Representatives from What Works Cities toured Port St . Lucie as the City seeks this prestigious certification .
Learning from Cities Across the World
City Manager ’ s Office
Mayor Shannon Martin and staff are participating in the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative .
One of the most effective ways of ensuring the City of Port St . Lucie can continue to grow as a high-performing government is to learn from peers across the country who have demonstrated success . Learning what others have done well – and what pitfalls they might have encountered – allows us to identify opportunities that can help enhance our community .
In 2023 , the City participated in a global gathering of City Innovators at CityLab in Washington , D . C . The exclusive workshop brought together City leaders in the fields of data , innovation and infrastructure , providing them with a unique opportunity to be inspired by new approaches , collaborate and discuss innovative strategies and insights .
To demonstrate Port St . Lucie ’ s commitment to utilize innovative , data-informed strategies , the City is participating in the What Works Cities Certification program . This first-of-its-kind program , launched by Bloomberg Philanthropies and led by Results for America , was developed as an international standard of excellence for datainformed , well-managed local governments . Port St . Lucie is close to completing the silver level certification requirements , which would make it one of only two cities in Florida to do so .
Mayor Shannon Martin , City Manager Jesus Merejo and Deputy City Manager for Strategic Initiatives and Innovation Kate Parmelee , were selected to participate in the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative , joining 40 mayors and 80 senior municipal leaders from cities across the world who will participate in the yearlong professional management training program .
The Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative equips mayors and senior city leaders with the tools and expertise to expand their problemsolving capacity , strengthen their city halls and improve outcomes for residents . Port St . Lucie was selected to take part in the program ’ s innovation track , which will provide specialized coaching to find solutions to issues surrounding the expansion of green space in the City , an issue prioritized by residents at the 2022 Citizen Summit . As part of the training , a cross-departmental team will learn new skills that can be applied moving forward .
These collective experiences will help the City learn from some of the best leaders in the world , providing insights , strategies and tactics that can help Port St . Lucie reach its goals .
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