A community for outcome-obsessed local leaders
We connect local elected officials from city and county government so they can learn from each other's successes and setbacks and spread good ideas faster.
Become a Member
Who we are
Abundance Elected Network (AEN) is a national, nonpartisan network of local elected officials, mayors, councilmembers, and county commissioners, applying an Abundance lens to the challenges in their communities.
The obstacle to a thriving community isn't finding the right policy. It's knowing which fights are worth the political capital, how to win them, and how to avoid the backlash. Our members have done it, and they share how, including what nearly went wrong.
150
members across 32 states
84%
say the network makes them feel less alone in the job
51%
name learning from peers as the top thing they get
Stats as of October 2026
What members get
Connect with peers who’ve done it
- Ask a question in our members-only Slack and hear back from the mayor or councilmember who already faced that challenge
- Find the member working on your issue in the Member Portal directory, searchable by state, role, and policy area
- Meet in person at the annual Member Meeting and at regional meetings
Learn what worked & what nearly didn’t
- Success stories are easy to find anywhere. Here you also hear the setbacks, from the people who lived through them.
- Toolkits, model language, and case studies in the Member Portal, built from reforms members actually passed
- Every Slack discussion is searchable, so the answer a member gave last spring is there when you need it
Work through the hard problems together
- Virtual working groups go deep on one problem at a time, starting with housing finance and permit reform, then the issues members bring next.
- Leave with approaches that worked and language you can take to your council.
- Past sessions include the Housing Finance Mastery Series and the Permit Lab.
Lead a reform from start to finish
- The Fellowship is a year-long, project-based program for a select group of members.
- Bring one reform, work it through with your cohort and advisors, and bring it home.
- Build the leadership and communications skills to drive change, and what Fellows pass become case studies and templates the rest of the network uses. Open to existing members only.
hear from our members
Aftab Pureval
Mayor
cincinnati
cincinnati
“This group of leaders is well-positioned to offer insightful and meaningful feedback that will allow Cincinnati to continue to advance.”
Leirion Gaylor-Baird
Mayor
Lincoln, NE
Lincoln, NE
“I joined to learn from and share with peers about how we create public trust in government; how we make government better, stronger, faster and more worthy of that trust; how we can remove barriers to achieve successful outcomes.”
Khara House
Councilmember
Flagstaff, AZ
Flagstaff, AZ
“I aim to make tangible changes at the municipal level by carefully assessing our current policies and seeing where they may have caused harm or created barriers in the past, to reform and develop new policies for a stronger future for our community.”
John Hines
Vice Mayor
Tacoma, WA
Tacoma, WA
“I want to be part of a network that fosters mutual support and collaboration, where we can share strategies for overcoming obstacles, explore innovative policy solutions, and develop a collective strength to push for progress.”
Dalia Palchik
Supervisor
FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA
FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA
“I joined Abundance Elected Network to improve my knowledge of policy and best practices, and to connect with like-minded policymakers across the nation.”
Corey Woods
Mayor
Tempe, AZ
Tempe, AZ
“I want to connect with other elected officials and abundance professionals who I can share best practices with to help me be a better leader and inspire others."
Lauren Mclean
Mayor
Boise, ID
Boise, ID
“I want to gain relationships in these tough times, when being in this role feels so isolating. I want to be able to learn from others, find new ideas, and share what I gain from this opportunity with my team, our city staff, and partners in the field.”
Leonardo Williams
Mayor
Durham, NC
Durham, NC
"Being amongst an Abundance network is really like finding my “empowerment tribe.” Being within this network will afford capacity for community members as well, to speak confidently in support of chance-taking, new ideas, modernizing old systems and practices, etc."
Paige Cognetti
Mayor
Scranton, PA
Scranton, PA
“Our zoning changes came out of a Mayors Innovation Project session in 2022. As we tackle housing in Scranton, I want to learn what’s worked—and what hasn’t—in other places.”
Join the network
Membership doesn't cost money. It costs time and candor. Show up for at least two network activities a year, in person or online, and share what you're learning. In return, you get like-minded peers who've done it, and one place to find them.
Become a Member