MMA.ORG
Attendees may pick up their name badge and materials at the main registration desk.
The Trade Show offers opportunities to connect with companies, associations and government agencies in a lively exhibit hall. Local officials can connect with friends and make new contacts while learning about the latest products and services available to help solve municipal challenges. Visitors can easily engage in conversations with exhibitors or just browse.
A special Women Leading Government session on Thursday, Jan. 23, will be called “Burning Questions” — a panel discussion that takes its cue from the popular web series “Hot Ones.” A panel of local government leaders will discuss impactful “hot topics” that their communities face while eating progressively spicier hot wings.
Are you in need of an updated headshot? Municipal members can get a professional photograph taken for free at our Headshot Station.
Boardroom Breakout is an immersive, fast-paced, team-building experience.
Participants will take part in a Breakout Race — an escape-room-style activity where teams of six to 10 players will work together to solve a series of puzzles, challenges and critical-thinking tasks about how to progress through the activity before the clock runs out. (There is no physical activity required.)
All teams compete against each other at the same time, and one team will be crowned the winner by game’s end.
The session will conclude with a reflection on communication, teamwork and leadership.
Please note: Due to the nature of the exercise, this session will begin on time and cannot accommodate late arrivals. To enhance the network-building component, participants are strongly encouraged to work with people they don’t already know.
Affinity spaces are curated environments where individuals with a shared interest, identity, passion or goal can connect in a setting that is welcoming and respectful. These types of spaces foster a sense of community and belonging.
This year at Connect 351 there will be designated times and spaces for groups to connect, based on aspects of identity and areas of interest that were expressed by our members.
There is no structured agenda for these gatherings. The goal for these spaces is to allow municipal employees from across the state to come together and build new, meaningful, authentic connections.
If you have questions, contact MMA Chief Equity Officer Jill Harvey at [email protected].
3-4 p.m.
• Small Town Administrators of Massachusetts
Location: Trade Show Floor (center with round tables)
4-5:30 p.m.
• Veterans
• LGBTQIA+
• BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color)
Location: Trade Show Floor (center with round tables)
A great opportunity for seeing colleagues and networking.
Belonging in Municipal Affairs: Community Connections is a curated, equity-centered networking experience designed to complement the objectives of the Connect 351 conference by fostering meaningful dialogue between municipal leaders, employees and community stakeholders.
Attendees may pick up their name badge and materials at the main registration desk.
The Trade Show offers opportunities to connect with companies, associations and government agencies in a lively exhibit hall. Local officials can connect with friends and make new contacts while learning about the latest products and services available to help solve municipal challenges. Visitors can easily engage in conversations with exhibitors or just browse.
Are you in need of an updated headshot? Municipal members can get a professional photograph taken for free at our Headshot Station.
Timothy Shriver
Over the past several years, Timothy Shriver, a nonprofit leader and chair of the Special Olympics, has been dedicated to restoring dignity to the national conversation.
As CEO and founder of UNITE, Shriver, along with Tom Rosshirt and Tami Pyfer, created the Dignity Index, a tool that scores political speech along a continuum ranging from dignity to contempt. The index helps political leaders and citizens rethink the language they use to describe people with different views.
UNITE works with political leaders, school districts, colleges and universities, businesses and others to help ease divisions, prevent violence, and solve problems. Earlier this year, the nonprofit partnered with the University of Utah to promote the study, teaching and practice of dignity. UNITE and the university previously worked together in 2022, to score the political speech in Utah’s midterm congressional races.
Shriver draws his insights from an extensive career in public service, which includes serving as CEO of the Special Olympics, working as a public school teacher, and producing numerous films. He co-founded and chairs the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning, sits on the boards of numerous organizations, and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He is the author of a bestselling book about his experiences, “Fully Alive: Discovering What Matters Most.”
Shriver regularly appears on television shows and podcasts, and gives speeches and writes about the importance of restoring dignity in civic life. In November 2024, he wrote an opinion piece for Newsweek urging Americans to reject contempt in the wake of the presidential election.
A nephew of the late President John F. Kennedy and U.S. senators Robert F. Kennedy and Ted Kennedy, Shriver is the son of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, who founded the Special Olympics, and Sargent Shriver, a one-time vice presidential candidate who served as a U.S. ambassador to France and helped found the Peace Corps.
Are you in need of an updated headshot? Municipal members can get a professional photograph taken for free at our Headshot Station.
Affinity spaces are curated environments where individuals with a shared interest, identity, passion or goal can connect in a setting that is welcoming and respectful. These types of spaces foster a sense of community and belonging.
This year at Connect 351 there will be designated times and spaces for groups to connect, based on aspects of identity and areas of interest that were expressed by our members.
There is no structured agenda for these gatherings. The goal for these spaces is to allow municipal employees from across the state to come together and build new, meaningful, authentic connections.
If you have questions, contact MMA Chief Equity Officer Jill Harvey at [email protected].
11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.
Regional gatherings
• Western
• Central
• Metrowest
• Southeast
• Northeast
• Greater Boston
• Small Town and Rural
Location: Connect 351 Lounge (open space with tables and chairs across the skybridge)
1-2 p.m.
• Young Professionals
Location: Connect 351 Lounge (open space with tables and chairs across the skybridge)
These six 30-minute sessions provide opportunities to hear from experts on a variety of topics.
Learning Labs will be held in 3 different booths during these time slots:
11:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
12:25-12:55 p.m.
