Mayor Scott Wehrli Joins Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative to Advance City Progress and Improve Outcomes for Residents

NAPERVILLE, Ill. — Naperville Mayor Scott Wehrli has been selected for the eighth class of the Bloomberg Harvard Leadership Initiative, joining 39 mayors from 11 countries across five continents to participate in the yearlong professional management training program.

Established by Bloomberg Philanthropies, Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Business School as a first-of-its-kind program to help close the gap in executive development for the public sector, the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative equips mayors and senior city leaders with the tools and expertise to expand their problem-solving capacity, strengthen their city halls and improve outcomes for residents as cities confront increasingly global challenges. With today’s announcement, the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative will have provided training to 314 mayors and over 540 senior city leaders across 34 countries and six continents since its launch in 2017.

“To be selected to learn with and from leaders from around the world in one of the country’s most esteemed educational settings is truly an honor,” said Mayor Wehrli. “As we look to refresh and renew our commitment to Naperville’s vital office, tech and research corridor, access to top-tier education, research and data resources that will be provided to me, our City Manager, and our Deputy City Manager cannot be understated. I’m thrilled that our world-class community will have access to world-class offerings to make Naperville an even better place to live, work and visit.”

A program of the Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard University, the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative brings together Harvard faculty, staff and students, alongside experts from Bloomberg Philanthropies’ global network, to work with the mayors and their senior officials over the course of one year. Through a combination of intensive classroom, virtual and field-based learnings and offerings, the Initiative helps these leaders bolster their teams’ use of data and evidence, drive collaboration and innovation across sectors, and deliver impact for communities. In addition to the core coursework and convenings with peers, each city is able to access additional offerings, including executive education programs for their economic development, civic engagement, human resources, negotiation, and procurement leads; opportunities to host a Bloomberg Harvard City Hall Fellow for up to two years; and instructional research and materials to help city leaders improve key organizational practices.

“As national governments increasingly rely on cities to help them achieve their goals, there has never been a greater need for investment in the capacity of mayors and local leaders to do big things,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies and Bloomberg L.P. and 108th mayor of New York City. “Our Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative is designed to help mayors become more effective managers, build strong teams, and learn from the successes of other cities. This diverse class of leaders come from 11 countries and we’re looking forward to helping them deliver results for the millions of residents they serve.”

To kick off participation, Mayor Wehrli joined Harvard faculty and renowned management leaders in New York City for a four-day immersive classroom experience. Two senior leaders from each of the 40 cities, including Naperville, will begin their participation in the program in August.

Highlights of the Initiative’s new eighth class of mayors include:

• The mayors come from five continents, including Africa (1), Europe (4), Oceania (2), North America (30) and South America (2).
• The mayors hail from 11 countries, including Australia (1), Canada (3), Colombia (1), Germany (1), Iceland (1), Italy (1), the Netherlands (1), New Zealand (1), and the U.S. (26), and the first-ever Initiative mayors from Argentina (1) and Kenya (1),
• 69% (27) are from the United States and 31% (12) are from international cities.
• 49% (19) are from cities with less than 200,000 people, 38% of the mayors (15) are from cities with populations between 200,000 and 1 million people and 13% of the mayors (5) are from cities with populations over 1 million people.

Members of the eighth class of mayors in the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative are:

AFRICA:

• Mayor Johnson Sakaja of Nairobi, Kenya

EUROPE:

• Mayor Matteo Lepore of Bologna, Italy
• Mayor Martin W. W. Horn of Freiburg in Breisgau, Germany
• Mayor Einar Thorsteinsson of Reykjavik, Iceland
• Mayor Sharon Dijksma of Utrecht, Netherlands

OCEANIA:

• Mayor Anna Reynolds of Hobart, Australia
• Mayor Campbell Barry of Lower Hutt, New Zealand

NORTH AMERICA:

Canada:

• Mayor Amarjeet Sohi of Edmonton, Canada
• Mayor Catherine Fournier of Longueuil, Canada
• Mayor Scott Gillingham of Winnipeg, Canada

The United States:

