![\"Leading](\"\/ioc\/files\/2018\/03\/Leading-the-American-City-Banner-4-636x360.png\")
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President Obama\u00a0selected Plusquellic to work with a team of mayors from across America to work on solving the\u00a0global financial crisis of 2008\u20132009\u00a0at the local level. In February 2009, Plusquellic was one of 20 mayors who went to Washington, DC\u00a0to discuss committing stimulus money to go directly to city governments to fund infrastructure.<\/p>\n Plusquellic was also president of the\u00a0United States Conference of Mayors<\/a>\u00a0in 2004.<\/p>\n During\u00a0her eight years as mayor, the city experienced unprecedented growth and afforded Franklin\u00a0the opportunity to partner and collaborate with many local and regional leaders\u00a0in addressing\u00a0policy challenges, which included urban planning, economic\u00a0development, and infrastructure. While in office, she improved the city\u2019s failing sewer system and balanced Atlanta\u2019s budget shortfall with a number of radical measures, including slashing money from her own salary. Under Franklin’s leadership, Atlanta went from having one of the lowest percentages of LEED certified buildings to one of the highest.<\/p>\n In 2005, TIME Magazine named Franklin one of the five best big-city American mayors. In that same year, she was included in the U.S. News & World Report “Best Leaders of 2005” issue. Franklin was also president of the\u00a0National Conference of Democratic Mayors<\/a> from 2007-2008.<\/p>\n Mayor Diaz developed a vision for Miami as an international City that embodies diversity, economic opportunity, effective customer service and a highly rated quality of life. When he first took office, Miami city government was bankrupt, held junk bond status, and was under a state financial oversight board. Mayor Diaz pursued a vast administrative overhaul that brought with it financial stability, healthy level of financial reserves, continued tax cuts, lowered millage rates, and an A+ bond rating on Wall Street.<\/p>\n Mayor Diaz has received numerous accolades and has served numerous boards including \u201cUrban Innovator of the Year\u201d and the selection committee of the Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence. Diaz remains a partner in the legal practice of Diaz & O’Naghten, LLP.<\/p>\n At his inaugural address, Mayor Nutter pledged to lower crime, improve educational attainment rates, make Philadelphia the greenest city in America, and attract new businesses and residents to the city.\u00a0With the support of staff, Mayor Nutter made significant progress on all those pledges: homicides were at an almost 50 year low at the end of his tenure; high school graduation and college degree attainment rates increased significantly; Philadelphia added hundreds of miles in bike lanes and trails and launched the first low-income friendly bike share system in America, called Indego; and Philadelphia\u2019s population grew every year since 2008.<\/p>\n In 2011,\u00a0Esquire\u00a0magazine named Mayor Nutter to its Americans of the Year list and in 2014, he was named Public Official of the Year by\u00a0Governing\u00a0magazine. Mayor Nutter also served as president of the United States Conference of Mayors<\/a> from 2012-2013.<\/p>\n Mayor Wong restored fiscal stability to Fitchburg, notably by increasing the stabilization fund, increasing the bond rating several times, reorganizing city departments, reducing health care costs, and instituting energy efficiency projects throughout the city. She attracted jobs and major investment into Fitchburg through smart growth planning projects, including reinvestment in vacant mills and the $100 million development of an indoor water resort. As co-chair of the Massachusetts Gateway Cities Initiative, Mayor Wong helped to develop new funding and incentive programs to attract inner city development and save manufacturing jobs.<\/p>\n Mayor Wong has been named the Conservationist of the Year from the Trustees of Reservations, the Blue Green Hero award from the Ocean River Institute, the School Committee Member of the Year from the MA Association of School Committees, and the Gateway Cities Champion Award from MassINC.