Keynoters Coming to the Main Stage at #ICMA2026
Long Beach Convention Center
Featured keynote speakers are meant to inspire you, help you lead, and show you how thinking outside of the box can help you manage your local government in today’s complex environment.
General Sponsor
Simon is an unshakeable optimist. He believes in a bright future and our ability to build it together.
OPENING GENERAL SESSION
Sunday, October 18 | 1:30 PM
SIMON SINEK
LEADING WITH PURPOSE
Creating an Inspirational Culture in City and County Government
A value-driven look at how leaders shape cultures that motivate people to do their best work – especially in challenging public environments
Simon Sinek
Described as “a visionary thinker with a rare intellect,” Simon has devoted his professional life to help advance a vision of the world that does not yet exist; a world in which the vast majority of people wake up every single morning inspired, feel safe wherever they are, and end the day fulfilled by the work they do.
A trained ethnographer, Simon, is fascinated by the people and organizations that make the greatest and longest-lasting impact. Over the years, he has discovered some remarkable patterns about how they think, act, and communicate, and also the environments in which people operate at their natural best.
Simon may be best known for his TED Talk on the concept of WHY, which has been viewed over 60 million times, and his video on millennials in the workplace, which reached 80 million views in its first week and has gone on to be seen hundreds of millions of times.
He continues to share inspiration through his bestselling books, including global bestseller Start with WHY and New York Times bestsellers Leaders Eat Last and The Infinite Game, as well as his podcast, A Bit of Optimism. In addition, Simon is the founder of The Optimism Company, a leadership learning and development company, and he publishes other inspiring thinkers and doers through his publishing partnership with Penguin Random House called Optimism Press.
His unconventional and innovative views on business and leadership have attracted international attention, and he has met with a broad array of leaders and organizations in nearly every industry. He frequently works with different branches of the US Armed Forces and agencies of the US government and is an adjunct staff member with the RAND Corporation—one of the most highly regarded think tanks in the world.
Simon is also active in the arts and with not-for-profit work, or what he likes to call the for-impact sector. In 2021, he founded The Curve: a diverse group of forward-thinking chiefs and sheriffs committed to reform modern policing from the inside out. Their purpose is to build a profession dedicated to protecting the vulnerable from harm while advancing a vision of a world in which all people feel justice is administered with dignity, equity, and fairness.
General Sponsor
Presidential Historian & Pulitzer Prize–Winning Author
OPENING GENERAL SESSION
Monday, October 19 | 10:00 – 11:15 AM
JON MEACHAM
Hope Through History
How to Survive Turbulent Times
As difficult as the present is, the American past is the story of challenges overcome, crises resolved, and progress made. In this nonpartisan speech, Jon Meacham walks audiences through moments that have seemed intractable to offer lessons for leaders on how to endure and prevail when everything appears hopeless. The presentation is an anecdotally rich reflection on history and a forward-leaning call for constructive habits of citizenship.
JON MEACHAM
Jon Meacham Biography
Presidential historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jon Meacham is one of America’s most prominent public intellectuals. A contributing editor at TIME and the writer behind “The Long View” column for The New York Times Book Review—where he looks back at books that speak to our current historical and cultural moment—Meacham is a highly sought-after commentator who regularly appears on MSNBC, CNN, and other major news outlets. He previously served as Newsweek‘s managing editor from 1998 to 2006 and as editor from 2006 to 2010.
A skilled orator with a depth of knowledge about politics, religion, and current affairs, Meacham has the unique ability to bring history to life. He regularly offers crucial historical context to current events and issues impacting our daily lives to audiences of all backgrounds and levels of understanding.
Acclaimed Authorship & Bestsellers
Meacham is the author of multiple New York Times bestsellers spanning definitive presidential biographies and cultural histories:
- American Struggle: Democracy, Dissent, and the Pursuit of a More Perfect Union (2026):His latest New York Times bestseller examines the enduring challenges and resilience of American democracy.
- The Call to Serve (2024): An illuminating portrait honoring the 100th anniversary of George H.W. Bush’s birth, focusing on a life lived beyond politics.
- And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle (2022): Winner of the prestigious Lincoln Prize, this acclaimed work spent 16 weeks on the Times bestseller list.
- His Truth Is Marching On: John Lewis and the Power of Hope (2020): An intimate, bestselling portrait of the civil rights icon and longtime U.S. congressman.
- Songs of America: Co-written with musician Tim McGraw, this celebration of the music that shaped the nation was praised by Quincy Jones as “a glorious celebration of our diversity” and by Ken Burns as an “unusually well-written and moving story.”
- The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels: A #1 New York Times bestseller that examines the modern political landscape by looking back at critical inflection points in U.S. history when hope overcame division and fear.
- Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush: This biography debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list and was praised by the Times as “judicious, balanced, deliberative, with a deep appreciation of history and the personalities who shape it.”
- Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power: A #1 New York Times bestseller hailed as “masterful and intimate” by Fortune magazine.
- American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House: Meacham’s landmark biographical work which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 2009.
- Other Notable Books: His other national bestsellers include Franklin and Winston and American Gospel. He is also the co-author of Impeachment: An American History, which reveals the complicated motives behind the first three impeachments in U.S. history.
Podcasts & Media Appearances
In 2020, Meacham partnered with the History Channel to release two critically acclaimed podcasts: Hope Through History and It Was Said. Written and narrated by Meacham, Hope Through Historyexplores some of the most trying times in American history and how the nation emerged more unified. It Was Said focuses on the crucial real-time rhetoric and historic speeches that shaped America from the McCarthy era to the present day, capturing the nation we’ve been while pointing toward the nation we hope to become.
Meacham is a frequent guest on Morning Joe, Real Time with Bill Maher, and The 11th Hour. He was featured in Ken Burns’ documentary series The Roosevelts: An Intimate History, and Fox News produced an hour-long special centered on his biography Destiny and Power.
Academic & Professional Honors
In 2024, Meacham was awarded the National Humanities Medal by President Biden and was honored as a Library Lion of the New York Public Library. Named a “Global Leader for Tomorrow” by the World Economic Forum, he is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a fellow of the Society of American Historians.
Meacham is a distinguished visiting professor at Vanderbilt University, where he holds the Rogers Chair in the American Presidency.
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