PRESIDENT’S CORNER, WINTER

February 1, 2022

By Steve Mokrohisky, County Administrator, Lane County, Oregon

As professional leaders in county government, we are committed to providing and expanding valuable content for our members, peers and colleagues. Over the past year, NACA has worked to expand opportunities for county leaders to connect and learn from one another, especially through the challenges presented by the global pandemic. Going forward, we will expand on the knowledge and understanding of how, why and where counties are leading. We saw this over the past year through COVID and a myriad of natural disasters across the country. Counties are stepping up and leading in ways that are not always understood or recognized, and we want to make sure this is brought to the forefront of our local, state and national dialogue.

We are continuing to build and grow several partnerships. I am particularly excited about our new partnership with the Centre for Public Impact, including a cohort of five diverse counties across the United States to foster cultures of innovation in local government through empowerment, risk taking and continuous learning. This initiative will not only provide value for the cohort participants, but will help all of our organizations and communities by sharing what was learned in future conference sessions, webinars and reports.

We are also focused on supporting more women and people of color in leadership positions in county government, as well as building on our robust partnerships with ICMA, NACo, LGHN, and AFI, and hope to build further engagement with NFBPA and other professional associations committed to high quality service in local government. At our core, NACA exists to provide our members with learning and networking opportunities that meet the ever changing needs of our profession, our organizations and our communities.

Thank you for the honor and privilege to serve as the NACA President, and I look forward to seeing many of you in person at the NACo and ICMA conferences.

Steve Mokrohisky, NACA President

County Administrator, Lane County, Oregon