October 16, 2024, Mexico City, Mexico—At CityLab 2024, Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker emphasized the importance of her 100-day action plan to fulfill her promise to create a safer, cleaner, and greener Philadelphia. Mayor Parker credited the Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard’s Program for New Mayors: First 100 Days for teaching the approach to creating an effective action plan.

“They inspired me to get this done,” she said, holding up a copy of the plan while underscoring how the program shaped her leadership.

Her plan, underpinned by her commitment to a unified city, introduced a public safety framework that includes reducing homicides to a historic low, halving retail and car theft, and increasing the police force’s rate of closing homicide cases, among other goals.

Mayor Parker joins other Program for New Mayors alumni who have launched 100-day plans successfully. Mayor Rex Richardson of Long Beach, California was originally inspired to develop his “Opportunity Beach Agenda” through his participation in the program. The plan, developed with input from more than 100 youth and community leaders, focuses on expanding opportunities for all Long Beach residents.

Evansville, Indiana Mayor Stephanie Terry reported on her “100 Day Roadmap” in April at her 100-days-in-office anniversary highlighting key accomplishments in youth engagement, neighborhood improvement, and public safety. After participating in the Program for New Mayors, Mayor Terry designed the plan to ensure that her administration and team laid the foundation for success.

“We did what we said we would do,” she said. “We were intentional and really charting out a plan—number one that was realistic, but also showed people that we were serious about the work that we had set out before us.”

The Program for New Mayors: First 100 Days is a collaboration of the Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard University, the Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School, and the US Conference of Mayors. It convenes recently elected mayors, alongside Harvard faculty and other experts, for leadership training anchored on two key themes: Becoming Mayor and Building the Team and Coalitions.

Kimberlyn Leary, a Harvard professor and Senior Fellow at the Bloomberg Center for Cities who co-chairs the program, explained how new mayors can plan and lead effectively as they start their public service.

“The purpose of your first one hundred days should be to lay the foundation for your next one hundred days,” she said. “One hundred days can be a good reminder that people are expecting something of you. They want you to deliver. And that’s important, I think, for all public leaders to remember and keep front of mind.”