Route Fifty Forms New Advisory Board
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The panel of leading state and local government experts will offer guidance to the publication's editorial team.
Route Fifty announced Monday that it has assembled an esteemed group of state and local officials to serve as an advisory board to the editorial team. Co-chaired by Route Fifty senior advisors and columnists, Katherine Barrett and Richard Greene, the advisory board will offer expertise on key issues and trends at the state and local levels and help raise the visibility of the publication.
"We're delighted to have an opportunity to work with this remarkable group of men and women to help bring Route Fifty into the future. We're particularly pleased that Route Fifty is taking the unusual step of assembling such a group to get direct guidance and counsel,” said Barrett.
Greene added, "Over the course of over thirty years covering state and local government, we've relied on the wisdom of all the Route Fifty board members—either through direct personal contact, or by learning about their accomplishments and observations. We don't think it's an overstatement to think of them as an all-star team."
Board members include former elected officials, current state and local officials and representatives from academia, think tanks and associations. The full list is as follows:
- Ray Baray, Chief of Staff, International City/County Management Association
- RJ Berry, Former Albuquerque, New Mexico Mayor
- Reggie Bicha, Former Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families and Former Director of Colorado Department of Human Services
- Ryan Bingham, Former Torrington, Connecticut Mayor
- Tracy Wareing Evans, President and CEO, American Public Human Services Association
- Janel Forde, Director, Illinois Department of Central Management Services
- Mark Funkhouser, Former Kansas City, Missouri Mayor
- William Glasgall, Senior Vice President, Volcker Alliance
- Saundra Johnson, Director of Statewide Equity Initiatives, Delaware
- Bill Leighty, Former Chief of Staff to Virginia Governors Mark Warner and Tim Kaine
- Martin O'Malley, Former Maryland Governor
- Mike Pagano, Dean of the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois at Chicago and Director, Government Finance Research Center
- Rita Reynolds, Chief Information Officer, National Association of Counties
- Jamie Rodgers, Deputy Director, National Association of State Chief Administrators
- Leslie Scott, Executive Director, National Association of State Personnel Executives
- Alex Smith, Chief Human Resources Officer, City of Memphis
- Keith Squires, Former Commissioner, Utah Department of Public Safety
- Diana Urban, Former Connecticut legislator
- Aldona Valicenti, Commissioner/Chief Information Officer, Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, Kentucky
- Jenny Wong, Auditor, City of Berkeley
The advisory board will convene its first meeting in the next several weeks.
This announcement comes on the heels of a series of recent developments by Government Executive Media Group (GEMG), Route Fifty’s parent company, to expand its state and local portfolio. Late last year, GEMG acquired The Atlas for Cities, a digital platform that provides a community for local government leaders to exchange ideas and best practices. Earlier this year, GEMG acquired City & State New York, which covers politics, policy and personalities influencing New York government, and has already expanded the City and State model into Pennsylvania.
Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly listed Aldona Valicenti as the chief administrative officer of Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government. She is the chief information officer. The article has been updated to correct the error.
Alisha Powell Gillis is the senior editor for Route Fifty.
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