1:05-1:35 p.m.
A former local and state official in Utah, Tami Pyfer is chief external affairs officer for UNITE and the co-creator of the nonprofit’s Dignity Index, a tool that measures political speech along an eight-point continuum from contempt to dignity.
Along with Dignity Index co-creators Timothy Shriver and Tom Rosshirt, she works to restore dignity and lower the level of contempt in public discussions.
Pyfer was a PTA president and a city councillor for eight years in Logan, Utah, before serving for four years on the Utah State Board of Education. She taught at Utah State University’s special education teacher preparation program and served as education policy advisor to former Utah Gov. Gary Herbert for seven years, working on state level policy development, coalition building, and stakeholder engagement.
In 2024, Pyfer was named a fellow by the Emerson Collective, an organization founded by entrepreneur Laurene Powell Jobs to support philanthropic work and investments. Her fellowship project involved applying the Dignity Index to women in politics, as a way to support and strengthen their participation in leadership and elected roles.
USA Today named Pyfer 2025 Woman of the Year for the state of Utah.
She also sang with the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square for seven years, and later served as the choir’s director of external relations.
Join your Massachusetts Municipal Communicators peers for sharing best practices and networking.
Graduates and current students of the MMA-Suffolk programs are invited to a networking reception. Light lunch refreshments will be served. The reception is complimentary but an RSVP is required to Kate Evarts at [email protected].
A great opportunity for seeing colleagues and networking.
Members can network over dinner.
Attendees may pick up their name badge and materials at the main registration desk.
Members can network over breakfast.
MIIA members are invited to join their fellow municipal officials from MIIA communities and MIIA staff for the MIIA Annual Business Meeting.
Clarence Anthony
Clarence Anthony, CEO and executive director of the National League of Cities, is a lifelong champion of municipal government. From the offices of City Hall in South Bay, Florida, where he was mayor for 24 years, to the national stage he now occupies, Anthony has forged a career centered around the needs of communities and the people who lead them.
Anthony was first elected mayor at age 24, and over the span of nearly a quarter century, he created educational and economic development opportunities for South Bay residents, and built the community’s first library.
While mayor, he became president of the Florida League of Cities in 1995, and of the NLC in 1999. He was part of the founding group of Palm Beach County Black Elected Officials and Discover Palm Beach County, the tourism development council. He also served as first vice president of the International Union of Local Authorities.
After leaving the mayor’s office, Anthony represented local governments as founding treasurer and interim manager of United Cities and Local Governments. He also founded Anthony Government Solutions, a firm focused on strategic visioning, policy development and management restructuring for government and private sector organizations.
In 2013, Anthony became CEO of the NLC, the nation’s largest and oldest organization representing America’s municipalities and their leaders. Under Anthony’s leadership, the NLC successfully advocated for federal pandemic relief through the CARES Act and the American Rescue Plan Act, and championed the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to support transportation, broadband and water projects in communities nationwide.
Anthony has also focused on helping local leaders as they confront increasing hostility, having authored a 2021 report, “On the Frontlines of Today’s Cities: Trauma, Challenges, and Solutions,” examining the decline of civility and democratic institutions at the local level.
Anthony serves on the Advisory Board for the University of Illinois Chicago Urban Forum, and is a member of the Board of Destination DC. He has also served on The GEO Group’s board of directors, and in 2021 was named as a member of the Council on Underserved Communities. In 2020, he received the National Forum for Black Public Administrators Marks of Excellence Award.
He has a master’s degree in public administration, with a specialization in city growth management policy, from Florida Atlantic University.
Affinity spaces are curated environments where individuals with a shared interest, identity, passion or goal can connect in a setting that is welcoming and respectful. These types of spaces foster a sense of community and belonging.
This year at Connect 351 there will be designated times and spaces for groups to connect, based on aspects of identity and areas of interest that were expressed by our members.
There is no structured agenda for these gatherings. The goal for these spaces is to allow municipal employees from across the state to come together and build new, meaningful, authentic connections.
If you have questions, contact MMA Chief Equity Officer Jill Harvey at [email protected].
10:45 a.m.-noon
• Neurodivergent and People with Disabilities
Location: Connect 351 Lounge (open space with tables and chairs across the skybridge)
Noon-1:15 p.m.
Job function gatherings
• Finance and Treasurers
• Assessor/Collectors
• DEI Directors
• Human Resources
• Communications
• IT
Location: Connect 351 Lounge (open space with tables and chairs across the skybridge)
All mayors are invited to the Annual Business Meeting of the Massachusetts Mayors’ Association, provided they are registered for Connect 351. Boxed lunches will be provided for attendees of the Business Meetings.
All town managers and town administrators are invited to the Annual Business Meeting of the Massachusetts Municipal Management Association, provided they are registered for Connect 351. Boxed lunches will be provided for attendees of the Business Meetings.
All members of select boards in Massachusetts are invited to attend the MSA Annual Business Meeting, provided they are registered for Connect 351. Attendance at the MSA Annual Business Meeting is limited to MSA members. Boxed lunches will be provided for attendees of the Business Meetings.
All members of city and town councils in Massachusetts are invited to attend the MMCA Annual Business Meeting, provided they are registered for Connect 351. Attendance at the MMCA Annual Business Meeting is limited to MMCA members. Boxed lunches will be provided for attendees of the Business Meetings.
Topics:
• Crisis communications
• Disaster response
• Cybersecurity
Members can network over coffee and dessert.