Cal-ICMA scholarship recipients share their ICMA Annual Conference experiences
Joseph Cisneros, Assistant to the City Manager, City of La Palma
I am honored and humbled to have been awarded a Cal-ICMA scholarship and able to attend the 108th ICMA Annual Conference. It was a rewarding experience and great professional opportunity. I was impressed with the talent, ideas, discussions, and innovation. I was very grateful for the warm welcome from ICMA membership, enhancing and helping to navigate my conference experience.
I found the First-Time Attendee Lounge a great way to meet new people and discovery new opportunities at the conference. My favorite keynote had to be Derreck Kayongo, and his message of “Harnessing Your Power to Create Change”. The way he told his story and his vision for the utilization of soap to combat the world’s diseases is incredible. He connected so well with the audience and gave us an opportunity to be a part of his cultural, inspiring us to share his vision.
Not only was this a great educational forum and networking plaza, but an excellent venue and City to explore. I was eager to see what the culture and environment was like in the Buckeye’s hometown. The downtown atmosphere was vibrant, I enjoyed visiting a different venue every day.
Thank you Cal-ICMA for providing this opportunity! I am incredible grateful and fortune to have had this experience. I hope to attend future conferences and continue to learn from other experts and colleagues in the field to grow and enhance my perspectives and development as a public servant.
Members of the ICMA Veterans Advisory Committee at the National Veteran’s Memorial and Museum in Columbus, Ohio
Benjamin M. Effinger, MPA, Operation Chief, Cash Management Division of the County of Los Angeles Treasurer and Tax Collector.
I was truly humbled and honored to attend the ICMA Annual Conference in Columbus, Ohio on scholarship from Cal-ICMA! I was blown away by the opportunity to interact with like-minded public sector processionals from across the country and the world (there was a Ukrainian military member/local government administrator in attendance that I had the chance to speak with)!!! In addition to meeting and networking with public sector professionals, I was able to attend – in person for the first time – the ICMA Veterans Advisory Committee events and festivities – to which I serve on the leadership team of the committee. This experience was amazing, as the ICMA veterans are gaining momentum as an affinity group and are becoming recognized as an integral part of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity conversation within local government.
Actively participating with the ICMA veterans since 2020 has greatly expanded my network within ICMA and has also allowed me opportunities to support ICMA in many endeavors, including the Equity Summit and other professional education webinars – highlighting the value that veterans add to local communities after they are finished serving in our nation’s armed forces. In addition, attending the Annual Conference opened my eyes to the diversity of the local government landscape – attending various sessions related to DEI and how that is front and center in our work as local government administrators. Aside from the outstanding keynote speakers, there were several tracks of learning that took place over the week – which were accessible to the more than 4,000 public servants that had gathered for the conference.
The session that stuck with me the most was entitled, “The Threat to Our Democracy: Our Professional Responsibility.” This session had standing room only and was geared as a roundtable discussion geared towards our professional responsibility regarding upholding and protecting our democracy in our communities. There was a charged question asked during this discussion that brought out some robust discussion. “Is it the role of the manager to promote democracy?” I found this question quite intriguing, as the word promote was not the choice of word that I would have selected. I would have selected protect or preserve as a better word, because promoting democracy is neither the role of the manager or the council in my opinion, because that structure is a representative democracy, and to promote democracy means that the government represents the will of the people, and we have challenges at all levels of government ensuring that our representative democracy is truly representative of the population in which we serve.
Overall, this was an amazing experience that I would have not been able to participate in without the generous scholarship from Cal-ICMA, which encouraged me to continue my professional development and attend conference that left a lasting impact on my local government career. I look forward to continuing to foster the relationships made through the conference experience and support the ICMA veterans as they raise awareness for veterans in local government. This experience would not have been possible without the support from Cal-ICMA. Thank you!!!
Mary Jerejian, Management Analyst , City of South Pasadena
I still remember the day that I received the email from the CAL-ICMA team that I had won the scholarship for the ICMA Annual Conference in Columbus, Ohio. I was humbled, overjoyed, and so exciting to attend with our Deputy City Manager, Domenica Megerdichian whom I also consider a mentor.
Upon my arrival to Columbus on Friday, I was amazed to see a beautiful and diverse City full of life. In addition, the hard work that the ICMA team contributed to welcome attendees was phenomenal. As someone who works on the City of South Pasadena’s branding and communications efforts, I had a deep appreciation for the beautiful signage, welcoming staff, and literature that was distributed.
My first day of courses began with a micro-certification in “Tackling Wicked Problems” Building Capacity for Deliberative Engagement.” Not only was the course insightful, but directly related to so many issues that public servants face on a daily basis when interaction and engaging with our communities. Every time I look at this certification framed in my office, I will remember the crucial role that I could play as a public servant to create fruitful conversations between our team and the community we serve to approach difficult issues effectively.
Throughout the conference, I was pleased to see the numerous courses dedicated to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and establishing community approaches to public safety. Through these sessions that took place throughout the week, I learned very quickly that I want to be a part of these efforts in the City of South Pasadena. In addition, I was excited to take courses regarding sustainability and economic development as these two topics play a vital role in the functions of our City and supporting our business community.
I find it important to also note my sincerest appreciation for all of the leaders and public servants that I met throughout the week who serve internationally. One of the key takeaways after having these conversations with national and international leaders was not only how similar many of our experiences are, but the uniting factor of our purpose to serve. As a new face to the public sector, I truly felt like a sponge absorbing all of the knowledge that generations before myself have. For that, I am eternally grateful.
I would like to conclude by acknowledging City of South Pasadena City Manager, Arminé Chaparyan for allowing me to attend the ICMA conference. It is with her leadership, passion for paying it forward, and mentorship that I had had the opportunities to grow significantly. Again, I would like to thank CAL-ICMA for the honor. This is one of those experiences that I will hold on to for a long time.
Cal-ICMA offers scholarships annually to the ICMA West Coast Regional Conference and Annual Conference. Stay tuned for 2023 scholarship opportunities!