GovLove - A Podcast About Local Government

Joseph Sherlock, Assistant Professor of Behavioral Science and Public Policy at King's College London, joined the podcast to discuss the state of behavioral science in government. He talked about what is behavioral science and examples of how it has been applied in the public sector. Then he shared how the field is evolving and the importance of running experiments in your organization.
Host: Toney Thompson

Two guests from Reno County, Kansas joined the podcast to talk about the process behind unifying rural fire districts. Randy Partington is the County Administrator for Reno County and Adam Weishaar is the Director of Emergency Management for Reno County. They shared the challenges the fire districts were facing that led to the unification such as equipment, training, and staffing issues. Then they discussed the transition toward consolidation and lessons learned and takeaways from their experience.
Host: Lauren Palmer

Alex Lawrence, Chief People Officer for the City of Boston, Massachusetts, rejoined the podcast to talk about organizational change, development, and human resources. She discussed change management and the importance of communication for human resources. She shared how her background in innovation has influenced her career. She also reflected on local government trends from the last 10 years.
Host: Ben Kittelson

Chyanne Eyde, Deputy Chief of School Planning for the Government of the District of Columbia joined the podcast to discuss how not to engage historically marginalized communities in public outreach. She shared difficulties she was having in engagement and how it was negatively impacting her work. She then discussed how the engagement process has evolved and lessons learned in engagement.
Host: Toney Thompson

José Madrigal, City Manager for the City of Durango, Colorado joined the podcast to talk about leadership and changing culture. He discussed his decision to take on the City Manager job and how he decided to leave Texas for Colorado. He shared how he got to know the organization, figured out what to change, and how he has worked to break down silos in the organization and create a unified leadership team.
Host: Ben Kittelson