AuthentiCity FM | Real Stories. Bold Ideas. Better Communities.

AuthentiCity FM Episode 36: Legacy, Longevity, and the Lessons You Keep with Scott Neal

Some careers accumulate experience. A few accumulate wisdom. Scott Neal has been a city manager every day of his professional life since June 1st, 1988, and this conversation is a rare window into what nearly four decades in the chair actually looks like, not the polished version, but the honest one. The episode opens with Scott's unlikely origin story, a biblical epiphany in an urban politics class that redirected a 20-year-old economics student toward a profession he would never leave. From Norris, Tennessee to Mount Pleasant, Iowa to the Twin Cities metro, his career arc spans the full range of what local government can be, and he brings that breadth to every question the hosts put to him. The heart of the conversation is mentorship as infrastructure. Scott watched a keynote about gender imbalance in city management and decided that raising awareness was just a polished way of complaining. His response was to build something, a fellowship program that has now placed people in city manager and assistant manager chairs across the Twin Cities. The people who came through his program in their mid-twenties are now in their late thirties and paying it forward themselves. That is what a coaching tree looks like when it actually takes root. The episode doesn't stay in comfortable territory. Scott shares the story of an ICMA ethics censure, told with a candor that is genuinely rare in any professional context. What emerged from that experience wasn't bitterness. It was a reckoning with what it means to build real relationships in a profession that can be extraordinarily lonely, and a commitment to do it differently. His mother's line lands quietly and stays: if you want a friend, you gotta be a friend. The hosts add their own failure stories, and the cumulative effect is something the profession doesn't often make room for. The work is hard, people are meaner than they used to be, and the young professionals coming up behind us give us the best reason to keep going anyway. 00:00 Introduction to Authenticity FM and Guest Scott Neal 02:45 Scott Neal's Journey to City Management 07:32 Advice for Aspiring City Managers 11:15 The Importance of Mentorship in City Management 17:30 Creating a Legacy of Mentorship 21:14 The Challenge of Attracting New Talent 26:13 Reflections on 45 Years in Local Government 31:50 Scott Neal's Personal Life and Interests 37:03 Fun Questions and Closing Thoughts 39:39 Navigating Failures in Public Service 43:10 The Importance of Relationships in Leadership 51:10 Ethics and Accountability in Local Government 55:42 Building a Supportive Network 01:00:42 Pride in Mentorship and Legacy 01:03:01 The Role of Peer Groups in Professional Growth 01:11:42 Optimism for the Future of Local Government

AuthentiCity FM, Episode 35: Visibility, Values, and the Next Generation with Dr. Shannon Portillo

A generation that wants to make a difference is coming of age without a clear map for how to do it. Most of them have never heard of city management as a career. Fewer still understand that local government is where the most direct, tangible impact on people's daily lives actually happens. Dr. Shannon Portillo, Director of ASU's School of Public Affairs, NAPA fellow, and recently recognized Local Gov 250 champion, is dedicated to closing that gap. The episode traces how the pipeline is actually built: fellowship programs, shadowships, and gen ed courses that reach students across disciplines who never planned to think about local government. It explores what's genuinely different about this generation arriving at the profession's doorstep, the eagerness to make change, the instinct to ask why rather than comply, and the friction that surfaces when that energy meets organizations built on institutional knowledge and decades-old rules that mostly still work until suddenly they don't. Dr. Portillo introduces a reframe worth sitting with, the case for moving from a nonpartisan framework to a partisan-inclusive one, and why that distinction matters for the long-term trust and viability of the profession. It's not a comfortable argument, but it’s absolutely worth thinking about. The closing challenge is the one that lingers. When professional management is done really well, no one notices it's there. That invisibility has long been a point of professional pride, and it is quietly costing the profession its next generation. Speaking up about what this work actually is, and why it matters, isn't bragging. It's recruiting. #AuthentiCityFM #LocalGovernment #Leadership #PublicService #ASU 00:00 Introduction to Dr. Shannon Portillo 01:03 Dr. Portillo's Origin Story 04:05 The Transformation of ASU under Dr. Crow 09:04 Bridging Academia and Local Government Practice 11:39 The Evolving Role of Students in Public Service 14:37 Curriculum Changes and Community Partnerships 19:53 Building Strong Connections with Local Governments 23:40 The Importance of Shadowing in Career Development 29:31 Personal Insights and Hobbies of Dr. Portillo 38:13 Celebrating Public Service Champions 39:09 Understanding the National Academy of Public Administration 43:16 The Role of Local Government in Democracy 44:11 Why Choose ASU for Local Government Education 46:36 The Importance of Partisan Inclusivity in Public Service 49:50 Innovation in Local Government Education 51:48 Insights from New Professionals in Local Government 58:29 Navigating Change in Local Government 01:01:32 Preparing Future Public Servants for Diverse Challenges 01:12:00 The Need for Transparency in Local Government Work

AuthentiCity FM, Episode 34: Faithful, Focused, and Fiercely Loyal with Christopher Walton

