Winter Forum

Thursday, March 3, 2022
Fountain Valley Recreation Center

About MMASC's Winter Forum
The Winter Forum is the first of premier annual events of the year provided by MMASC and its Partners. This one-day conference includes professional development sessions on important topics facing the profession, as well as networking opportunities for MMASC members and Partners. This is a perfect opportunity for individuals and organizations to tap into the expertise of regional leaders and gain exposure to best practices.

Fountain Valley Recreation Center
16400 Brookhurst Street
Fountain Valley, CA 92708

9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Check-in begins at 8:30 AM, Program begins at 9:00 AM


	Early Bird Registration January 25 – February 22	Regular Rates February 23 – March 2
MMASC Member	$75	$85
Nonmember	$95	$115
Student Member	$55	$75

Online Registration – SOLD OUT!

Program Agenda


8:30 AM	Registration & Continental Breakfast
9:00 AM	Welcome & Introductions Paolo Kespradit, 2022 MMASC President Patrick Harper, Mayor, City of Fountain Valley Rob Houston, City Manager, City of Fountain Valley
9:15 AM	See Change Clearly; Preparing for Your Next Leadership Experience – Jacob Green, President and CEO of Jacob Green & Associates, Inc. Bestselling author and former local government executive Jacob Green will help attendees redefine their professional path forward. You will learn how to leverage the experiences of the last two years to create a path of local government connection, impact, promotion, and fulfillment. Learn the questions that will help you build the skills and networks you need to pursue the position you envision. This session is a fresh way to approach professional development and career advancement.
10:30 AM	One Step at a Time, Navigating the Local Government Profession – Grace Leung, City Manager, City of Newport Beach With over 25 years in local government, Grace will share lessons learned, the challenges and joys of this unique profession, and the importance of connection to self, family, friends, colleagues and community throughout her career.
11:45 AM	Networking Lunch
1:00 PM	Take Back Your Day! – Andrew Fine, Community Services Manager, City of Mission Viejo In this fast-paced session you will learn new techniques for getting more done at work in less time. Strategies for time management, task prioritization, controlling interruptions, holding effective meetings, delegating and goal setting will be shared. Proven methods for increasing efficiency while simultaneously increasing work/life balance will also be highlighted. Participants will able to directly apply concepts in this presentation to their work and home life and achieve positive results with little effort. Topics include: Strategies for setting goals, Paretto Principle, management of Primetime and Downtime, scheduling Controllable time vs. Uncontrollable time, easy-to-implement techniques to reduce both frequency and length of interruptions at work, multiple ways to prioritize tasks and hold action-oriented meetings. Information in this presentation is easy to apply to both workplace activities as well as home life and is guaranteed to be applicable to employees at all levels of your organization.
2:15 PM	Legislative Update – Tony Cárdenas, Regional Public Affairs Manager, Orange County Division, Cal Cities Stay-up-to-date on local and state policies that affect your organization.
2:45 PM	Idea Exchange Designed around peer learning, personal interaction, collaboration and generated ideas, this session will give you practical and creative ways of developing messaging, team building and thinking outside the box.
3:45 PM	MMASC Update & Final Remarks
4:30 PM	Networking Event (off-site at The Recess Room)

Contact Information
For questions or more information, please contact Winter Forum Co-Chairs, Meghan Wishner and Tanya Spiegel at winterforum@mmasc.org.

About Our Speakers


	Jacob Green, President and CEO of Jacob Green & Associates, Inc. Jacob served over 17 years in the public sector holding positions in fire management, police command staff, economic development, and the City Manager’s Office. As an Assistant City Manager for the City of Ontario and San Juan Capistrano, he has managed hundreds of employees and managed numerous government departments. As a trainer, keynote speaker, facilitator and coach, Jacob has worked with municipal clients, as well as commercial clients such as Mattel, FedEx, Hyundai Capital, ADP and many others. In 2019, Jacob distilled his personal and professional experiences into an Amazon Best-Selling book: “See Change Clearly: Leveraging Adversity to Sharpen Your Vision and Build Resilient Teams. Today, Jacob serves as President and CEO of Jacob Green & Associates, Inc. (JGA), a California local government consulting company comprised of veteran local government leaders with over 300 years of combined municipal experience. Team members are former city management executives, economic/redevelopment directors, police/fire chiefs, and municipal experts. Services provided include organizational and leadership development, emergency management, public safety, and crisis communications. JGA provides tailored services geared to the unique challenges of local government clients by developing a deep understanding of clients needs, fostering authentic and trusted relationships, and focusing on outcomes that consistently exceed expectations.
	Grace Leung, City Manager, City of Newport Beach Grace Leung became city manager for the City of Newport Beach in September 2018. She is responsible for City’s day-to-day operations, directing the staff of approximately 730 fulltime employees and 450 part-time employees, overseeing the services of 11 departments, and managing an annual operating budget of nearly $300 million. Leung has more than two decades of experience working in local government. She began her career with the City of Long Beach and went on to serve the City of Sunnyvale for 18 years, specializing in municipal finance, budgeting and administration. During her tenure with Sunnyvale, she developed the city's performance-based budget and its 20-year financial plan, and served as the city’s finance director for six years. Leung left Sunnyvale to join the City of Irvine as its administrative services director. She was soon promoted to assistant city manager and later to acting city manager, overseeing the city’s operations and leading its Administrative Services, Community Services, Community Development, Transportation and Public Works departments. Leung holds a Bachelor's degree from Columbia University in Urban Studies and a Master's degree in Public Policy from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. She is a member of the International City Managers’ Association. Leung, and her husband Jim, have two children, Skylar and Miles. Her hobbies include supporting her children in their activities, volunteering with Skylar through National Charity League, and outrigger canoeing in Newport Harbor.
	Andrew Fine, Community Services Manager, City of Mission Viejo Andrew Fine is a Community Services Manager with the City of Mission Viejo. He spent seven years of his career overseeing multiple Recreation and Aquatics facilities with over 6,000 members, and generating over $1,000,000 in annual revenue. He currently oversees activities in 60 parks, multiple rental facilities, senior services, publishing of the City’s quarterly magazine, and social services programs including Drug Awareness, Veteran’s Services, and Homelessness Solutions in a City of over 100,000 people. Andrew is also an author and professional speaker.