How a Charlotte council member brought resident concerns back into one of the region’s most consequential transportation decisions and remained accountable as the political stakes changed Women of Momentum 2026 Honoree | By Christopher D. Thomas | Publisher, inCity Magazine On May 11, 2026, Reneé Perkins Johnson made a motion that changed the course of...
Through Connections, Ebony Flake transformed a technical planning process into an accessible civic conversation about mobility, dignity, opportunity and belonging. Women of Momentum 2026 Honoree | By Christopher D. Thomas | Publisher, inCity Magazine Transportation plans are often communicated through maps, corridors, reports and projections. Ebony Flake began with people. She listened to residents whose...
How the founder of Soft Boss Society transformed lessons shaped by entrepreneurship, motherhood and a cancer journey into a structured platform for women pursuing success without abandoning themselves Women of Momentum 2026 Honoree | By Christopher D. Thomas | Publisher, inCity Magazine Some leadership stories begin with expansion. Demi Howell’s begins with a refusal. She...
By aligning healthcare employers, colleges, public agencies and $2.42 million in workforce investment, Gallardo helped build a more comprehensive approach to strengthening rural healthcare capacity across Texas. Women of Momentum 2026 Honoree | By Christopher D. Thomas | Publisher, inCity Magazine The larger strategy began with one hospital. During an early conversation with Ward Memorial...
The partnership with Ford Motor Company and Stivers Ford offers a broader workforce lesson: stronger talent pipelines emerge when educators and employers share responsibility before the hiring stage. By Christopher D. Thomas | inCity Magazine MONTGOMERY, Ala. Trenholm State Community College marked a significant expansion of its automotive workforce training Tuesday, Aug. 18, with a...
Part 3 of the Trust & Leadership series. Part 1 examined what happens when public leadership breaks trust. Part 2 explored why trust rebuilds differently than most leaders assume. This installment considers why voters sometimes revisit earlier judgments, and what changed conditions, evidence, and alternatives reveal about how people reassess leadership. There is wins. Another...
There is a challenge many successful organizations encounter that is easy to misdiagnose. From the outside, it may appear to be a communication problem. The organization needs a clearer message.A stronger story.A better explanation of what it does. But often, the issue is deeper. The organization is not difficult to understand because it lacks value....
Part 2 of the Trust & Leadership series. Part 1 explored what happens when public leadership breaks trust. This installment examines why trust rebuilds differently than most leaders assume. There is a common assumption that trust rebuilds the same way it breaks. That assumption is wrong. Most people believe trust is damaged by a single...
Here’s when your outcome was already decided By Christopher D. ThomasFounder, inMMGroup Most leaders believe they will be judged by outcomes. Performance. Results. Execution. The visible end of the system. But by the time a system is being evaluated, the outcome has already been shaped. Not by performance. By decisions made earlier, when the structure...
By Christopher D. ThomasFounder, inMMGroup There is a point in a city’s growth where progress alone is no longer enough. Projects are underway. Investments are visible. Momentum is real.But something begins to shift beneath the surface. Not in what is happening.In how what is happening must be understood. This is the moment when a city...