Alex Wang Scholarship Blog: 2024 ICMA Annual Conference Recap
I’m incredibly grateful to earn Cal-ICMA’s support to attend this year’s International City/County Management Association (ICMA) Annual Conference in Pittsburgh, PA. This was my first time at any ICMA event, so I relished the opportunity to delve into the world of local government and meet leaders in the space.
Perhaps the obvious benefit of a conference at ICMA’s scale is all the education sessions. I particularly enjoyed one called "Your ENTIRE City is on FIRE! What Do You Do Next? What Should You Have Done Yesterday?". This was a fascinating postmortem on the Marshall Fire in Colorado, a wildfire that burned over 1000 structures in just three days. I learned how public policy choices - like using wood preserver-soaked utility poles, lacking redundant telecom infrastructure, allowing plastic pipes in homes, and not trimming trees - can cause serious consequences when a wildfire strikes. Policy does have real-world results!
Another interesting session was about the logistics of forced local government council mergers in New South Wales, Australia. Before that session, I had never thought too deeply about Australian local government. But this event was a fascinating rabbit hole that showed how complex and political a deceivingly simple government merger can be, as well as how different Australian and American local government structures are, similar as the two countries may seem.
The part I’ve always enjoyed the most about attending conferences (city management or not), however, is meeting new people. As a current undergraduate student, I’m still figuring out where I’d like my career to take me after I graduate. Simply talking to people at conferences has helped me find focus about my career path. The ICMA conference was no exception to this trend, and I’m grateful to have learned about so many leaders’ journeys in local government. I’m especially glad I found out about I-NAPA, the International Network of Asian Public Administrators. I was thoroughly impressed by the passion I saw at I-NAPA events - for the I-NAPA organization, local government, and representation in that space. Because of this, I’m certainly looking forward to staying involved in that organization.
Finally, though I wasn’t there to buy anything, it was great to explore the conference exhibit hall. I was heartened to see global trends such as artificial intelligence and vehicle electrification making their way to local government services, helping cities and counties deliver better results for their citizens. And outside of the conference, I enjoyed having some time to explore Pittsburgh. I’m passionate about transportation, so I had to save some time to ride Pittsburgh two unique funicular railways. The view at the top – much like the ICMA conference as a whole – was fantastic!
Author:
Alex Wang is currently a Student at the University of Southern California.
Alex is currently pursuing a bachelor's degree in Industrial & Systems Engineering and a Master of Public Policy with an interest in Public Transportation Policy.