Strong Cities, Strong Communities

Greetings:

I wanted to introduce myself. My name is Mark Linton, the new Executive Director of the White House Council on Strong Cities, Strong Communities (SC2). As you may know, the SC2 Initiative is a White House-led interagency partnership to strengthen the capacity of local governments to develop and execute their economic vision and strategies, break down federal silos, and ensure that federal funds are being used as effectively as possible.

We are excited to announce the first issue of our new Strong Cities, Strong Communities (SC2) e-newsletter. The newsletter highlights some recent updates in SC2, including key accomplishments of our Community Solutions Teams, the announcement of the SC2 Economic Visioning Challenge through EDA, and the solicitation of public comment on the SC2 National Resource Network though HUD.

This first issue also reflects back on the SC2 Philanthropic Convening at the White House in March — where President Obama announced his signing of an Executive Order to create the White House Council on Strong Cities, Strong Communities — and features a summary from the Memphis Community Solutions Team on their initial work to help the City align its priorities.

We hope you find the newsletter a valuable and informative tool — and feel free to circulate it widely among your contacts. Please subscribe to future issues of the SC2 e-newsletter to stay informed as we post more SC2 developments. I look forward to the chance to get to know many of you and the work of your organizations.

Thanks,
Mark