RGS is pleased to announce that Rick Cole will return to help launch our third annual Management Leadership Academy as the featured keynote speaker in Winter 2024! Previous Academy attendees have given accolades for his intro to the Academy and the importance of local government work.
Rick Cole is the Chief Deputy Controller for the City of Los Angeles, where he’s responsible overseeing the accounting, paymaster, payroll and auditing functions of the nation’s second largest city. Citing his “reputation as a wizard of municipal reform,” Governing Magazine honored him one of “America’s Public Officials of the Year.” As a Councilmember and Mayor in his hometown of Pasadena, he spearheaded the city’s award-winning general plan and is credited with a key role in the revitalization of Old Pasadena. As a city manager in Azusa, Ventura and Santa Monica, he immersed himself in the challenges of making cities that work for everyone, focusing on fiscal and environmental sustainability.
Los Angeles Mayor Garcetti recruited him to serve as the first “Deputy Mayor for Budget and Innovation” where he was named one of Government Technology Magazine’s “Top 25 Doers, Dreamers and Drivers.” He also served as the Executive Director for the Congress for the New Urbanism. The LA Times called him “one of Southern California’s most visionary planning thinkers” and the American Society of Public Administration and the Municipal Management Association of Southern California have honored him with awards for management excellence.
He currently teaches Urban Policy and Politics at Occidental College and Pepperdine University and serves as a Planning Commission for his hometown of Pasadena. His Twitter handle is @urbanistcole.
The Los Angeles Times, The Planning Report, and Common Edge are three publications that have highlighted Mr. Cole throughout his career.
We are honored to welcome Rick Cole back as our keynote speaker. Mr. Cole will speak to Management Leadership Academy attendees about the potential of local government, the importance of local government managers, and how they can best respond to the complex challenges facing our communities. To register for our new Management Leadership Academy, visit the Academy registration page.
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