Mayor Boesen Participates In Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative Executive Training

Press Release

Des Moines, Iowa- Friday, July 19, 2024 - Mayor Connie Boesen has been selected to participate in the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative's eighth class of mayors and senior municipal leaders from their cities who will participate in its yearlong professional management training program. The 2024 class includes 39 mayors and 78 senior leaders from 11 countries across five continents.

Established by Bloomberg Philanthropies, Harvard Kennedy School, and Harvard Business School as a first-of-its-kind program to help close the gap in executive development for the public sector, the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative equips mayors and senior city leaders with the tools and expertise to expand their problem-solving capacity, strengthen their city halls, and improve outcomes for residents as cities confront increasingly global challenges. The Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative will have provided training to 314 mayors and over 540 senior city leaders across 33 countries and six continents since its launch in 2017.

"It is an honor to be selected as one of the 39 mayors from around the world to come together to participate in the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative. Participating in this esteemed program is a great opportunity to learn from cities from the United States and around the world to work on solutions to the issues our cities are facing and find avenues to meet our communities' most pressing needs," said Mayor Connie Boesen.

A program of the Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard University, the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative brings together Harvard faculty, staff, and students, alongside experts from Bloomberg Philanthropies' global network, to work with the mayors and their senior officials over the course of one year. Through a combination of intensive classroom, virtual, and field-based learnings and offerings, the Initiative helps these leaders bolster their teams' use of data and evidence, drive collaboration and innovation across sectors, and deliver impact for communities.

In addition to the core coursework and convenings with peers, each city is able to access additional offerings, including executive education programs for their economic development, civic engagement, human resources, negotiation, and procurement leads; opportunities to host a Bloomberg Harvard City Hall Fellow for up to two years; and instructional research and materials to help city leaders improve key organizational practices.

"As national governments increasingly rely on cities to help them achieve their goals, there has never been a greater need for investment in the capacity of mayors and local leaders to do big things," said Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies and Bloomberg L.P. and 108th mayor of New York City. "Our Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative is designed to help mayors become more effective managers, build strong teams, and learn from the successes of other cities. This diverse class of leaders come from 11 countries, and we're looking forward to helping them deliver results for the millions of residents they serve."

To kick off their participation, the 39 mayors joined Harvard faculty and renowned management leaders in New York City for a four-day immersive classroom experience. Two senior leaders from each of the 39 cities will begin their participation in the program in August.

Highlights of the Initiative's new eighth class of mayors include:

• The mayors come from five continents including Africa (1), Europe (4), Oceania (2), North America (30), and South America (2)
• The mayors hail from 11 countries including Australia (1), Canada (3), Colombia (1), Germany (1), Iceland (1), Italy (1), the Netherlands (1), New Zealand (1), and the U.S. (27), and the first-ever Initiative mayors from Argentina (1) and Kenya (1)
• 69% (27) are from the United States and 31% (12) are from international cities
• 49% (19) are from cities with less than 200,000 people, 38% of the mayors (15) are from cities with populations between 200,000 and 1 million people, and 13% of the mayors (5) are from cities with populations over 1 million people

About The Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative:
The Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative-a program of the Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard University-is a collaboration between Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard Business School, and Bloomberg Philanthropies to equip mayors and senior city officials to tackle complex challenges in their cities and improve the quality of life of their residents. The Initiative has also advanced research and developed new curriculum and teaching tools to help city leaders solve real-world problems. For more information, please visit the cityleadership.harvard.edu or visit us on LinkedIn and X.

Bloomberg Media Contact:
Sam Fuld, [email protected]
Maria Daniels, [email protected]

City of Des Moines Media Contact:
Debbie McClung
Chief Communications Officer, City Manager's Office
(515) 979-7831
[email protected]

About the City of Des Moines
The City of Des Moines is Iowa's capital city and our 17 departments serve more than 214,000 residents and 48 neighborhood associations. Des Moines is a leader in sustainability and provides its residents with vibrant neighborhoods, an alive and active downtown, and abundant leisure opportunities.

Des Moines continuously improves neighborhoods, public safety and quality of life by offering exceptional city services and reliable infrastructure while fostering an involved and compassionate community for all who visit and live in Des Moines. Visit DSM.city, Facebook and Twitter for more information.

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