A new three-day Civic Leader Summit will bring community builders, city officials and national urbanists to downtown Pensacola Sept. 23–25 for practical conversations on how places can grow stronger, healthier and more resilient.
The event is hosted by Pensacola's Center for Civic Engagement in partnership with Strong Towns, a national nonprofit known for its emphasis on small, low‑risk, neighborhood‑scale investments. Organizers say the agenda will feature plenary talks, breakout sessions and opportunities for attendees to connect with peers facing similar challenges.
The lineup includes Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves and local developer and author Quint Studer, alongside national voices such as Charles “Chuck” Marohn, founder of the Strong Towns movement on bottom-up urban development; Jill Miller, who leads Bethesda, Inc. and its health equity initiatives; Ilana Preuss, founder of Recast City and an advocate for small-scale manufacturing as an economic driver; and Rebekah Kik, deputy city manager of Kalamazoo, Michigan, known for her work on neighborhood housing strategies.
Studer, whose civic work helped catalyze Pensacola’s downtown revival, frames “vibrancy” as broader than boosterism, touching jobs, safety, health, and a sense of belonging.
“Great communities help us feel grounded, protected, and empowered,” Studer said in a press release. “They provide jobs and solid economic growth. They educate our young people, keep us safe, nurture our health, and give us a feeling of control over our lives. The best solutions come when we engage locally. Plus, vibrant communities also provide that sense of belonging and connection that’s so vital for resilience and mental health.”
“However, vibrant communities don’t just happen,” he added. “They are built strategically and intentionally. That’s why this Summit is so valuable. It will lay out tactical, actionable ideas that have been proven to work. When Pensacola got intentional about what we wanted to create and educated ourselves on working together, everything changed for us.”
Marohn, a civil engineer and land‑use planner by training, underscored the bottom‑up approach that Strong Towns promotes.
“The most effective change happens from the bottom up,” Marohn said in a press release. “It’s the low-risk grassroots investments that help communities get stronger financially and improve the quality of life for all citizens. Every day, I see communities do amazing things without spending a ton of money. Events like the Civic Leader Summit really matter, because they provide a forum to share and scale these kinds of local solutions.”
The Center for Civic Engagement, which Studer helped found, focuses on raising “civic IQ” by bringing national experts to share what has worked elsewhere.
The summit runs Tuesday through Thursday, Sept. 23–25. A full agenda, speaker list, and registration information are available at civicleadersummit.com.