<\/p>\n During his time in office, Mayor Smith balanced the city budget by cutting spending, recruited five universities to Mesa, and successfully attracted Apple to his city. Smith also advocated for a development deal to bring a 1,200 room Gaylord Hotel and Resort to the Mesa Proving Ground and he proposed an incentive package that would build the Chicago Cubs a new spring training facility. Smith played a role in the\u00a0Air Force Research Lab\u00a0(AFRL) agreement, which allowed Mesa to lease the facility and eventually own it while maintaining its highly classified status. The AFRL site is the only such secured facility in Arizona and is one of just a handful in the United States.<\/p>\n In 2013-14, Mayor Smith was president of the United States Conference of Mayors<\/a>.<\/p>\n During his two terms as Mayor, he was widely credited with leading the comeback of Washington, DC, restoring the finances of the nation\u2019s capital, and improving the performance of government agencies, all while lowering taxes and investing in infrastructure and human services. Mayor Williams brought $40 billion of investment to the city and the District was able to balance its budget for ten consecutive years between the 1997 and 2006 fiscal years. Williams was also instrumental in arranging a deal to move the Montr\u00e9al Expos, a\u00a0Major League Baseball\u00a0(MLB) team, to Washington, DC. The new team, the\u00a0Washington Nationals, began playing in April 2005, the first time since 1971 that the District had its own MLB team.<\/p>\n![\"Plu\"](\"\/ioc\/files\/2018\/03\/Plu-150x113.png\")
<\/strong>Don Plusquellic, Former Mayor of Akron, Ohio<\/strong>
\nDon Plusquellic was mayor of Akron for 28 years\u2014first taking office in 1987, after previously serving 13 years on the Akron City Council. Throughout his tenure as mayor, Plusquellic often suggested bold, outsize ideas: he proposed leasing the city water system to a contractor and using the payments to pay college tuition cost for Akron residents, suggested forming a city-owned construction company to bid on projects and generate revenue for the town, and advocated construction of a baseball stadium at a time when there was little to no support for it.<\/p>\n
\n![\"frank\"](\"\/ioc\/files\/2018\/03\/frank-150x114.png\")
Shirley Franklin, Former Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia<\/strong>
\nShirley Franklin served as the 58th Mayor of Atlanta from 2002 to 2010. She was the first woman to hold the post and the first African-American woman to be elected mayor of a major Southern city. Aside\u00a0from her role as a public official, her community service spans nearly 40 years\u00a0in Atlanta and includes her active participation in the arts, homelessness, and\u00a0higher education.<\/p>\n
\n![\"diaz\"](\"\/ioc\/files\/2018\/03\/diaz-150x114.png\")
Manny Diaz, Former Mayor of Miami, Florida<\/strong>
\nA force in local, state, and national politics for nearly three decades, Manny Diaz was first elected mayor ofthe City of Miami in 2001 and was reelected to a second term in 2005. He was chosen to lead the United States Conference of Mayors<\/a> as its president in 2008.<\/p>\n
\n![\"nutter\"](\"\/ioc\/files\/2018\/03\/nutter-150x115.png\")
Michael Nutter, Former Mayor of Philadelphia,\u00a0Pennsylvania<\/strong>
\nMichael Nutter served as the 98th Mayor of Philadelphia, first elected in 2007 and reelected to a second term in 2011. He took office after serving almost 15 years in the Philadelphia City Council.<\/p>\n
\n![\"wong\"](\"\/ioc\/files\/2018\/03\/wong-150x121.png\")
Lisa Wong, Former Mayor of Fitchburg, Massachusetts<\/strong>
\nLisa Wong served four terms as Mayor of the City of Fitchburg, from 2007-2015. Elected to that office at the age of 28, Mayor Wong is the youngest female and the first Asian-American female elected mayor in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Mayor Wong began working in Fitchburg at the Fitchburg Redevelopment Authority in 2001 and was the executive director by 2004.<\/p>\n
\n![\"smith\"](\"\/ioc\/files\/2018\/03\/smith-150x115.png\")
Scott Smith, Former Mayor of Mesa, Arizona<\/strong>
\nScott Smith was elected as the 38th mayor of Mesa, Arizona in 2008 and served until 2014, when he resigned to run for Governor of Arizona in the Republican Primary.<\/p>\n
\n![\"williams\"](\"\/ioc\/files\/2018\/03\/williams-150x118.png\")
Anthony Williams, Former Mayor of Washington, D.C.<\/strong>
\nAnthony \u201cTony\u201d Williams served as the fifth mayor of the District of Columbia for two terms, from 1999 to 2007. He had previously served as chief financial officer for the District, managing to balance the budget and achieve a surplus within two years of appointment.<\/p>\n
![\"dean\"](\"\/ioc\/files\/2018\/03\/dean-150x118.png\")
Karl Dean, Former Mayor of Nashville, Tennessee<\/strong>