Local Government Academy

We are honored to have Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato as our keynote speaker. She knows better than anyone the importance of local governments and we appreciate the support of Allegheny County to help us achieve our mission of Promoting Excellence in Local Government.

A huge thank you to all our intern graduates, supervisors, speakers, and program funders Allegheny County Government, Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, and the Redevelopment Authority of the County of Washington.

This year’s Featured Intern Project is the Community Planning & Revitalization at Borough of Bellevue and Bona Fide Bellevue.

Abriana has contributed to the borough’s historical preservation efforts discovering original photo negatives dating back to 1896!

Assistant Director of Administrative Services at Bellevue Andrea Contes and Bona Fide Bellevue Board Chair Leann Chaney are proud to have hosted intern Abriana Bensch!

Great job Abriana and all our interns this summer.

Today is the 2026 Municipal Intern Program Recognition Luncheon!

This year we had 20 interns working in 16 municipalities across four counties and two Councils of Governments. We want to thank each intern for their work to advance the work of local governments and to the placement site hosts for their efforts to build the next generation of local government leaders.

A special thank you to lunch sponsor Brentwood Bank.

🌟 Local Government Academy Board Spotlight! 🌟

We want to highlight the amazing members of our Board of Directors and recognize the experience and leadership that they bring to the organization.

This week, we are featuring board member Patrick Conners!

Dan is the Executive Director at South Hills Area Council of Governments (SHACOG) and has been a valued member of our board since 2023.

Thank you Patrick for your commitment to Promoting Excellence in Local Government!

Today, some of our Municipal Intern Program interns as well as the interns from Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania, are at Brentwood Bank for the Road Map to Financial Literacy program!

This program train interns on budgeting, saving, building credit, and long-term financial planning.

We are incredibly proud of the interns’ dedication to learning, growing, and building a bright future!

Thank you to our presenters, Jennifer Hisdorf and Joe Verduci!

🌟 Local Government Academy Board Spotlight! 🌟

We want to highlight the amazing members of our Board of Directors and recognize the experience and leadership that they bring to the organization.
This week, we are featuring board member Suzanne Chybrzynsk!

Suzanne is the Senior Vice President Municipal Department Manager at HUB International Greater Pennsylvania and has been a valued member of our board since 2022.

Thank you Suzanne for your commitment to Promoting Excellence in Local Government!

Great article on our work to help local governments modernize their financial management practices! Municipalities undertaking a Financial Health Assessment are making a commitment to transparency and good government!

Millvale undertaking independent review of borough finances After gaining court approval for an emergency $2 million loan to pay overdue debts, Millvale officials hope outside eyes will find anything they may have missed as they work to get the borough’s finances on the right track. Millvale Council in July approved entering the Community Financial Hea...

Extra Extra! Check out this article on AI and Local Government that highlights the challenges of AI adoption in smaller Pittsburgh suburbs and the leaders looking toward the City of Pittsburgh for guidance.

Can AI streamline government in Pittsburgh’s smaller suburbs? Small governments around Allegheny County are just beginning to experiment with AI technology.

🌟 Local Government Academy Board Spotlight! 🌟

We want to highlight the amazing members of our Board of Directors and recognize the experience and leadership that they bring to the organization.
This week, we are featuring board member Tammy Cappo!

Tammy is the Executive Vice President of Client Services at Benegration and has been a valued member of our board since 2025.

Thank you Tammy for your commitment to Promoting Excellence in Local Government!

We are official signing off from our Municipal Intern Program 2nd Development Day! Congratulations to our winning team (Jaden Rubright, Hope Fronczek, Mary Bireley, Jianing Guo, Maggie Jones, Wayeera Robertson)! All our interns did an amazing job working together to make informed decisions in this Urban Planning Workshop.

Special shoutout to Uli Pittsburgh for partnering with us again on such a stellar event. Thank you Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, Allegheny County Government , and the Redevelopment Authority of Washington County for your continued support in helping form the next generation of leaders through Local Government Academy.