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Strengthening Community Connections Through Leadership and Engagement
Explore two pre-conference workshops—one open to all attendees and one exclusively for mayors—focused on engagement and conflict resolution.
Pre-Conference Workshops – $65 each Wednesday June 24, 10 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., including provided lunch
Add a workshop to your full conference registration when you are registering. Already registered for the conference but want to join a workshop? Please contact us at [email protected] and we will assist you!
General Pre-Conference Workshop:
People, Places, Purpose: Powering Up Modern Community Engagement
Presenter: Allyson Brunette, Founder/Owner, Allyson Brunette Consulting
Incivility is rising, public trust is fragile, and traditional engagement methods – whether they be in-person meetings, streamed meetings, or social media comment threads – don’t necessarily reach all residents. When participation relies on the same small group showing up, local governments only hear from a fraction of their community.
This session introduces the People, Places, Purpose framework as a practical way to power up your community engagement. We want to re-energize participation by meeting residents where they already live, work, and connect. Designed for elected officials and municipal staff, this session focuses on creative engagement strategies that go beyond expecting residents to attend meetings or participate online. (We will still recognize the productive role social media can play when used intentionally!)
Participants will explore how everyday places, trusted spaces, and clear purpose can expand participation and strengthen trust – without new staff, new budget, or added administrative burdens.
Learning objectives:
- Explore modern community engagement
- Affirm roles in engagement (staff vs. elected officials)
- Consider inclusive engagement strategies
- Discuss productive use of social media
Mayor’s Pre-Conference Workshop:
Listen, Explore, Resolve: The Role of Mayors in managing conflict in government
Presenters: Aimee Gourlay and Jenny Starr
Mayors play a valuable role in setting the tone in a city, and can be leaders in supporting conflict resolution. In this engaging workshop you will hear from experienced public-service mediators. You will learn three immediately usable skills to de-escalate conflict in your community:
- Asking questions to understand
- Exploring before solving
- Listening for values
This session also introduces the core stages of mediation, highlights real-world applications in local government, and provides take-home tools you can use with constituents, staff, councils, and community partners.
