Jill Ellis, second coach to win back-to-back World Cup titles, tapped as keynote speaker for Annual Conference and Expo

In one month, over 1,700 city officials from throughout the state will converge in Long Beach for three days of learning, collaboration, and celebration. Headlining this year’s General Session is keynote speaker Jill Ellis, the legendary head coach of the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team.

Ellis was the first — and only — head coach to win consecutive Women’s World Cup victories. She is also the first national teams coach, men’s or women’s, to win back-to-back World Cup titles since Italy’s Vittorio Pozzo in 1934 and 1938.

After stepping down as head coach, Ellis established a mentoring program for the next generation of women coaches as an ambassador for the U.S. Soccer Federation. She currently serves as President of San Diego Wave FC, the newest franchise in the National Women’s Soccer League.   

In a “fireside chat” on Sept. 7, Ellis will share her insights on creating unified, successful communities. In today’s environment, it can be difficult to engage people one-on-one, much less get everyone working towards a common goal. It takes personal connection, courage, confidence — and some risk-taking — to successfully lead.

Drawing from her time as one of the most successful coaches in sports, Ellis will share her strategies for success, including ways to lead elites, respond to high-profile issues, and unite big personalities, activists, and rising stars. With many stories, lessons learned, and surprising parallels for local leaders, Ellis’ historic tenure will equip city leaders with new ways to lead their communities and message key priorities.

Attending the annual conference, scheduled for Sept. 7-9, is the best way to gather new ideas and strategies for top city challenges. Take a moment with your team to review the full schedule of sessions in the “conference schedule” section of the Annual Conference and Expo webpage. Then, divide them among your group to maximize the conference’s full educational benefits.

Registration and hotels 

Conference registration is required to attend all conference activities, including department and division meetings and the General Assembly. Full conference registration includes access to educational sessions, most receptions, Thursday lunch with exhibitors, and Friday’s closing luncheon. 

Registration for all three days starts at $650 for city officials from a member city. The sharing of registration is prohibited. For questions, please email education@calcities.org. 

Individuals falsely claiming to be the housing bureau/service for the 2022 Annual Conference and Expo may attempt to contact you. Cal Cities has contracted with LiveCon as the official housing service for the annual conference. Official emails regarding the conference will come from a calcities.org or live-con.com email account and the actual hotel.