Speakers

Jake Spano is serving his second term after first being elected mayor in 2016. Prior to his time as mayor, he served a four-year term as an at-large council member. He is currently a faculty member teaching executive leadership in graduate studies at Metropolitan State University in St. Paul. Before that, he served as deputy secretary of state for the State of Minnesota, and was in senior leadership roles for St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman and U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar.

Mayor Spano serves on the Southwest Light Rail Transit Corridor Management Committee and the executive committees for the Regional Council of Mayors and the Center for Transportation Studies at the University of Minnesota. In 2021, he was re-elected to a second two-year term serving on the National League of Cities (NLC) Board of Directors, and is also co-chair of the NLC Race, Equity and Leadership (REAL) council. He is a member of the U.S. Conference of Mayors and a co-founder of Minnesota Mayors Together, working with mayors around the state to bridge urban and rural interests and relationships.

Prior to his public service, Mayor Spano worked as a project manager and account executive in the architecture, design and construction industry. He received his bachelor of arts degree from Hamline University and his master’s degree from the University of Minnesota-Duluth.

His wife, Cate McDonald, is a teacher in the St. Louis Park Public Schools, where both of their children have attended. He and his family were adopted by a beagle mix named Derby and so far, the dog is winning at everything.

Clarence E. Anthony is CEO and Executive Director of the National League of Cities (NLC), the largest and oldest organization representing America’s cities, towns and villages and their leaders. Under his leadership, NLC delivered billions of dollars in direct, flexible federal relief through the CARES Act and historic American Rescue Plan Act to help support local governments respond, recover and rebuild from the COVID-19 pandemic. During his leadership, NLC also ushered passage of the Infrastructure Invest and Jobs Act, delivering transformative investments in transportation, broadband and water to communities across the country. Today, NLC continues to advance policies that strengthen local leadership and provides support for local leaders to promote equitable public health and safety, economic development and sustainability for all residents.

Mr. Anthony is a member of the Council on Underserved Communities, appointed by U.S. Small Business Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman and tasked along with his fellow committee members with developing supportive policy recommendations for underserved small business owners. He also serves on the Advisory Board for the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) Urban Forum and is a member of the Board of Destination DC. In 2020, Mr. Anthony received the National Forum for Black Public Administrators (NFBPA) Marks of Excellence Award.

Most recently, Mr. Anthony has focused his efforts on helping local leaders combat the rising tide of partisanship at the local level. He authored a report in 2021 titled, “On the Frontlines of Today’s Cities: Trauma, Challenges, and Solutions,” which focused on the decline of civility and democratic institutions at the local level.

Mr. Anthony began his career in public service as the Mayor of South Bay, FL, for 24 years. He is known as a creative and thoughtful leader in his community. He is considered an expert in citizen engagement and techniques that build a sense of community within cities.

Mr. Anthony has been at the forefront of politics in the United States and internationally for the past 20 years, culminating with productive presidencies of the Florida League of Cities and the National League of Cities (NLC), respectively.

Mr. Anthony also served as First Vice President of International Union of Local Authorities and as Founding Treasurer of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), the international voice for local governments, for four years. Most recently, he served as the Interim Manager for UCLG.

Prior to his appointment as CEO and Executive Director of NLC, Mr. Anthony served as President of Anthony Government Solutions, a consulting firm focused on providing solutions to government and private sector organizations on issues affecting the community, strategic visioning, policy development, business development and management restructuring.

He holds a master’s degree in public administration with a specialization in City Growth Management policy from Florida Atlantic University.

Deb Calvert was elected to the Minnetonka City Council in 2017. She fills one of two At Large seats that represent the entire city.

Prior to her election, Deb was appointed to the Minnetonka Planning Commission in 2014, where she served as vice chair in 2017. Other public service includes more than three years as a legislative liaison on the Hopkins School District Legislative Action Coalition, and more than four years as staff in the office of U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar.

