During election season, the challenges of public participation often become more visible, as communities navigate increasing polarization, declining trust, and engagement fatigue. Join representatives from the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2 USA) for an introduction to the value of public participation, common myths and risks, and practical resources for selecting engagement methods, designing effective participation processes, and fostering ethical leadership that supports informed and inclusive decision-making.
Meet the Speakers
Cathy Smith
Former President, Certified Public Participation Practitioner, and Board Member
IAP2
Erin Zimmermann
Executive Director
IAP2
Cathy Smith
Cathy brings 30 years of experience leading a mid-sized public participation firm. Cathy is now focusing on building individual and organizational capacity in others to lead public participation, as well as supporting special engagement and storytelling projects. Cathy’s work in the inter-related fields of land use, transportation, water, energy, and health adds a depth of knowledge about the inter-related issues of climate change, resilience, and social justice. As a trained community mediator and past journalist, her engagement insights span from conflict management to communications. She’s one of IAP2’s 15 Certified Public Participation Practitioners in the country, a graduate of USD’s School of Law, and IAP2USA’s Past President.
Erin Zimmermann
Erin Zimmermann joined IAP2 in 2019 as the Strategic Development Manager and in January 2022 moved to the position of Executive Director. She has over a decade of nonprofit and volunteer experience. Some of her highlights include leading cross-sector collective impact initiatives and partnerships; implementing strategic planning and change management processes; expanding literacy programming across the state; starting her own consulting business; and supporting a global project on high performing board and CEO partnerships.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Colorado State University and a M.S. in Counseling from University of Phoenix. She seeks out challenges and opportunities to grow, and believes everyone has a story to tell, if someone is willing to listen. She enjoys spending time outdoors with her husband and two children.
November 5
11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Hosted by: IAP2
