Two Hampton officials recently took part in the Bloomberg Harvard Senior Leadership Initiative, a program designed to support executive development among public sector leaders. Assistant City Manager Kwasi Obeng and DeAnna Valentine, Director of Economic Empowerment and Family Resilience, traveled to New York last week for the workshop.
The initiative, which began in 2017 through a partnership between Bloomberg Philanthropies, Harvard Kennedy School, and Harvard Business School, aims to provide mayors and senior municipal staff with tools to address local challenges and improve city services. Hampton is among 47 U.S. cities selected for the ninth class of this program. All expenses for participating cities are covered by Bloomberg Philanthropies.
During the event, Obeng and Valentine focused on strategies to advance Hampton’s priority of promoting economic mobility for residents living in poverty or within the A.L.I.C.E. (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) demographic. The week included lectures, small group discussions, interactive workgroups, networking opportunities, and panel discussions featuring previous participants and partners from Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Valentine stated: “Participation in the Initiative helped refine and clarify our strategic priority, encouraging a mindset of learning through experimentation. As part of the program’s data track, we are positioned to remain values-driven and data-informed, enabling us to strengthen our system of care to be more outcome-oriented and responsive to community needs.”
Obeng added: “I appreciate Mayor Bloomberg, Bloomberg Harvard, Mayor Gray and the Council, and City Manager Bunting for this amazing opportunity, which allowed us to sharpen our leadership tools, network with colleagues around the world and be exposed to great innovative ideas and feedback on issues and priorities that we share with several municipalities including neighbors in Richmond and Alexandria.”
More information about the Bloomberg Harvard Senior Leadership Initiative can be found at https://www.cityleadership.harvard.edu/bloomberg-harvard-city-leadership-initiative.
