Kirkland CMs Curtis and Falcone Earn Advanced Leadership Certificates
Published on June 21, 2023
Media Contact:
Sue Romero
Communications Program Coordinator
sromero@kirklandwa.gov
(425) 587-3017
KIRKLAND, Wash. – Kirkland City Councilmembers Kelli Curtis and Amy Falcone have each earned an Advanced Certificate of Municipal Leadership from the Association of Washington Cities (AWC). Councilmembers Curtis and Falcone each completed more than 60 hours of training and demonstrated local community service to earn this advanced distinction.
AWC’s Certificate of Municipal Leadership (CML) program recognizes elected officials for accomplishing training in five core areas: responsibilities and legal requirements, public sector resource management, community planning and development, local leadership, and diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Those who earn the advanced certificate have continued to strive for excellence by attending conferences and trainings, serving their community, and further developing leadership skills.
“Being a city leader in Washington is a complex job,” said AWC Chief Executive Officer Deanna Dawson. “Through our CML program we are providing our elected officials with the knowledge they need to effectively operate within the law, plan for the future, secure and manage funds, foster strong relationships, and work to build more equitable communities.”
Councilmember Kelli Curtis was appointed to the Kirkland City Council in 2019 then elected to serve a four-year position later that year. She received a Certificate of Municipal Leadership from AWC in 2021. Curtis has lived in Kirkland with her family for nearly 30 years. Her community service leadership experience includes serving on the City of Kirkland Park Board as Vice Chair, the Houghton Community Council, the Kirkland Housing Strategy Advisory Group, and on the Board of Directors for Homeward Pet Adoption Center. Curtis chairs the city council Legislative Workgroup and the Parks Funding Exploratory Committee. Her regional appointments include the Sound Cities Association (SCA) Growth Management Planning Council where she serves as caucus chair, SCA Public Issues Committee (PIC), SCA Nominations Committee, SCA King Conservation District (KCD) Advisory Committee, KCD Urban Forestry Working Group, and Water Resource Inventory Area (WRIA 8). Curtis holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and Media Studies from the University of Washington.
Councilmember Amy Falcone was elected to the Kirkland City Council in November of 2019. She has lived in Kirkland with her husband and children for nearly a decade. Falcone has served the community in various other leadership roles, including as a founding member and Co-Chair of the Kirkland Human Services Commission, on the Finn Hill Neighborhood Alliance (FHNA) Board, as Chair of the Eastside Human Services Forum Board, on the Sound Cities Association (SCA) Board and as Vice Chair of its Equity and Inclusion Cabinet, as SCA Caucus Chair of the King County Affordable Housing Committee, on the AWC Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB) Cabinet, and as President of the PTA/PTO Board among other Board roles at multiple Lake Washington School District (LWSD) schools where she earned the 2017 Golden Acorn Award for exemplary and outstanding volunteerism in our local public schools. She also received a Certificate of Municipal Leadership from AWC in 2021. Falcone holds a Master of Arts Degree in Sociology and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Biology from Temple University, where she also taught undergraduate statistics.
Mayor Penny Sweet and Councilmember Toby Nixon have also been awarded Advanced Certificates of Municipal Leadership. Kirkland Deputy Mayor Jay Arnold and Councilmember Neal Black have each been awarded a Certificate of Municipal Leadership.
AWC serves its members through advocacy, education, and services. Founded in 1933, AWC is a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan corporation that represents Washington’s 281 cities and towns before the state legislature, the state executive branch, and with regulatory agencies. AWC also provides training, data and publications, and programs such as the AWC Employee Benefit Trust, AWC Risk Management Service Agency, AWC Workers’ Comp Retro, AWC Drug and Alcohol Consortium, and AWC GIS Consortium.
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