By Victor Cardenas
Many of us look forward to the annual professional development opportunities that occur throughout the year, such as MME’s Winter Institute, Summer Workshop, and various ICMA events. I want to add another event to that list – the Emerging Local Government Leaders ’17 (ELGL) conference.
ELGL is comprised of local government leaders who are innovative and passionate about connecting, communicating, and educating in everything related to local government. ELGL members are social media savvy and have even joined the podcasting scene. The founding members – the husband and wife team of Kirsten and Kent Wyatt – hail from the northwest but have grown the ELGL network to thousands of local government afficionados across the country. Their #CityHallSelfie has caught on and become an instant web sensation with hundreds sharing their selfies in front of City Halls across the U.S..
Their second annual nationwide conference will be held in Detroit, May 11-12, at the styling new Aloft at the Whitney building. You have to be a member to participate in the conference, but memberships are only $25. The conference registration fee ranges from $78 – $178, depending on the number of tours you select. There are only a small number of tickets remaining. If you’re interested in the great agenda they have lined up, I’d suggest you join and sign up soon before they are sold out.
Check out the Wyatt’s at their Twitter handles: @kowyatt and kwyatt23.
Victor Cardenas, Assistant City Manager
City of Novi
Victor Cardenas has served as Novi’s assistant city manager since 2010. Previously he held positions as village manager in Brooklyn and assistant to the city manager in Oak Park. You may reach him at 248-347-0450 or vcardenas@cityofnovi.org.