyatt

#401 Community Court for Homelessness with Christopher Leonard, Fort Lauderdale, FL

Who says you can't go home? Nick Edwards, City Manager of the City of Joplin, Missouri joined the podcast to talk about his career path in local government and coming home to Joplin to become the City Manager. He talked about building new relationships during COVID-19 and how the City has responded to the pandemic. Nick also shared the City's strategic planning process and his plans for 2021. Host: Lauren Palmer

#400 Managing Your Hometown with Nick Edwards, Joplin, MO

Building community trust. Eyal Feder-Levy, CEO & Founder of Zencity, joined the podcast to talk about the work Zencity is doing to track the public sentiment of the COVID-19 vaccine in cities across America. He shared there is currently twice as much negative sentiment towards the vaccine as positive. He also outlined the impact local governments and leaders can have on the sentiment of the vaccine for their community. Zencity recently published a guide to help local governments build trust in the vaccine. Host: Toney Thompson

#399 COVID-19 Vaccine Public Sentiment with Eyal Feder-Levy, Zencity

Redevelopment through arts and culture. Three guests joined the podcast to talk about how the City of Kinston, North Carolina has redeveloped their community through the implementation of a arts and cultural district. Raney Rogers, Executive Director of smART Kinston, details the 12-block residential area in downtown Kinston where artists live and work by long-term residents in colorful houses. Adam Short, Planning Director, and Sarah Arney, Community Development Planner, for the City of Kinston outline the positive impact this district has had on the City, highlighting increased tourism and lower vacancy rates. This episode is part of ELGL’s Creative Community series, a partnership with ArtPlace America and CivicArts to write, explore, share, and learn about creative placemaking. Host: Ben Kittelson

#398 The Kinston, NC Arts & Cultural District with Raney Rogers, Adam Short, & Sarah Arney

Building an inclusive government. Nefertiri Sickout, the Acting Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer for the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, joined the podcast to talk about the work of advancing equity and improving the diversity of the City's workforce. She shared how the City has changed specific hiring practices and methods to improve the diversity of candidates and how the City is working to improve the diversity of businesses that participate in the procurement process. She also shared her career path into local government and how COVID-19 and the protests in 2020 impacted her work. Host: Ben Kittelson

#397 Equity and Workforce Diversity with Nefertiri Sickout, Philadelphia, PA

It's been a year. The GovLove co-hosts teamed up to hand out awards and recap the fifth full year of a podcast about local government. Kirsten, Kent, Alyssa, Javon, and Ben all selected four of their favorite episodes to honor with the most prestigious award in local government podcasting, a GovieLovie. They also debated the best holiday movie, made up local government themed songs, and shared a memory from the first five years of GovLove. Plus meet some new GovLove contributors for 2021 in Lauren, Toney, & Mike. Hosts: Kirsten Wyatt, Kent Wyatt, Ben Kittelson, Alyssa Dinberg, & Javon Davis The GovieLovies Kirsten Race and Equity in Minneapolis with Joy Marsh Stephens Public Art & Black Lives Matter with Amina Cooper, Arts & Science Council Greedy Bastards with Sheryl Sculley, San Antonio, TX Remote Public Meetings & COVID-19 with Lindsay Lara, San Rafael, CA Ben Leadership and FireStat with Chief Reginald Freeman, Hartford, CT Community Safety & Innovation with Sarita Nair, Albuquerque, NM Building Inclusive Communities with Juan Carlos Gonzalez, Oregon Metro Budgeting During COVID-19 with Gregory Patrick, Norfolk, VA Javon Civic-Minded Journalism with Lucas Grindley, Next City Embracing Failure in Local Government with Andi Mirviss Reducing Reliance on Policing with Alex Vitale, Brooklyn College Reducing Evictions in Newark, NJ with Khabirah Myers Alyssa Leadership Through Crisis with Betsy Hodges, Kauffman Mayors Council Building Strong Towns with Chuck Marohn Addressing Equity During COVID-19 with Shannon Hardin, Columbus, OH Leadership in Times of Crisis – The Drucker Playbook with Tanya Ange and Lawrence Greenspun Kent Advocating for Public Records with Ginger McCall Recruiting in the City of Bend, OR with Eric King & Stephanie Betteridge Supporting Akron Businesses During COVID-19 with James Hardy and Michael Mazur Library Operations During COVID-19 with Jamie Eustace, Baytown, TX Exit music: The 12 Clogs of Christmas by NEORSD 

