157: John Mauro: A Global Journey of Purpose-Driven Leadership

Apr 1, 2025

Show Notes: John Mauro: A Global Journey of Purpose-Driven Leadership
Episode 157 of The HaltingWinter Podcast

Overview
In this inspiring episode of the HaltingWinter Podcast, Seth Winterhalter speaks with John Mauro, City Manager of Port Townsend, Washington. John shares his remarkable journey from growing up in Maine to traveling across four continents on a prestigious fellowship, and ultimately leading municipal transformation in both Auckland and Washington state. Their conversation explores the power of global perspective in local governance, innovative approaches to community engagement, and the delicate balance between addressing immediate municipal needs while planning for long-term sustainability.

Episode Highlights:

• New England Roots: How John's upbringing in Maine and exposure to natural landscapes shaped his environmental consciousness and public service path
• Global Education: His transformative Thomas Watson fellowship that took him to Ghana, Bhutan, Australia, and Bolivia to study indigenous relationships with nature
• Finding His Purpose: John's evolution from environmental science to sustainability leadership, discovering his passion for systems thinking and collaborative governance
• International Municipal Leadership: Serving as Auckland, New Zealand's first Chief Sustainability Officer and navigating a complex "super city" government structure
• Interagency Collaboration: Transforming adversarial relationships with sister agencies like the Port of Port Townsend into million-dollar collaborative projects
• Infrastructure Challenges: Tackling long-deferred maintenance, including a century-old water agreement, and creating sustainable funding mechanisms for critical infrastructure
• Innovative Community Engagement: Using "The Bureaucracy Now" radio show and monthly coffee chats to build trust and transparency with citizens
• COVID Leadership: Managing municipal operations during the pandemic just months into his tenure as city manager
• Team Development: Building a "dream team" of department directors who are dedicated to service and tackling systemic challenges
• Personal Rejuvenation: Balancing the demands of public service through outdoor activities, family adventures, and maintaining boundaries between work and personal life

Connect with John Mauro:

• LinkedIn: Connect with John 

Connect With Seth Winterhalter

• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/sethwinterhalter

About HaltingWinter Municipal Solutions: At HaltingWinter, our mission is to build stronger cities through stronger leaders by providing municipal leadership development services, rooted in the ABCs of Impactful Leadership framework. To explore how we can strengthen you and your municipality, visit haltingwinter.com.

Upcoming Events:

Don't miss Seth Winterhalter at the Missouri City and County Managers Association Spring Conference at the Margaritaville Resort, starting April 30th. Register now at www.momanagers.org/191/Spring-Conference.

The MLDC
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