Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative names second class of mayors

The Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative today announced the second class of 40 mayors from around the world who will participate in the yearlong education and professional development program designed exclusively for mayors. The 40 mayors joined Harvard faculty and renowned management experts in New York City this week for a three-day, immersive classroom experience and convening to kick-off the program.

The diverse class of mayors includes:

• More than one-quarter of the class are women (11) and half of those are their city’s first female mayor
• Of the U.S. mayors, 33 percent (10) are African-American, with three serving as their city’s first African-American mayor
• Six mayors are millennials, and close to half (18) are in their first year in office
• The mayors represent cities with populations ranging from 100,000 to 12 million

The initiative is a collaboration between Bloomberg Philanthropies, Harvard Kennedy School, and Harvard Business School that aims to provide a world-class learning experience for mayors and their senior leaders that will equip them with the tools and expertise to effectively govern complex cities. Harvard faculty, staff and students, alongside experts from Bloomberg Philanthropies’ global network, work with mayors and senior officials over the course of one year in the classroom, online, and in the field to foster professional growth and advance the necessary capabilities to drive innovation and deliver results for residents.

The second class of mayors to participate in the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative are:

Kathy Sheehan (Albany, N.Y.), Tim Keller (Albuquerque, N.M.), Jeff Williams (Arlington, Texas), Keisha Lance Bottoms (Atlanta), Randall Woodfin (Birmingham, Ala.), Naheed Nenshi (Calgary, Canada), Vi Lyles (Charlotte, N.C.), Marian Orr (Cheyenne, Wyom.), Steve Benjamin (Columbia, S.C.), Andrew Ginther (Columbus, Ohio), Steve Schewel (Durham, N.C.), Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr (Freetown , Sierra Leone), Mike Savage (Halifax, Canada), Luke Bronin (Hartford, Conn.), Jan Vapaavuori (Helsinki, Finland), Chokwe Antar Lumumba (Jackson, Miss.), Andy Schor (Lansing, Mich.), Joyce Craig  (Manchester, N.H.), Francis Xavier Suarez (Miami), Toni Harp (New Haven, Conn.), Andre Sayegh (Paterson, N.J.), Mauricio Rodas (Quito, Ecuador), Dagur Eggertsson (Reykjavik, Iceland), Levar Stoney (Richmond, Va.), Ron Nirenberg (San Antonio), Alan Webber (Santa Fe, N.M.), Samuel Liccardo (San Jose, Calif.), Bruno Covas (São Paulo, Brazil), Charlie Clark (Saskatoon, Canada), Jenny Anne Durkan (Seattle), Paul TenHaken (Sioux Falls, S.D.), Lyda Krewson (St. Louis, Mo.), Melvin Carter III (St. Paul, Minn.), Michael Tubbs (Stockton, Calif.), Ben Walsh (Syracuse, N.Y.), Victoria Woodards (Tacoma, Wash.), Michelle De La Isla (Topeka, Kan.), Emil Dardak (Trenggalek, Indonesia), G.T. Bynum (Tulsa, Okla.), and Andy Street (West Midlands, United Kingdom).

“This is a unique program in the sense that it provides an opportunity for mayors to learn from each other as well as from our faculty and state-of-the-art research. In turn, Harvard is honored and excited to learn from the way city leaders are approaching complex challenges,” said Jorrit de Jong, faculty director of the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative.

More information about the initiative can be found here. The initiative aims to enroll up to 240 cities from around the world over four years.