#718 State of Behavioral Science in Government with Joseph Sherlock, King's College London
GovLove - A Podcast About Local Government
Release Date: 03/06/2026
#750 Redevelopment and the Economics of Place with Aaron Marcavitch, Enfield, CT
GovLove - A Podcast About Local Government
Aaron Marcavitch, Director of Economic and Community Development for the Town of Enfield, Connecticut joined the podcast to talk about redevelopment. He shared the importance of redevelopment and the role of historic preservation. He also discussed how to shift the perception of a community. Host:
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#749 Enhancing Customer Service in Development Services with Jeff Marino, Champaign, IL
GovLove - A Podcast About Local Government
Jeff Marino, Planning Manager at the City of Champaign, Illinois joined the podcast to discuss how the City worked to improve customer service in the building permit and development approval process. The City underwent a Development Services Audit which won an from the Illinois Chapter of the American Planning Association (APA) and allowed them to implement best practices alongside a new software system. He discussed the purpose of the audit, the importance of coordinating all reviews, and benefits of customer engagement. This episode was recorded at the American Planning Association –...
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#748 Prioritizing Customer Experience in Local Government with Sabrina Abdulla, Sugar Land, TX
GovLove - A Podcast About Local Government
Sabrina Abdulla, Director of Customer Experience for the City of Sugar Land, Texas joined the podcast to discuss customer service in local government. She talked about how the prioritizes customer experience through their 311 call center, resident surveys, and communication. He also discussed her career path and the transition from operations work to policy and strategy work. Host:
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#747 Parks and Rec to City Management, Jennifer Wills, Longview, WA
GovLove - A Podcast About Local Government
Jennifer Wills, City Manager for the City of Longview, Washington joined the podcast to discuss her career path and transition from the Parks and Recreation Department to City Manager. She talked about the transition from peer to leader and how her background and leadership style have informed her approach to city management. She shared how she's using leadership training and community engagement to breakdown silos in the organization. She also talked about economic development and responding to a disaster. Host:
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#746 Trends Impacting Local Government - Polarization, Workforce, Community Engagement, and AI
GovLove - A Podcast About Local Government
To recognize 10 years of GovLove co-host Ben Kittelson started a retrospective project. He went back through the archives and picked 10 of our favorite guests to interview again as part of the anniversary. These guests are from all over the country and in various local government roles but the thing they have in common is they gave great insight into the profession and into the work of local government. As part of those conversations we asked them to reflect on the last 10 years of local government, the trends and challenges that have impacted the way that organizations do their work and...
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#745 Rodeos and Interim Leadership Roles with Cassie Johnson, Scottsdale, AZ
GovLove - A Podcast About Local Government
Cassie Johnson, Interim General Manager of WestWorld for the City of Scottsdale, Arizona joined the podcast to discuss her transition from the Police Department to the City's equestrian event center. She talked about wanting to take on interim assignments to build her leadership skills and how her management and professional skillset from the Police Department transferred to her new role. She also talked about the operations of WestWorld as a special event venue with events as varied as rodeos and horse shows to camps and concerts. Host:
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#744 Infrastructure, Emergency Management, and ELGL Conference Preview with Chase Bruton, Yorktown, IN
GovLove - A Podcast About Local Government
Chase Bruton, Town Manager for the Town of Yorktown, Indiana joined the podcast to discuss emergency management and preview the upcoming . He shared how the town responded to recent flooding, upcoming infrastructure projects, and exciting things to do in Indianapolis during the ELGL conference. Host:
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#743 Traffic Safety and State-Local Partnerships with Jay Lockaby, Connecticut Department of Transportation
GovLove - A Podcast About Local Government
Jay Lockaby is a Transportation Supervising Engineer in the Traffic Signals Unit within the Connecticut Department of Transportation Division of Traffic Engineering. He joined the podcast to talk about what the work of traffic engineering involves and his work across the State partnering with local communities to manage traffic. He shared how he has worked with communities to support vision zero or pedestrian initiatives and deploying new connected vehicle technology. He also discussed roundabouts, including the safety benefits and the communications and engagement challenge those projects can...
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#742 Transition to City Manager and into Local Government with Casey Lucius, Marco Island, FL
GovLove - A Podcast About Local Government
Casey Lucius, City Manager for the City of Marco Island, Florida joined the podcast to discuss her transition into the City Manager role and into local government. She talked about her career path which has included time as a Naval Intelligence Officer and in the State Department as well as serving as a City Council Member. She discussed her transition from being Assistant City Manager to the City Manager, changes she is implementing as City Manager, and the City's upcoming bond election. Host:
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#741 Leading With Empathy with Melissa Murphy Rodrigues, North Andover, MA
GovLove - A Podcast About Local Government
Melissa Murphy Rodrigues, Town Manager at the Town of North Andover, Massachusetts joined the podcast to discuss leading with empathy. She talked about what leading with empathy actually looks like in government leadership and a powerful example involving North Andover’s flag policy and what became an emotionally charged moment in the community. She also shared advice she would give about leading with empathy while still making tough decisions. Host:
info_outlineJoseph Sherlock, Assistant Professor of Behavioral Science and Public Policy at King's College London, joined the podcast to discuss the state of behavioral science in government. He talked about what is behavioral science and examples of how it has been applied in the public sector. Then he shared how the field is evolving and the importance of running experiments in your organization.
Host: Toney Thompson