End of Year Report and 2012 Work Plan
WLG Mission Statement:
“To help women succeed in public service by enhancing career-building models that develop leadership skills and by networking professional women in government.”
Women fill leadership roles in all arenas of government. A group of California leaders in government who share a strong desire to continue to grow talent and encourage women to excel has come together to form Women Leading Government.
Women Leading Government (WLG) is an initiative started in November 2006 by the Call-ICMA Preparing the Next Generation committee. Organized by female managers of California’s cities, counties, and special districts, WLG is designed to assist female managers in their career development. WLG welcomes all people dedicated to public service and the development of women leaders. At its September 29 board meeting, WLG approved an affiliation agreement with ICMA to strenghthen mutual efforts in support of women in the profession. This agreement outlines the ties and collaborative relationship between WLG and ICMA. WLG is an affiliate of ICMA, having been created as part of Cal-ICMA. WLG’s goals are in alignment with ICMA’s and both organizations will seek even more opportunities to work together to foster professional management in local government.
Jennifer Phillips, assistant city manager of Santa Rosa, California, is the current chair of WLG. Click here for the full board list as of November 2011. WLG vice chair Lori Sassoon recently provided this analysis of the WLG membership to the full board.
Women's Leadership Summit: "Leading Beyond the Limits"
April 19, 2012; San Jose, CA
The 2012 Women’s Leadership Summit was again held in San Jose, and this year, Women Leading Government was a co-sponsor of this event in partnership with the Municipal Management Association of Northern California. Over 225 women in local government attended this event which featured Deanna Santana, Oakland City Administrator as the morning keynote speaker. Deanna spoke from her heart as she shared the experiences of her first 6 months as Oakland’s City Administrator, touching upon the Occupy Movement, a school shooting and building her “dream team”. With the help of 25 executives, the Coffee with an Executive Roundtable Event was again a huge hit with both executives and participants. The luncheon keynote speaker was truly inspirational. Cindy Abbott, Mt Everest climber and Iditarod contender shared her story of personal struggles and remarkable accomplishments, including being one of only 154 women in the world to summit Mt. Everest. Her presentation ended with a teary-eyed standing ovation from all 225 attendees. Finally, the afternoon panel discussion featured a panel of female public safety chiefs that included, Susan Manheimer, City of San Mateo Police Chief, Debra Pryor, Berkeley Fire Chief, Teresa Reed, Oakland Fire Chief, and Cynthia Renaud, Folsom Police Chief. The discussion focused on “Leading Beyond the Limits” and the panelist shared their leadership advice and personal stories on achieving their career goals and creating a culture of success for their organizations. It was truly an inspiration, beneficial and exciting day!
MMASC Annual Conference 2012
May 9-11: Rancho Mirage
WLG sponsored two breakout sessions at the MMASC Annual Conference. The first was "Leading through Adversity" featuring Debra Kurita and Pam Easter who shared tactics that high-impact leaders utilize to face adversity head-on without getting discouraged all while acting to ensure their agency and employees survive the challenging times. Debbie and Pam shared their experiences of leading a team that was faced with an ethical dilemma, scandal or an unexpected departure, and what they did to keep morale high and turn the team around. The second panel was titled, “There's an App for That!" This user-friendly session explored smart phone and tablet apps that assist you in your personal and professional life, as well as those that can be useful for your organization.
Save the Date: Objective Thinking
July 12, 2012: Central California Coast (location TBD)
WLG will be sponsoring a workshop for the MMASC/MMANC Credential Government Leaders Program but is open to all WLG members and non-members. “Objective Thinking” is a core course requirement for the CGL Program. Jennifer Phillips, Assistant City Manager for the City of Santa Rosa is the presenter and will focus on the importance of thinking objectively. The workshop has the goal of helping participants better understand why we need to think strategically; the fundamentals of how we think; and the barriers to thinking strategically and is aimed at helping participants learn from case studies of limited thinking and acquire techniques to engage in more critical thinking at work. Click here for the Save the Date flyer.
WLG at ICMA Annual Conference 2011:
A session on "What's New and Cutting Edge in Employee Pay" drew a sizable audience at the recent 2011 ICMA Annual Conference in Milwaukee. This WLG session was moderated by Linda Barton, WLG board member and city manager of Livermore. Read more.
WLG Newsletters:
STAY UP TO DATE ON WLG ACTIVITIES
Our August 2011 WLG Newsletter is now online with news and photos of recent events.
