Las Vegas City Manager Elizabeth Fretwell will deliver the School of Public and International Affairs’ annual Getzen Lecture on Government Accountability.
Fretwell’s lecture, “The City of Las Vegas, Accountable and Not Sinful…SHHH Don’t Tell Our Visitors,” will be delivered Oct. 10 at 2 p.m. in the Chapel. It is open free to the public.
Fretwell has dedicated her career to building effective government in southern Nevada, where she has worked for the last 20 years. Since 2009, Fretwell has led Las Vegas as city manager and oversees a municipality of more than 3,000 employees. Issues of accountability, responsibility and transparency are central to her work in administering a major governmental organization-especially as it has struggled to rebuild after the financial and mortgage crises of 2008.
She received both her bachelor’s degree in 1989 and master’s in public administration in 1991 from UGA.
“We are thrilled that our accomplished alumna Elizabeth Fretwell will deliver the Getzen Lecture this year,” said Stefanie Lindquist, dean of the School of Public and International Affairs. “She is a model leader in local government, having initiated innovative economic development programs in Las Vegas that have made a huge difference in a city particularly affected by the 2008 financial crisis. I guarantee her talk will be enlightening for anyone interested in learning about effective governance in an era otherwise complicated by gridlock and polarization.”
Co-hosted by the public administration and policy department, the lecture will be streamed live at www.ctl.uga.edu/eventstream.
The Getzen Lecture on Government Accountability is made possible by UGA alumni Katherine Getzen Willoughby and Dan Hall Willoughby Jr. in honor of her parents, Evangeline Sferes Getzen and Forrest William Getzen, lifelong advocates of public service and education. Previous speakers include Adm. Than Allan, Sen. Johnny Isakson, Rep. Newt Gingrich and David Walker, former director of the Government Accountability Office.