Mayor Gray is participating in Bloomberg leadership program

July 15, 2025 - Mayor Jimmy Gray has begun his participation in the ninth class of the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative, a prestigious program that brings together dozens of mayors from across the nation and around the world to learn new leadership strategies.

The program was established by Bloomberg Philanthropies, Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Business School with the goal of providing mayors and other municipal leaders with "the tools and expertise to solve pressing local challenges, strengthen their city halls, and improve outcomes for residents." All expenses for the nine-month program are covered by the initiative.

Mayor Gray attended Bloomberg's Program for New Mayors in December before being sworn in on Jan. 1. He is now one of 47 mayors from 17 countries participating in this year's program.

"I am very excited to begin my participation in the ninth class of the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative," Mayor Gray said.. "Before taking office in January, I benefited so much from attending the center's Program for New Mayors, and now I am building on that experience by working with dozens of other mayors from the U.S. and around the world. We are learning from each other, from Harvard's exceptional faculty and staff, and from Bloomberg Philanthropies' international network of leaders and experts. I hope to apply what I learn from this program in ways that will make our City Hall more efficient and that will make Hampton a better place to live and work for all of our residents."

The initiative draws on faculty and staff from Harvard as well as experts from Bloomberg Philanthropies' international network for intensive classroom, virtual and field-based sessions. The program does not offer specific recommendations for policies, but rather, focuses on developing leadership skills and problem-solving capacities that the municipal leaders can apply to local challenges.

Since its launch in 2017, the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative has provided training to 359 mayors and over 635 senior municipal officials across 41 countries. Former Hampton Mayor Donnie Tuck participated in the program in 2022.