New mayors, Harvard connections

New city leaders with Harvard ties Michael Brennan (Portland, Maine), Peter Buttigieg (South Bend, Ind.), Angel Taveras (Providence, R.I.), and Karen Freeman-Wilson (Gary, Ind.) are joining more than 20 other incoming mayors from large cities across the country at Harvard University’s Institute of Politics (IOP) Nov. 30-Dec. 2 for a three-day seminar on leadership and policy briefings on the issues they will face upon taking office.

Newly elected Mayors Buttigieg ’04, Taveras ’92, and Freeman-Wilson ’82 are graduates of Harvard College; Brennan was a participant of Harvard Kennedy School’s Senior Executives in State and Local Government program in 2004.

The biennial Seminar on Transition and Leadership for Newly Elected Mayors, co-sponsored by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, is traditionally held at the IOP at the John F. Kennedy School of Government. The newly elected U.S. mayors will participate in a variety of sessions led by academics, practitioners, and current and former mayors.  Focusing on training for new city leaders, topics include the global economy, transitioning from the campaign to City Hall, finance and administration, and jobs and economic development.

“We are pleased to welcome new U.S. mayors to Harvard,” said Trey Grayson, director of Harvard’s Institute of Politics. “This conference provides new city leaders an opportunity to gain important insights from scholars, policy experts, and political practitioners on a myriad of management challenges and key issues they will face.”