In June, city manager Dana McDaniel retired from his long-time leadership position with the city of Dublin, Ohio. Dana founded the ICF Global Institute at Dublin in 2016 as an educational initiative for community leaders throughout central Ohio. Within a few years, it was instrumental in the rise of a cluster of Intelligent Communities in the region, including the cities of Defiance, Fairlawn, Hilliard, Hudson, Westerville and Columbus.

When a founder steps off the stage, it can make for a difficult transition. The Dublin Institute, however, received the full backing of Council and the new city manager, Megan O’Callahghan. Its new leaders are Kirby Dearth (below left), economic development administrator; Doug McCullough (below center), chief information officer for the city; and Mitchell Ament (below right), management analyst in the office of the city’s development director. They are planning a return of its educational programs with an online workshop in September 2023 and an Ohio Intelligent Community Summit in 2024. Between these events, they will lead a delegation to the ICF Global Summit in New York, where attendees can learn more about the Institute’s success in building the world’s third-largest cluster of Intelligent Communities after ICF Canada and ICF Taiwan.