Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard University’s Program for New Mayors Class of 2024
As new mayors prepare to take the reins in city halls across the country, Mayor Brandon Johnson was among the 29 newly-elected U.S. mayors selected to participate in the Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard University’s Program for New Mayors: First 100 Days, delivered in collaboration with Bloomberg Philanthropies, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, and the Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School.
Mayors received world-class training from Harvard faculty, urban innovation and management experts, and other mayors on how to set strategic citywide priorities, build effective city hall organizations, and deliver for residents.
As cities find themselves on the frontlines of addressing increasingly global challenges, the Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard’s Program for New Mayors is designed to help new mayors make the most of their roles. Through the program, mayors gain strategic insights for strengthening critical leadership and management skills, leading teams to work across departments and sectors, and building out their city hall organizations in their first days and months in office.
To kick off participation, the newly-elected U.S. mayors convened for a two-day immersive classroom experience at Harvard University. In addition to the core coursework and connection with peers, the Program for New Mayors provides opportunities for new mayors to share strategies with other mayors through the Bloomberg Center for Cities’ vast mayoral leadership network, and learn about interventions that are already working effectively to better resident lives in other cities.
Notable Program for New Mayors alumni include Anaheim, California Mayor Ashleigh Aitken; Columbia, Missouri Mayor Barbara Buffaloe; Long Beach, California Mayor Rex Richardson; Louisville, Kentucky Mayor Craig Greenberg; Newport News, Virginia Mayor Phillip Jones; Oakland, California Mayor Sheng Thao; and Providence, Rhode Island Mayor Brett Smiley. Alumni have deployed the program’s learnings to lead their communities through unexpected crises, establish working coalitions with diverse stakeholders, and set ambitious goals to meet complex challenges — from tackling homelessness and housing access to improving community safety and aging city infrastructure — in order to better serve residents’ needs.
The Program for New Mayors is housed at the Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard University, home to a fast-growing global community committed to improving public management, leadership, and governance. Founded in 2021 with Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Center is part of Michael R. Bloomberg’s commitment to the University to help bolster the capabilities of mayors and their teams. The Center’s cross-Harvard collaboration unites expertise focused on cities across disciplines and schools to produce research, train leaders, and develop resources for global use. The Center is designed to have widespread impact on the future of cities, where more than half of the world’s people now live, by informing and inspiring local government leaders, scholars, students, and others who work to improve the lives of residents around the world.
The Program for New Mayors builds on the longstanding tradition of a seminar for new mayors that originated at the Institute of Politics in 1975.