• Mayor Shammas Malik of Akron, Ohio
• Mayor Suzanne LaFrance of Anchorage, Alaska
• Mayor Lauren Simpson of Arvada, Colorado
• Mayor Roy West of Beaumont, Texas
• Mayor Aaron Brockett of Boulder, Colorado
• Mayor Tiffany O'Donnell of Cedar Rapids, Iowa
• Mayor William Cogswell of Charleston, South Carolina
• Mayor Yemi Mobolade of Colorado Springs, Colorado
• Mayor Mike Johnston of Denver, Colorado
• Mayor Connie Boesen of Des Moines, Iowa
• Mayor Leonardo Williams of Durham, North Carolina
• Mayor Stephanie Terry of Evansville, Indiana
• Mayor Eddie Melton of Gary, Indiana
• Mayor Arunan Arulampalam of Hartford, Connecticut
• Mayor Cyril Jefferson of High Point, North Carolina
• Mayor Victor Trevino of Laredo, Texas
• Mayor Paul Young of Memphis, Tennessee
• Mayor Andrea Davis of Missoula, Montana
• Mayor Scott Wehrli of Naperville, Illinois
• Mayor Freddie O'Connell of Nashville, Tennessee
• Mayor Yadira Ramos-Herbert of New Rochelle, New York
• Mayor Cherelle Parker of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Mayor Cory Mason of Racine, Wisconsin
• Mayor Armondo Pavone of Renton, Washington
• Mayor Lisa Gillmor of Santa Clara, California
• Mayor Bruce Harrell of Seattle, Washington
• Mayor Tom Arceneaux of Shreveport, Louisiana

SOUTH AMERICA:

• Mayor Alejandro Eder of Cali, Colombia
• Mayor Pablo Javkin of Rosario, Argentina

 “The Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative brings together city leaders from across the nation and the world,” said Harvard University Interim President Alan Garber. “They work with one another and draw on resources from throughout the University to address pressing social problems, improving the lives of millions of people. Part of the Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard, the Initiative represents the University’s commitments to advancing rigorous scholarship, to putting cutting-edge research into practice, and to empowering and inspiring leaders to make a difference. I am pleased to join Bloomberg Philanthropies in welcoming our eighth cohort of mayors and senior leaders to the program.”

Notable alumni of the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative include Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr of Freetown, Sierra Leone; Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird of Lincoln, Nebraska; Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles, California; Stephen Benjamin, Senior Advisor and Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement and former President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, African American Mayors Association, and Mayor of Columbia, South Carolina; Mayor Justin Bibb of Cleveland, Ohio; Keisha Lance Bottoms, former Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement and Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia; Mayor Muriel Bowser of the District of Columbia; Mayor Andy Burnham of Greater Manchester, England; U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, former Mayor of South Bend, Indiana; Mayor Kate Gallego of Phoenix, Arizona; Mayor John Giles of Mesa, Arizona; Mayor Todd Gloria of San Diego, California; Mayor Jyoti Gondek of Calgary, Canada; Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis of Cape Town, South Africa; Mayor Marvin Reeves of Bristol, UK; Mayor Stefano Lo Russo of Turin, Italy; Mayor Claudia López of Bogotá, Colombia; Mayor Erin Mendenhall of Salt Lake City, Utah; Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski of Warsaw, Poland; Mayor Juhana Vartiainen of Helsinki, Finland; Mayor Randall Woodfin of Birmingham, Alabama; and Mayor Michelle Wu of Boston, Massachusetts.

About Naperville: Located 28 miles west of Chicago, Naperville, Ill., is home to approximately 150,000 people. This vibrant, thriving city consistently ranks as a top community in the nation in which to live, raise children and retire. The city is home to acclaimed public and parochial schools, the best public library system in the country, an array of healthcare options and an exceptionally low crime rate. Naperville has ready access to a variety of public transportation, housing and employment options. The city’s diversified employer base features high technology firms, retailers and factories, as well as small and home-based businesses. Residents also enjoy world-class parks, diverse worship options, the opportunity to serve on several City boards and commissions, a thriving downtown shopping and dining area, a renowned outdoor history museum known as Naper Settlement and an active civic community. For more information, please visit our website at www.naperville.il.us.