Most recent past Issue: April 2011
WLG: Meet the Board Series:
Lori Sassoon
Women Leading Government Board Member Lori Sassoon serves as the Membership Chair for the organization. She is the City Manager of Villa Park, located in Orange County, California, and lives in Claremont with her husband Marco, daughter Noel and border collie Cocoa. Lori talks about her job saying, “I love waking up with the goal of solving today’s problems in a constructive way, and working with elected officials to map out the course for the future. I also love helping others along in their public service careers.” She earned a BA from Cal Poly/Pomona and an MPA from California State University/San Bernardino.
WLG is important to Lori because, “It is so important to have real connections to other local government professionals. It’s not ‘fluff’ - it’s essential to providing the best service we can to each of our communities. I learn something new from other WLG members every time I’m engaged in conversation with them.“
Lori’s perspective on her profession is this: “The tools of the trade in public service are passed from one professional generation to another. We have an obligation to our communities to always learn and always look to support that next generation. You are never to early in your career to reach out to someone else, share your mistakes, and help them along. I hope WLG can be known as the ultimate mentoring organization – like a long chain of people climbing a mountain, holding the hand of the person ahead as well as the person just behind.”
SARONA VIVANCO
Women Leading Government Board Member Sarona Vivanco serves as the Financial Chair for the organization. Sarona serves as Senior Management Analyst in the City of Santa Clarita Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department, and lives in Los Angeles. She is married and has “three fantastic kids.” She says her favorite parts of the work are, “Two things: I love that every day is different and challenging, and I also get fulfillment knowing that people's lives are touched by the work that we do.”
Sarona earned a BA in Political Science with an emphasis in State and Local Government from CSUN, and she has an MPA from the University of Southern California. She is a member of ICMA and past president as well as current member of the Municipal Management Association of Southern California.
She shares why WLG is important to her: “I remember being in on the conversation a few years ago when someone said, "Wouldn't it be great if there was a professional organization that specifically met the needs of women in the profession?" At the time, I thought it was a great idea, and now this idea is reality. I am very proud of the strides we have made as an organization, and it has been wonderful interacting with so many smart, driven, talented, and successful women that are Women Leading Government.
WLG By-Laws:
WLG By Laws As Approved August 26, 2009.
Want to know more?
Check out our WLG Membership Brochure, or e-mail or write to:
Women Leading Government
Jennifer Phillips
Assistant City Manager
City of Santa Rosa
E-mail: jphillips@srcity.org
Phone: (714) 389-9950
News of Note:
renew your WLG membership now
It’s time to renew your WLG dues payment. We will soon implement a PayPal option for secure online payment of dues, but if you would like to get ahead with your renewal, please submit your payment with the Membership Form and forward to Sarona Vivanco.
Make checks payable to: Women Leading Government and mail the application and your check to:
Women Leading Government
c/o Sarona Vivanco
City of Santa Clarita
23920 Valencia Blvd., Suite 120
Santa Clarita, CA 91355
Membership Categories and Fees:
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Senior Member ($50): Administrative head, or chief assistant administrative head, such as city manager, deputy city manager, deputy chief administrative officer, or equivalent.
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Associate Member ($50): Department head, division manager, assistant to the chief administrative officer or equivalent; or mid-manager with supervisory responsibilities.
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Member at Large ($50): Any full-time employee of a city, county or a special district.
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Honorary Member ($50): Former or retired Senior Member or Associate Member of WLG who has rendered exceptional service to WLG and to sound local government and has a continuing desire to advance the mission of WLG.
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Affiliate Member ($50): Any state, federal, university/college employee, legislative assistant, or representative of a management consulting firm or other public/private sector organization.Student Member ($20): Full- or part-time student enrolled in a college or university with an interest in pursuing a career in public service, local government, and/or public administration; graduate of a college or university employed as an intern with a city, county, or special district.
WLG Work Plan - 2010/2011:
Highlights of Recent Events in 2011:
WLG Roundtable - May 18, 2011
This WLG Roundtable: You've Got to Dream and Go For It!, featured Cindy Abbott, who shared her struggle to achieve the dream of summiting Mt. Everest, against incredible odds.
