Executive Cohort

The Meeting of the Minds Executive Cohort is a networking accelerator for urban practitioners.

Hundreds of executives have completed or commited to joining an Executive Cohort. Participating organizations have included:

Who will you meet?

Executive Cohorts provide leaders an opportunity to build authentic and trusted relationships with extraordinary, like-minded peers.

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Curated

Following an interview and onboarding process, 10 urban practitioners from a diversity of industries, geographies and sectors are carefully vetted and invited to form an Executive Cohort.

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Facilitated

Executive Cohorts meet online once a week for 6 weeks. Meeting facilitation encourages genuine conversation and allows enough time and space to dig in to important topics.

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Private

Executive Cohort sessions follow Chatham House Rules.  These private sessions enable participants to connect and share on a level that would be otherwise unachievable.

Discussion Topics

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GOVERNANCE

Urban policy, justice, services

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MOBILITY

Mass transit, shared mobility, AVs
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TECHNOLOGY

Innovation, connectivity, data

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ENVIRONMENT

Climate change, natural disasters

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SOCIETY

Healthy communities, social equity, education

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ECONOMY

Public-private partnerships, jobs, economic inclusion

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INFRASTRUCTURE

Street design, smart buildings, urban planning

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RESOURCES

Energy, water, food systems

Sample Schedule

Executive Cohorts begin with a 90-minute initial session of introductions. In subsequent sessions, participants are paired 2-by-2 and featured in short, facilitated fireside chats, followed by group discussion.

Executive Cohort participants are expected to attend all sessions.

Session #1: Introductions / 90 minutes
Session #2: Fireside chat #1 / 60 minutes
Session #3: Fireside chat #2 / 60 minutes
Session #4: Fireside chat #3 / 60 minutes
Session #5: Fireside chat #4 / 60 minutes
Sessions #6: Fireside chat #5 / 60 minutes

Participant Feedback

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Approval Rating

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Requested an Additional Cohort Placement

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Would Recommend the Executive Cohort Program to colleagues

Testimonials

Great opportunity to talk about interesting subjects with an amazing cohort of professionals from both public agencies and private companies. Jessie was a great moderator and got the conversation flowing freely.

Jumbi Edulbehram

Global Business Development, AI-City, NVIDIA

I’ve never experienced a networking forum more valuable than the Executive Cohort program. Even if not every person on the cohort has a direct link to what my company does, every person has a direct link to something that interests me on a personal, and/or professional level. I’ve rarely learned so many new interesting things in just six weeks as I have in the two cohorts I’ve participated in.

Emma Skalka

Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Victor Stanley

Expert facilitation by Jessie Feller Hahn kept the conversation meaningful and inclusive. This feature kept everyone in the conversation and revealed insights that would not have been shared during a typical ‘conference networking event.’ It is a truly unique experience that ideally fits the work-from-home gaps in professional relationship building. I also appreciated the thoughtful curation of both the invited cohort participants and the agendas for each session. The meetings were ‘do not miss’ events because the topics and insights shared were timely, multi-dimensional, and topical.

Kim Zentz

CEO, Urbanova

It is rare to really establish an ongoing relationship with experts, creative minds and very inspiring people, especially in these challenging times. Although 6 sessions seemed a lot, I wish we could have continued to meet regularly. Becoming friends with some of the cohort members and the exchange of ideas and advice with all others was more than a rewarding experience.”

Thomas Hohenacker

CEO, Cleverciti Systems GmbH

The level of expertise from the practitioners combined with the diversity of backgrounds, perspectives, experiences, knowledge, domain focus and more was great. I honestly looked forward to each subsequent session and have created new or strengthened pre-existing relationships due to the Executive Cohort Program.

Paul Riser

Director, Detroit Urban Solutions (a program of TechTown Detroit)

I enjoyed meeting professionals from different disciplines and locations. It was clear that many of us were experiencing similar issues in our areas but had many differing solutions. Talking through these solutions and challenges was incredibly valuable to me personally and professionally. The most lasting impact, however, is the connections I made with individuals in the cohort. I am currently working on a few different projects with fellow cohort members, and none of that would have been possible without this program.

Monica Tibbits-Nutt, AICP, LEED AP BD C

Executive Director, 128 Business Council

The diversity in views and experiences among the cohort was a fantastic experience. The range of topics discussed over the 6 weeks including transportation, smart cities, social mobility, and discrimination meant there was something to learn in every session. The mix of individuals in the cohort complemented each other really well.

Jawad Sardar

Future Cities & Prosperity Specialist, Department for International Trade UK

My Executive Cohort was a great opportunity to meet with and learn from a wide range of people with a diverse set of backgrounds and professional experience, and learn how their work might benefit what I do on a day-to-day basis. It was especially helpful to explore what different areas are doing around the topics of racial equity and addressing climate change.

Patrick Wojahn

Mayor, College Park, MD

I enjoyed the opportunity to meet and hear from experienced professionals who are fully engaged in meaningful work. Jessie Feller Hahn did a great job moderating the group and keeping the conversations moving.

Richard Mitchell

Director of Planning (Retired), City of Richmond, CA

I loved the intentionality behind the individuals who were brought together. A fascinating group of experts from a diverse set of backgrounds, visions, aspirations, but all engagingly present for the discussions. I loved the discussions, the opportunity each week to come together and banter about current situations, but also some of the leading issues in various fields. It was my Covid oasis. Jessie, I loved your moderation. You have a genuine gift in making people feel like part of a whole.

Marisa Walker

SVP, Infrastructure and Director, Institute of Automated Mobility, Arizona Commerce Authority

I want to thank you for an exceptional and life changing experience. The group was well designed, great commonalities, and collective interests!

Sam Veraldi

Senior Strategic Policy Strategist, TransLoc

The Executive Cohort program was an incredible opportunity to create connection and build relationships with other sustainability practitioners. The 6 weeks absolutely flies by, but in that time we covered such a breadth of topics and were able to have open and frank conversation both about the obstacles in this field of work but also the strategies and steps for success.

Julia Chase

Senior Planner, City of San Diego

The cohort was well planned and put together. From my perspective the cohort shared common experiences/issues but was diverse in thinking and acting. I learned something new and understood different perspectives each time we met. I also learned from each cohort member.

Jim Saber

President, NextEnergy

I liked the breadth and depth of the participants, I also liked the diversity in terms of specialty and background. I liked the moderator and informal discussion format. It was great that the program allowed for the discussions remain confidential to allow for candid discussion.

Dennis Gakunga

Chief Sustainability Officer, City of Chula Vista, CA

I loved the casually curated conversations and the diversity of the group. The conversation never lacked and the variety of perspectives was really energizing and insightful.

Emily Yates

Smart City Director, City of Philadelphia

The passion of the participants to build better communities was refreshing and invigorating. I learned new things each and every minute of every session. I am looking forward to continuing the conversations beyond the conclusion of the Cohort.

Lee Feldman

City Manager, City of Gainesville, FL

An amazing group of diverse talent, profound experience, and great perspective. As a relative newcomer to the transportation and mobility sector, it was an incredible opportunity to see the issues and approaches we are all trying to solve from so many different sides.

Myrna Bittner

CEO & Co-Founder, RUNWITHIT Synthetics Inc.

More than anything, I appreciated getting connected to amazing people working in related fields. It was great having a curator who helped us have productive interactions without wasting anyone’s time!

Jay Anderson

Community Engagement, City of Colorado Springs

Participation Fees

Participation fees for the Executive Cohort are on a sliding scale based on sector.

Private sector and philanthropy: $2,000
Start-ups: $1,000
Non-profit and academic participants: $500
Public sector leaders: $250