I never thought that I’d live in a major city, yet somehow I ended up in downtown Chicago. It may not be near any trout streams, and an occasional gang fight might break out while I’m playing volleyball at the beach, but I’m actually enjoying Chicago. Cities are filled with opportunities, and with so many opportunities come quite a few challenges. Cities can attack those challenges on their own, but often it’s better if they work together. That’s why the National League of Cities exists (I wonder if there’s an American League of Cities…). They are “the country’s oldest, largest and most represented organization serving municipal governments.” They’re based in Washington, DC and they work to represent their members in a number of ways including “advocating for cities and towns, promoting cities and towns, providing programs and services, keeping leaders informed, strengthening leadership skills, recognizing municipal achievements, partnering with state leagues, and providing opportunities for involvement and networking.” It makes sense that our cities should be working together, and the National League of Cities facilitates that cooperation.

Enjoy City Life

National League of Cities’ website doesn’t seem to have a ton of basic information on the organization, but according to Wikipedia they are “a resource and advocate for 19,000 cities, towns, and villages and represents more than 218 million Americans, including 49 state municipal leagues.” They do this with six centers: Research and Innovation; Federal Relations; Public Affairs and Member Relations; Enterprise Programs; Conferences, Education and Training; and the Institute for Youth, Education and Families. That means that they have all kinds of interesting work. If you want to get involved, you should check out the jobs at National League of Cities. Right now they have a number of jobs posted including a couple that seem suitable for new grads like Sustainability Fellow and possibly Member Relations Representative (description looks entry level, but they want more experience). Give the positions a look, and consider applying. Our cities can use your help.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

• NLC.org
• Jobs at National League of Cities
• About National League of Cities
• Staff at National League of Cities

What city do you live in?

We've identified National League of Cities as having career opportunities in the following categories:

• all employers
• government
• member services
• non-profit
• public policy
• sustainability
• Washington DC

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Jobs Near You

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