Ashley Trim (MPP '09) on Civic Engagement as a Vital Leadership Skill | eJournal of Public Affairs

Public Engagement: A Vital Leadership Skill

From the earliest days of the American republic, local communities have been incubators of civic health in the United States.  While national, state and local assessments of civic health show a lack of engagement in political and social activities that were once the foundation of healthy local democracy, these first decades of the 21^st Century have revealed both new challenges for local governments and new tools for engagement. As local leaders revisit the important role of engaged citizens in local programs and policies, the Davenport Institute for Public Engagement and Civic Leadership at Pepperdine’s School of Public Policy offers an example of how of public policy and public administration schools can be uniquely equipped to help with this task by preparing future local government leaders for and training current local government leaders in the vital leadership skill of engaging citizens to address public problems. Read more.