For the 2018-19 program year, the California City Management Foundation (CCMF) was pleased to award Alex Terrazas, David Wilson, and Jim Schutz with scholarships to the February 2019 Harvard Kennedy School’s “Leadership Decision Making: Optimizing Organizational Performance” program.

Alex Terrazas is the City Manager of Los Banos. He earned his Masters in Government from California State University, Sacramento, as well as his Bachelors of Arts in Government and Government Journalism. After beginning his career in government as a legislative intern under former Democratic Congressman Vic Fazio, Alex transitioned to working for the League of California Cities. He later worked as an analyst in the City of Mountain View and as Assistant Town Manager in the Town of Truckee. In July 2016, Alex began his tenure as the City Manager of Los Banos.

David Wilson is the Assistant City Manager of West Hollywood. He has been with the City for over 18 years. David holds a master’s degree in Planning from the School of Policy, Planning, and Development at the University of Southern California, and a bachelor’s degree in Political Economy of Industrial Societies from the University of California, Berkeley. Prior to becoming Assistant City Manager, David served in various positions including West Hollywood’s Director of Finance and Technology Services, Budget and Compensation Manager, Senior Management Analyst, and Project Development Administrator.

Jim Schutz serves as the City Manager of San Rafael. He has a Master of City and Regional Planning degree from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Bachelors of Science in Environmental Studies with a concentration in City Planning from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He also has a Sustainable Practices Certificate from the School of Business and Leadership at Dominican University of California. Jim has worked in municipal government for about 25 years. He has been with the City of San Rafael since January 2007 and was appointed to City Manager in August 2015.

“Not only do these three public servants have an excellent awareness of the challenges local governments face, they are driven to find the best solutions for their respective cities,” said CCMF President Wade McKinney. “The Harvard Leadership Program will provide an opportunity for them to exchange ideas with executives in a broad range of professions, and will give them the tools to to maximize data and innovate public policy. CCMF is proud to present these scholarships to Alex, David, and Jim.”

This scholarship is open to active CCMF members who have been accepted to the Harvard Kennedy School’s “Leadership Decision Making: Optimizing Organizational Performance” program. The program focuses on designing environments that help reduce bias and inaccuracy in order to make the overall team and organization smarter. Grounded in theories and evidence from psychology, behavioral economics, and neuroscience, the program teaches leaders to answer tough questions, improve the accuracy of estimates, and more effectively structure negotiations.

All three scholarships for the 2018-19 year have been awarded; however, interested members can learn more about the program at cacitymanagers.org/harvard-scholarship and may apply for the September 2019 and February 2020 program dates to take advantage of 2019-20 scholarship opportunities.

On behalf of us here at CCMF, congratulations to our scholarship winners!