Yearlong program will provide this year’s class of 39 mayors and 78 senior city leaders with management training to strengthen their city halls and deliver results for residents.

Mayors hail from 27 U.S. and 12 international cities across 11 countries and five continents.

New York, NY (July 15, 2024) – The Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative today announced the eighth class of mayors and senior municipal leaders from their cities who will participate in its yearlong professional management training program. The 2024 class includes 39 mayors and 78 senior leaders from 11 countries across five continents. Established by Bloomberg Philanthropies, Harvard Kennedy School, and Harvard Business School as a first-of-its-kind program to help close the gap in executive development for the public sector, the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative equips mayors and senior city leaders with the tools and expertise to expand their problem-solving capacity, strengthen their city halls, and improve outcomes for residents as cities confront increasingly global challenges. With today’s announcement, the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative will have provided training to 315 mayors and over 540 senior city leaders across 34 countries and six continents since its launch in 2017.

“As national governments increasingly rely on cities to help them achieve their goals, there has never been a greater need for investment in the capacity of mayors and local leaders to do big things,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg Philanthropies and Bloomberg L.P. and 108th mayor of New York City. “Our Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative is designed to help mayors become more effective managers, build strong teams, and learn from the successes of other cities. This diverse class of leaders come from 11 countries, and we’re looking forward to helping them deliver results for the millions of residents they serve.”

A program of the Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard University, the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative brings together Harvard faculty, staff, and students, alongside experts from Bloomberg Philanthropies’ global network, to work with the mayors and their senior officials over the course of one year. Through a combination of intensive classroom, virtual, and field-based learnings and offerings, the Initiative helps these leaders bolster their teams’ use of data and evidence, drive collaboration and innovation across sectors, and deliver impact for communities. In addition to the core coursework and convenings with peers, each city is able to access additional offerings, including executive education programs for their economic development, civic engagement, human resources, negotiation, and procurement leads; opportunities to host a Bloomberg Harvard City Hall Fellow for up to two years; and instructional research and materials to help city leaders improve key organizational practices.

“The Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative brings together city leaders from across the nation and the world. They work with one another and draw on resources from throughout the University to address pressing social problems, improving the lives of millions of people,” said Harvard University Interim President Alan Garber. “Part of the Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard, the Initiative represents the University’s commitments to advancing rigorous scholarship, to putting cutting-edge research into practice, and to empowering and inspiring leaders to make a difference. I am pleased to join Bloomberg Philanthropies in welcoming our eighth cohort of mayors and senior leaders to the program.”

To kick off their participation, the 39 mayors joined Harvard faculty and renowned management leaders in New York City for a four-day immersive classroom experience. Two senior leaders from each of the 39 cities will begin their participation in the program in August.

Highlights of the Initiative’s new eighth class of mayors include:

• The mayors come from five continents including Africa (1), Europe (4), Oceania (2), North America (30), and South America (2)
• The mayors hail from 11 countries including Australia (1), Canada (3), Colombia (1), Germany (1), Iceland (1), Italy (1), the Netherlands (1), New Zealand (1), and the U.S. (27), and the first-ever Initiative mayors from Argentina (1) and Kenya (1)
• 69% (27) are from the United States and 31% (12) are from international cities
• 49% (19) are from cities with less than 200,000 people, 38% of the mayors (15) are from cities with populations between 200,000 and 1 million people, and 13% of the mayors (5) are from cities with populations over 1 million people

Notable alumni of the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative include Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr of Freetown, Sierra Leone; Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird of Lincoln, Nebraska; Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles, California; Stephen Benjamin, Senior Advisor and Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement and former President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, African American Mayors Association, and Mayor of Columbia, South Carolina; Mayor Justin Bibb of Cleveland, Ohio; Keisha Lance Bottoms, former Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement and Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia; Mayor Muriel Bowser of the District of Columbia; Mayor Andy Burnham of Greater Manchester, England; U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, former Mayor of South Bend, Indiana; Mayor Kate Gallego of Phoenix, Arizona; Mayor John Giles of Mesa, Arizona; Mayor Todd Gloria of San Diego, California; Mayor Jyoti Gondek of Calgary, Canada; Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis of Cape Town, South Africa; Mayor Marvin Reeves of Bristol, UK; Mayor Stefano Lo Russo of Turin, Italy; Mayor Claudia López of Bogotá, Colombia; Mayor Erin Mendenhall of Salt Lake City, Utah; Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski of Warsaw, Poland; Mayor Juhana Vartiainen of Helsinki, Finland; Mayor Randall Woodfin of Birmingham, Alabama; and Mayor Michelle Wu of Boston, Massachusetts.