Deb received an undergraduate degree in Music History from the University of California-Santa Barbara, where she also pursued graduate studies. Prior to moving to Minnetonka in 2003, she co-founded a non-profit – which still thrives today – to provide music enrichment to her under-served community. She served on the board of the Suzuki Association of Minnesota (a music teachers’ organization), becoming president in 2006.

She now serves on the National League of Cities Energy Environment and Natural Resources Committee, the League of Minnesota Cities Improving Service Delivery Committee, and the Metro Cities Metro Agencies Committee and is a Southwest Cable Commissioner. She is also the Council Liaison to the Minnetonka Family Collaborative and is involved in several non-profits. She currently works at the City of Saint Paul in the Office of Financial Services. Deb and her husband, Valdo, have two grown children, Rachel and Ben.

Since 1998, Christopher Constant has resid​ed in the downtown Anchorage district. Professionally, Christopher is a licensed real estate agent as well as a Grants and Contracts Director for a statewide nonprofit substance abuse and behavioral health treatment provider. During his past involvement with the​ Fairview Community Council, to include serving twice as President, Christopher led an effort to improve public safety in his neighborhood. He achieved great success which was the catalyst that led him to consider serving as an Assembly Member. Christopher is a strong supporter for improving key infrastructure, strong schools and advocating for intensive services needed by Anchorage's homeless population. Perseverance is a quality that he admires most as can be seen by his favorite quote from The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho, “The secret of life, though, is to fall ​seven times and to get up eight times."

Casey Osterkamp is the Director of the Division of Personnel for the State of Missouri. In this role, she is focused on improving how the State recruits, develops and rewards talent to better serve the citizens of Missouri. Prior to joining the State, she served as the Director of the Assessment Resource Center for the University of Missouri’s College of Education. Casey started her professional career as a Surface Warfare Officer in the U.S. Navy and has also worked in management roles for the Chicago Public Schools and IBM. Casey earned her Bachelor of Science in Political Science and Communication from Northwestern University, her Master of Public Policy from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and her Master of Education Policy and Leadership from the University of Missouri. Casey, her husband Beau, and three year old son Jesse live in Jefferson City, Mo.

Kevin Workman is the State Personnel Director, serving since August 2020. He has been with the State for over three years, previously working as the Deputy Director for State Personnel and Director of Talent Acquisition for DAS and as the Human Resources Director for the Nebraska State Patrol.

He is an ordained minister and spent 15 years in vocational ministry prior to his HR career. Kevin and his wife enjoy the outdoors and spending time with their awesome children and grandchildren. Kevin is a graduate of Calvary University with a Bachelor of Arts degree.

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Kate Griesemer serves as Director of Programs and Impact with the Millennial Action Project (MAP), a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization based in Washington, DC. MAP works to activate young state legislators across the country to bridge the partisan divide by supporting Future Caucuses, Advisory Councils, and other initiatives on a range of policy issues that resonate with young lawmakers and their constituents. In her role, Kate is involved in strategic planning across the organization as well as direct engagement with policymakers. Prior to joining MAP, she spent five years with the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, where she developed and scaled outreach initiatives to engage state and local officials and journalists on foreign policy issues with domestic implications. She received her B.A. in political science and international studies from Seattle University.

Dr. Franzel is the Managing Director of MissionSquare Research Institute, formerly the Center for State and Local Government Excellence at ICMA-RC (SLGE), having served in other positions with SLGE since 2007. In this role, he oversees all aspects of the Institutes’ research and outreach, stakeholder engagement, and operations. He also serves as research project director, subject matter and research methods expert, and principal investigator, while representing the Institute at practitioner and academic events and to the trade and mainstream media.

Previously he was director of policy research for the International City/County Management Association (ICMA). Prior to his time with SLGE and ICMA, he served as a Presidential Management Fellow with The International Trade Administration and The White House Office of Management and Budget, and worked for both the Delaware and Florida Legislatures.

