Civic Affairs
Next week, Pensacola once again becomes a classroom for civic leaders. The Civic Leader Summit runs Tuesday, Oct. 6, through Thursday, Oct. 8, bringing together community leaders, innovators, and stakeholders who want to build stronger, more resilient communities.
- This is the second year the Center for Civic Engagement and Strong Towns have partnered on the event. Organizers say the agenda is stocked with people “in the trenches” doing the work right now, and attendees should leave with actionable strategies, practical tools, and new connections.
Who is Speaking?
Keynote and breakout presenters include:
- Quint Studer, author of Building a Vibrant Community: How Citizen-Powered Change Is Reshaping America and founder of the Center for Civic Engagement
- Chuck Marohn, founder and president of Strong Towns
- Valerie Lemmie, senior advisor for state and local government at the Kettering Foundation
- Knox White, mayor of Greenville, South Carolina
- Monte Anderson, President of Options Real Estate Investments
Two Approaches, One Goal
Studer’s pitch is local. He argues that when national news leaves people anxious and unsettled, a vibrant community is both a safe place to land and an incubator for local solutions. He also runs Vibrant Community Partners, which coaches small and mid-size communities on building a blueprint for growth.
“Vibrant communities don’t just happen. They are built strategically and intentionally.”
—Quint Studer
Marohn’s pitch is incremental. A land use planner and civil engineer by training, he built Strong Towns around replacing top-down growth and high-risk investing with small, low-cost actions that strengthen a community’s finances and quality of life.
“The most effective change happens from the bottom up.”
—Chuck Marohn
Civic Leader Summit
- When: Tuesday, Oct. 6, through Thursday, Oct. 8
- Presented by: Center for Civic Engagement and Strong Towns
- Register and see the full agenda: civicleadersummit.com
About the organizers: The Center for Civic Engagement is a Pensacola nonprofit working to make the city a better place to live, grow, work, and invest through smart planning and civic conversations. Strong Towns is a national nonprofit, media organization, and member-powered movement that shifts conversations around North American development patterns.