APWA.net Event Detail

Date(s):

June 3, 2010

Location:

Audio/Web Broadcast

Cost:

Members: $175.00
Non Members: $225.00

Description:

A New Vision for Public Works Management

New challenges, such as further constrained local budgets, increased cost of materials, a more engaged public and new regulatory mandates, are confronting public works professionals and making your jobs even more challenging. These new challenges require a novel approach to public works management. The APWA Board of Directors created the Center for Sustainability to build the skills, tools and knowledge APWA members need to exercise sustainable leadership in their communities and to meet these new challenges.

Identify the knowledge and skills that you, the next generation of public works professionals, will need to find solutions that deliver services in an environmentally and socially responsible way, at a level citizens expect, and in ways that ensure the best economic choices in the long term. Join Michael Mucha as he provides an overview of the APWA Center for Sustainability, including its mission and values, and defines what sustainability in public works management means. Learn about the new tool, the APWA Center for Sustainability Framework for Vibrant & Healthy Communities, the Center Leadership created to assist public works professionals in taking an integrated, whole systems approach to public works management. Listen as Gwen Hallsmith reveals a new approach to city planning that builds on the assets of a community as a starting point for cities to develop healthy social, governance, economic, and environmental systems.

After viewing this program, participants will better be able to:

� Describe the principles of system dynamics

� Understand what sustainability in public works management means

� Apply the Center for Sustainability Framework for Sustainable Communities to your own community

This program has been approved for .2 CEUs or 2 PDHs. The form to request these credits is included in the handouts for this program. Please note there is a $5 fee per individual requesting CEUs.

Speaker:

D. Michael Mucha, P.E.

Director of Public Works
City of Olympia, Washington

Michael Mucha has over 17 years of executive leadership experience in city government, with appointments in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and currently in Washington State as the Director of Public Works for the City of Olympia.

He has a reputation for not following the straight and narrow path by encouraging employees to pursue crazy ideas, be creative and live their passion at work. Moreover, at Olympia Public Works, that passion is around creating a sustainable future.

�Building a Relationship of Trust and Respect� These seven words best describe what motivates Michael to get up and go to work every day. He believes the key to trust is finding balance in everything and developing a capacity to care about people. His passion is local government, where the work is closest to where citizens experience its value.

Michael has a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Wisconsin and his Master�s in Public Administration from the University of Washington. He recently completed a one-month sabbatical studying state and local government leadership at Harvard University. Michael is a registered professional engineer in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Washington State. He also serves on the faculty of Evergreen State College and teaches graduate level management courses on topics such as sustainable leadership and transforming local government.

Speaker:

Gwendolyn Hallsmith

Director
Department of Planning and Community Development
City of Montpelier, Vermont

Gwendolyn Hallsmith, the Director of Planning and Community Development for the City of Montpelier, is also the founder and Board Co-Chair of Global Community Initiatives and author of The Key to Sustainable Cities, Taking Action for Sustainability: the EarthCAT Guide to Community Development, and LASER: Local Action for Sustainable Economic Renewal. She has over 25 years of experience working with municipal, regional, and state government in the United States and internationally. She has served as the Municipal Manager of Randolph, Vermont, the Regional Planning Director in Franklin County, MA, a Senior Planner for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy Resources, the Deputy Secretary of the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, and for over fifteen years as an international specialist on sustainable community development.

Her international experience has included work with the United Nations Environment Program, the United Nations Development Program, the Institute for Sustainable Communities, the International City/County Management Association, and Earth Charter International. She has a Master�s degree in Public Policy from Brown University and has studied theology at the Andover Newton Theological School, exploring the links between our wisdom traditions, spirituality, and work on the community level.

Speaker:

Brenda Macke, P.E.

Project Engineer
CDM
Kansas City, MO

Content Questions:

Christina Davis
(800) 848-2792
education@apwa.net

Technology Questions:

(800) 848-2792