“The progress we’ve been able to achieve during my first eighteen months as mayor was possible, thanks in large part, to the support and strategic insights I’ve received from the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative,” said Mayor Rex Richardson of Long Beach, California. “From challenging me to execute a comprehensive ‘First 100 Days’ in office plan, to equipping our senior city leadership with new tools to address complex local challenges like accelerating our climate action efforts, this program has strengthened Long Beach’s capacity for meaningful and creative problem-solving that improves community outputs and our residents’ lives.”

“City leadership involves challenges and responsibilities not found in any other layer of government,” said Councillor Susan Aitken of Glasgow, United Kingdom. “The investment and support in city government skills and knowledge that the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative provides is unique and critical—and our participation will continue to benefit Glasgow’s citizens for years to come.”

“The Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative has significantly enabled me to enhance our abilities as a city—including bolstering how we use data to improve government services and delivery,” said Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis of Cape Town, South Africa. “The program has empowered our city hall to better identify and respond to the needs of our most vulnerable communities, fostering open communication and ensuring prompt action. These efforts have already been felt by our residents and will undoubtedly continue to shape and impact the future of Cape Town—for the better.”

“The Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative represents an unwavering commitment not just to mayors’ professional growth, but also to the future success of our cities,” said Mayor Barbara Buffaloe of Columbia, Missouri. “Our team has focused on improving the use of data and evidence to set policy and priorities – for example, in addressing racial disparities in traffic stops. The yearlong experience has unlocked numerous opportunities for us, empowering us to make decisions today that will shape the lives of our residents in ways that ensure our communities thrive.”

“No program has the power to transform a leader like the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative,” said Mayor Luis Colosio of Monterrey, Mexico. “This experience has made me truly grasp the importance of leadership roles at a local level in the global setting, and I now have allies from around the world to help me in this journey to take on Monterrey’s biggest challenges.”

“The Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative has helped me learn from some of the finest throughout the country,” said Mayor Jim Ross of Arlington, Texas. “I’ve gained new leadership and management tools, connections to mayors from around the world, and yearlong support to innovate in tackling city challenges. I recommend the program to all mayors who want to accelerate their leadership and benefit their cities.”

In April 2023, Bloomberg Philanthropies and Harvard University announced an expansion of the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative with the launch of three new executive education programs to reach even more leaders—including those who direct human resources, civic engagement, procurement, and economic development efforts—from cities whose mayors participate in the flagship program. Since 2022 and following news of the expansion, these programs have reached 416 senior leaders from 94 cities and 11 countries around the world.

Welcome to BHCLI, Cohort 8!

As an alumni mayor, I continue to draw on lessons learned over an amazing year of study. I still refer to cases and use frameworks from this program as I lead in Allentown.

Lean in on everything! @BloombergDotOrg @CenterforCities @harvard #BH6 https://t.co/BlnK0AQJ3P

— Mayor Matt Tuerk (@matthewtuerk) July 15, 2024

About Bloomberg Philanthropies

Bloomberg Philanthropies invests in 700 cities and 150 countries around the world to ensure better, longer lives for the greatest number of people. The organization focuses on creating lasting change in five key areas: the Arts, Education, Environment, Government Innovation, and Public Health. Bloomberg Philanthropies encompasses all of Michael R. Bloomberg’s giving, including his foundation, corporate, and personal philanthropy as well as Bloomberg Associates, a philanthropic consultancy that advises cities around the world. In 2023, Bloomberg Philanthropies distributed $3 billion. For more information, please visit bloomberg.org, sign up for our newsletter, or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

About The Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative

The Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative–a program of the Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard University–is a collaboration between Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard Business School, and Bloomberg Philanthropies to equip mayors and senior city officials to tackle complex challenges in their cities and improve the quality of life of their residents. The Initiative has also advanced research and developed new curriculum and teaching tools to help city leaders solve real-world problems. For more information, please visit the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative or visit us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

About The Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard University

Founded in 2021 with Bloomberg Philanthropies, the Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard University serves a global community committed to improving public management, leadership, and governance. 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 practical 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. For more information, please visit cities.harvard.edu or follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Media Contact

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Maria Daniels, maria_daniels@harvard.edu