#396 The 2020 GovieLovies

The Port Orange Government Show. Christine Martindale, Public Information Officer for the City of Port Orange, Florida, joined the podcast to talk about her new podcast for the City of Port Orange. She shared her transition from the private sector into local government as well as all of the work she does as a department of one. Christine and Ben discuss the benefits of podcasting and how easy it is to start a podcast of your own. Host: Ben Kittelson

#395 Communications and Podcasting with Christine Martindale, Port Orange, FL

Placemaking and economic development. Sandi Curd, Promise Zone Coordinator for the Kentucky Highland Investment Corporation, joined the podcast to talk about her work supporting communities and small businesses through placemaking. She shared how the Promise Zone impacts the 22-county service area in southeastern Kentucky and how placemaking can serve as an economic incubator. Sandi also discussed placemaking examples and how the community drives what they do. This episode is part of ELGL’s Creative Community series, a partnership with ArtPlace America and CivicArts to write, explore, share, and learn about creative placemaking. Host: Ben Kittelson

#394 Rural Placemaking in the Kentucky Highlands with Sandi Curd

Tips for video conferencing. Becky Hirst, Community Engagement Consultant from McLaren Vale, South Australia, joined the podcast to talk about her work as a community engagement consultant and her new e-book covering video conferencing etiquette. She discussed how she works with communities to inform the decision-makers by connecting with the community. She also shared the 10 tips for video conferencing in her new e-book such as testing your equipment, rules of engagement, and how to minimize distractions during meetings. Host: Kirsten Wyatt

#393 Community Engagement & Video Etiquette with Becky Hirst

Doing it all. Jamie Hellen, Town Administrator for the Town of Franklin, Massachusetts, joined the podcast to talk about innovation, change management, and responding to COVID-19. He shared how the Town takes a customer focused approach to their work and the freedom departments have to implement new technology. He also discussed how smaller local governments have to manage large issues with fewer resources. Host: Kirsten Wyatt

#392 Technology & Change Management with Jamie Hellen, Franklin, MA

Preserving black history. Rebecca Bellan, Freelance Reporter for Forbes and CityLab, joined the podcast to tell the story of 227 Duffield in Brooklyn, New York. This home has ties to New York's abolitionist movement and is believed to have been part of the underground railroad. In two articles this year she's detailed the battle over preserving the home and the fight to preserve black history. Articles: What It Takes to Preserve a Building Tied to Black History and Did a Brooklyn Home’s Tunnel Provide Passage to Escaped Slaves? Host: Alyssa Dinberg

#391 Historic Preservation in Brooklyn with Rebecca Bellan

Don't make videos, make an impact. Dana Healy, Executive Director of CTV North Suburbs, joined the podcast to talk about the benefits of local community media centers. She discussed CTV North Suburbs which is a collaboration between nine cities in the Minneapolis area that creates video content on behalf of those local governments. The core function of the non-profit is to can help local governments promote and amplify their message. Dana also shared the upcoming content series with ELGL on effective relationships with community media centers and local governments. Host: Kirsten Wyatt

#390 Community Media Centers with Dana Healy, CTV North Suburbs

GovLove is a podcast about the people, policies and profession of local government. From Mayors and City Managers to interns and everyone in between, we interview the people making a difference in their communities to learn about the great work being done at the local level. GovLove is brought to you by Engaging Local Government Leaders (ELGL).

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#386 Recruiting in the City of Bend, OR with Eric King & Ste...

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