Kankakee Mayor Chasity Wells-Armstrong has been selected to be part of the 2018 Leaders Lab Mayor Cohort at the National League of Cities University. Mayor Wells-Armstrong is one of only 5 mayors nationwide selected to participate.

The 2018 leadership challenge is Creating an Inclusive Community. NLC University Leaders Lab identifies a yearly topic area of focus based on the current and future needs of cities. The cohort participants spend a year tackling the challenge.

Participants were selected from cities of all sizes who are actively engaged in work around creating inclusive communities. "I am honored to have been selected to participate in this opportunity to interact with peers from across the country. My administration is committed to inclusion and diversity that reflect the demographics of our City, and being part of this cohort will reinforce my efforts to further integrate inclusivity in Kankakee,” said Wells-Armstrong.

The Leaders Lab kicks off February 22, 2018 with a live webinar, followed by a full-day session in March at the NLC Congressional City Conference in Washington DC. Mayor Wells-Armstrong’s conference fees will be paid in full as a result of being selected for the cohort.

Mayor Wells-Armstrong’s cohort coach will be former Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges, who as mayor focused on increasing equity and prosperity across all areas of Minneapolis.

Chris Abbott of NLC University said of the topic of inclusive communities, “Seeing communities through an inclusive lens is not new, but there is a renewed excitement on how to take new or additional steps forward. The NLC University Leaders Lab Cohort program was our next step response to help communities take action and create inclusive communities.”

NLC University Leaders Lab Cohort leverages NLC’s resources to support a select group of city leaders to build their capacity to address local leadership challenges.  The cohort moves from learning in the classroom setting to real-world application and action.