His publications and research have focused on state and local government retirement plans, financial wellness, public workforce demographics, health care financing, public health, public finance, infrastructure, and government innovation. Franzel has taught graduate level courses on state and local government and urban policy at American University in Washington, DC. He holds a Ph.D. in Public Administration (& Policy) from American University. For an abbreviated roster of his publications and research, visit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/franzel

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Bill Lucia is the Executive Editor for Government Executive’s Route Fifty. He previously served as a Senior Editor for Route Fifty. Prior to that, Bill covered Seattle city government for Crosscut.com and holds a master’s in public administration from the University of Washington’s Evans School of Public Affairs.

Katherine Barrett, a principal at Barrett and Greene Inc., has done much-praised analysis, research and writing about state and local governments for decades. 

She is a columnist, senior advisor and co-chair of the advisory board for Route Fifty, a special project consultant for the Volcker Alliance, a columnist and advisor for the Government Finance Officers Association, a visiting fellow at the IBM Center for the Business of Government, a senior advisor at the Government Finance Research Center at the University of Illinois in Chicago and a fellow in the National Academy of Public Administration. Her website is GREENEBARRETT.COM.

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Richard Greene, a principal at Barrett and Greene Inc., has done much-praised analysis, research and writing about state and local governments for decades. 

He is a columnist, senior advisor and co-chair of the advisory board for Route Fifty, a special project consultant for the Volcker Alliance, a columnist and advisor for the Government Finance Officers Association, a visiting fellow at the IBM Center for the Business of Government, a senior advisor at the Government Finance Research Center at the University of Illinois in Chicago and a fellow in the National Academy of Public Administration.

Greene has also been named chair of The Center for Accountability and Performance at the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA).

His website is GREENEBARRETT.COM.

Alisha Powell Gillis is the senior editor at Route Fifty where she is responsible for programming live and online events content, moderating panel discussions, soliciting, editing and writing analytical pieces and overseeing the annual Navigator Awards program. Before joining Route Fifty, Alisha was the director for community impact at the Urban Libraries Council (ULC) where she worked to connect urban public libraries to critical issues in state and local government and led event programming. Prior to ULC, Alisha served the nation's governors for nearly a decade at the National Governors Association where she specialized in homeland security, emergency management and cybersecurity issues. Alisha holds a master's degree in global security studies from Johns Hopkins University and a bachelor's degree in political science from Hofstra University.

Byron Decoteau Jr. currently serves as the Director of the Louisiana Department of State Civil Service.  As director, he is responsible for administering a comprehensive merit-based personnel management program that is founded upon the principles of equal pay for equal work, equal opportunity, ability based employment and promotion, and freedom from political influence.  Prior to his tenure at State Civil Service, Byron began his career in state government human resources with the Department of Public Safety and Corrections – Corrections Services.  During his ten years with Corrections, he served in various HR roles before ultimately assuming the role as HR Director.  In 2010, he joined the Department of State Civil Service as the HR Administrator over the MIS Division.  He subsequently served as the head of the Compensation Division and State Civil Service Deputy Director before his appointment in December of 2015 to Director. 

Byron holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Southeastern Louisiana and a Master’s of Science in Human Resource Education from Louisiana State University. He currently maintains a Professional in Human Resources Certification from the HR Certification Institute and SHRM Certified Professional designation from the Society of Human Resources Management.  He is a member of various professional HR organizations and currently serves as the Past-President of the National Association of State Personnel Executives.    

Alisha Powell Gillis is the senior editor at Route Fifty where she is responsible for programming live and online events content, moderating panel discussions, soliciting, editing and writing analytical pieces and overseeing the annual Navigator Awards program. Before joining Route Fifty, Alisha was the director for community impact at the Urban Libraries Council (ULC) where she worked to connect urban public libraries to critical issues in state and local government and led event programming. Prior to ULC, Alisha served the nation's governors for nearly a decade at the National Governors Association where she specialized in homeland security, emergency management and cybersecurity issues. Alisha holds a master's degree in global security studies from Johns Hopkins University and a bachelor's degree in political science from Hofstra University.

Dr. Tim Rahschulte is the EVP GovExec and Co-Founder of the Professional Development Academy. Previously he was the chief learning officer of Evanta, a Gartner Company and before that principal executive and chief learning officer for state agencies in Oregon.