WLG Roundtable - may 17, 2011
This WLG Roundtable: Learning How to Flourish in Times of Loss and Transition, featured Jeff Malone, an integrative coach with The Ford Institute for Transformational Training. Participants in this workshop gained a new perspective on the importance of maintaining your own personal resources, and returned to work with a renewed sense of responsibility and a revived passion of self!
wlg EXECUTIVE NETWORK CALL - MARCH 22, 2011
On March 22, 2011, Women Leading Government held a conference call with local government chief executives. Lori Sassoon, city manager of Villa Park, California, and Membership Chair for Women Leading Government organized the call. ICMA Senior Advisor Jan Perkins, a former city manager, facilitated the call. The topic for this networking call was “Creating a strong team focused on the future...in these particularly tough times.” The group had a lively discussion, offering experiences and practical advice to each other. Read more.
WLG EXECUTIVE NETWORK CALL - JANUARY 25, 2011
On January 25, 2011, Women Leading Government held its 4th conference call with local government chief executives. Lori Sassoon, city manager of Villa Park, California, and Membership Chair for Women Leading Government, organized the call. Jan Perkins, a former city manager and ICMA Senior Advisor, facilitated the call. The topic for the call was “Communicating in the Blog Era: What the rise of blogging and other e-media means for communities.” The group had a lively discussion, offering experiences and practical advice to each other. As a result of the call, Women Leading Government will survey its members for their experiences and advice in the use of new sources of communications – blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Survey Monkey, e-news, and more.
Lori Sassoon's email is: lsassoon@villapark.org. Jan Perkins’ email is jperkins@icma.org. Future topics include moving the organization to new compensation realities, reaching the public in a time of diminished newspaper reporting, city manager/city attorney relationship, dealing with difficult council members, and organizing your work and keeping track of council priorities.
WLG Executive network call - november 23, 2010
On November 23, 2010, Women Leading Government held its third hour-long conference call with local government chief executives. Six women city managers from California were on the call. Lori Sassoon, City Manager of Villa Park, CA, and membership chair for Women Leading Government, organized the call and Jan Perkins facilitated the discussion. Jan is a former city manager, ICMA Senior Advisor, and ICMA Liaison board member for Women Leading Government. This month’s topic was “It’s Almost 2011: Tips for Holding a Successful Council/City Manager Priority Setting Session (What Works, Horror Stories to Avoid!).” The group had a lively discussion, offering experiences and practical advice to each other.
The WLG Executive Network conference calls will take place once a month. Topics are determined by participants. If you are a city manager, county administrator, or chief executive of a local government contact Lori Sassoon, City Manager of Villa Park, CA to add your name and email address to the list of women to be notified about Executive Network conference calls. Lori’s email address is lsassoon@villapark.org. Jan Perkins’ email address is jperkins@icma.org. Future topics include moving the organization to new compensation realities, reaching the public in a time of diminished newspaper reporting, city manager/city attorney relationships, dealing with difficult councilmembers, organizing your work and keeping track of council priorities, and the new world of online local blogs and sources of misinformation about your organization.
WLG Launches Executive Network
On September 28, 2010, Women Leading Government held its first hour-long conference call with local government chief executives. Seven women city managers from California were on the call. Lori Sassoon, City Manager of Villa Park, CA and Membership Chair for Women Leading Government organized the calls. Jan Perkins facilitated the call. Jan is a former city manager, ICMA Senior Advisor and ICMA Liaison board member for Women Leading Government. The topic for the September conference call was “Coping during the Election (aka Silly) Season.” The group had a lively discussion, offering experiences and practical advice to each other.
The WLG Executive Network conference calls will take place once a month. Topics are determined by participants. If you are a city manager, county administrator or chief executive of a local government contact Lori Sassoon, City Manager of Villa Park, CA, to add your name and email address to the list of women to be notified about Executive Network conference calls. Lori’s email is:
lsassoon@villapark.org. Jan Perkins’ email is
jperkins@icma.org.
WLG WINS DIVERSITY AWARD
Women Leading Government received the ASAP Los Angeles Metropolitan 2009-2010 Tom Bradley Equal Opportunity Award. This award is presented to an individual or organization that has successfully promoted equal opportunity in the workplace or the community. Jennifer Phillips, WLG chair and Tammy Letourneau, WLG past chair, accepted the award on May 13, 2010, at the Annual ASAP Los Angeles Metro Awards Dinner. For details on this event check out the:
WLG Archive: Past Roundtable and Networking Events
Since its inception, WLG has hosted a number of Roundtable events featuring dynamic speakers and engaging members in stimulating conversations about the local government management profession. For a review of all WLG Roundtables, see the index of events and descriptions below.