What does loyalty actually require of you? Not the version that sounds good in a performance review. The version that asks you to disagree fiercely, hold your ground, and then execute faithfully on a decision that wasn't yours. That distinction is at the center of this conversation, and it runs through everything. This episode covers a lot of ground. What resilience looks like when the hard moments don't feel as big as everyone else thinks they should. Why a culture of change is fundamentally different from a culture that reacts to change. How the code of ethics was an easier map in 2002 than it is today, and what it means to navigate the profession when the map has limits. What it means to be nonpartisan without being apolitical, and why those are not the same thing. The question of how to describe this profession in three words opens something worth sitting with. The answers from around the table are honest and unresolved in the right way. One answer lands on nonpartisan professional service. Another argues that distilling it at all is an injustice to local democracy. A third pulls the ICMA code of ethics out of a coat pocket at exactly the right moment and lets it speak for itself. Underneath all of it is a quieter thread about what it means to feel the weight of the work without being crushed by it. About serving faithfully in systems that are imperfect, slow to turn, and still worth turning. The invitation at the end is for everyone. Not just people in the profession. Anyone paying attention to their community and wondering whether their voice belongs in the conversation. 00:00 Introduction to Authenticity FM and Guest Background 01:52 Christopher Walton's Journey and Early Career 08:28 Navigating Local Government and Community Engagement 12:24 The Dynamics of Town and Gown Relationships 16:45 Resilience and Life Lessons 21:15 The Importance of Perspective and Privilege 30:54 Service to Community and Preserving Democracy 37:06 Personal Interests and Hobbies 41:40 Personal Connections and Hobbies 45:09 The Role of Family in Life 45:30 Interview Techniques and Self-Description 48:41 Describing Ourselves: A Personal Reflection 52:53 The Complexity of the Profession 56:49 Navigating Ethical Dilemmas in Public Service 01:03:32 The Legacy of Service and Community Engagement 01:08:15 The Importance of Nonpartisan Professional Service

AuthentiCity FM, Episode 33: Culture, Courage, and the Next Thing with Michael Wilkes

What does it take to stay in the same seat for 27 years and never stop asking what comes next? In this episode, we sit down with Michael Wilkes, the longest-tenured city manager in the history of Olathe, Kansas and the newly appointed President and CEO of the Alliance for Innovation. Michael spent nearly three decades building one of the most recognized local governments in the country, and this conversation covers a lot of the ground that made that possible — and what it actually felt like from the inside. We start with the origin story. A sixth-grade student council seat, a detour through political science, a master's degree that changed everything, and a rejection letter from a county manager in Oregon that opened the door he didn't know he was looking for. Michael traces the path from budget analyst to city manager of a fast-growing Kansas City suburb, the career goal he wrote on his wall, and the moment at 39 when he checked the box. From there the conversation moves into the harder and more interesting territory. What it looked like to lead the same community through explosive growth, the Great Recession, and COVID. Why a culture that treats change as part of who you are is fundamentally different from a culture that reacts to it. How building real relationships with your elected officials is not a soft practice but a strategic one. And why the loudest voices in any community are almost never the whole story. Michael also talks about the transition out of the chair — what he misses, what he had to let go of, and why the Alliance role has been a genuine lifeline. His Bear Bryant story, which carries the whole weight of his leadership philosophy in about ten minutes, is worth the listen on its own. He closes where it all begins. The work itself, and why it matters.  00:00 Introduction to Michael Wilkes 02:09 Michael Wilkes' Journey in Local Government 09:04 Transition to the Alliance for Innovation 12:16 Experiences in Rapidly Growing Communities 17:58 Strategic Planning and Long-Term Vision 21:55 Leadership Lessons from Bear Bryant 28:50 Reflections on a 27-Year Tenure 30:33 Navigating Challenges in Local Government 33:04 Transforming Local Governance: The Impact of Term Lengths 38:11 Building Trust Through Citizen Engagement 44:15 Navigating Social Media Challenges in Local Government 48:55 The Importance of Relationships in City Management 53:57 Innovating Local Government: The Role of the Alliance for Innovation 01:04:32 Transitioning from City Manager to Executive Director 01:06:47 Navigating Retirement and Relationships 01:10:43 The Transition from Leadership to Personal Life 01:13:01 The Courage to Change and Embrace New Opportunities 01:14:27 The Birth of a Podcast: Finding Purpose 01:17:11 Reflections on Guests and Conversations 01:21:55 The Importance of Authenticity in Local Government 01:25:26 Personal Values and Life Beyond Work 01:27:05 Final Thoughts on Service and Impact

AuthentiCity FM, Episode 32: Chutes, Ladders, and the Right Seat with Cori Burbach

What does it mean to be successful in local government? Not the version the profession has been selling for decades, the linear path from small city to bigger city to biggest chair, but the one that actually fits the life you are building and the work you want to do. Cori Burbach has been asking that question out loud, which takes more courage than it sounds. As Assistant City Manager in Dubuque, Iowa, a local government management fellow turned sustainability director turned ACM, and a first year ICMA board member, she joins us this episode to talk about what happens when the ladder stops being the point and what you find when you stop climbing long enough to ask what you actually need right now. The conversation moves through the mentorship relationships that shaped her, what it looks like to mentor others without becoming the person with all the answers, and why the peer who frustrated her most early in her career turned out to be teaching her the most important thing. We get into what Dubuque's size and geography make possible, the cross-border thinking her sustainability work demanded, and what the ICMA board experience looks like from inside the first year when you are still figuring out what you signed up for. The conversation also goes broader. Who isn't at the table in this profession yet, and what would it actually take to change that? What the pipeline conversation looks like when you strip away the campaigns with nifty names and say the obvious thing out loud. And what it means to build a support network of people who understand the work in a moment when the work is harder than it has been in a long time. Cori closes with something quiet and generous. She hopes something in the conversation helps someone find the next right thing. 03:08 The Fellowship Experience and Career Development 05:55 Navigating Gender Dynamics in Leadership 08:53 The Importance of Mentorship in Local Government 11:46 Community Dynamics and the Role of Local Government 14:54 ICMA Board Experience and Professional Growth 17:47 International Perspectives on Local Governance 20:38 The Value of Smaller Communities in Public Service 23:35 Reflections on Career Paths and Success in City Management 46:04 The Value of the Second Chair 49:59 Finding Fulfillment in Career Choices 51:50 The Joy of Food and Community 56:47 Travel Tales: The Journey to DC 01:11:11 Diverse Perspectives in Public Service