How can I communicate more efficiently and effectively in the era of Gov 2.0? What tools should I be using to get things done that may be new to me? The Next Generation of Government Summit will help government employees of all stripes answer these questions – and many more – during a two-day D.C. area gathering.

The NextGen Summit will take place July 6-7 at the Westin Arlington Gateway hotel in Arlington, Va. The event will bring together federal, state and local government leaders to focus on the resources necessary to “get real tactical skills" to do their jobs better and manage their careers better, said Steve Ressler, founder of GovLoop and co-founder of Young Government Leaders, the hosts of the Summit. Sponsors of the event include Aetna, careerbuilder.com, and Hewlett-Packard. OhMyGov is a media partner of the Summit.

Ressler and Tim Sommella – president of Young Government Leaders, a member of the U.S. Coast Guard and a Harvard graduate – created the idea and framework behind the Summit in order to facilitate participants with an opportunity to meet, network and share better practices with various government leaders of all sectors. Attendees will also hear from senior government officials and private sector leaders as they reveal their tips to succeed in today's highly wired culture.

How to transition between industry and government, and how to “manage up” are also topics that the conference will address, according to Ressler. He noted that the Next Generation of Government Summit is essentially a “training conference” to help individuals develop the skills to become government and private sector leaders.    

Ressler has worked on promoting the Summit via the Young Government Leaders’ and the Summit’s websites, through blogging on GovLoop and the event home page, and by utilizing many of the other social media tools available to Gov 2.0 communicators everywhere, such as Twitter and Facebook.

Here are some of the sessions participants will be able to attend:

How to Create Innovation in Government

Ben Berkowitz, CEO of SeeClickFix; Michael Keating, manager of Open Plans; and Laurel Ruma, editor of O’Reilly Media will come together to comprise the panel of experts who will share how they’ve created innovation in government and how you can too.

Get your Geek on! Mastering Tech Tools


This session will focus on Gov 2.0 communications and how to use the social media tools available on the Internet. It will also delve into the power of the Internet and how quickly it's growing. Speakers include Neil Callanan, CEO of LooseGrip Communications and Jesse Thomas, creator of JESS3, an interactive and creative company that focuses on web design. You can check out Thomas’s video, State of Internet, on YouTube.

Transforming Communications- Case Study and Discussion


Dannielle Blumenthal, public affairs specialist on branding and social media for the U.S. Government; Gautham Nagesh, Hillicon Valley blogger (The Hill); and Ed O’Keefe, Federal Eye blogger (The Washington Post) will discuss Gov 2.0 communications, how they're changing, and how the changes will affect the next generation of government.

Career Conversations


A panel of experts will define key moments pertinent to successfully managing up. The panel is made up of Director for the Office of Information Collection (EPA) Lisa Schlosser and former Commissioner for the Federal Acquisition Service (General Services Administration). The Moderator, and Professional Development Chair for Young AFCEANS, will be Jeremy Rissi.

Managing Your Life and Career - A Framework


Frank DiGiammarino, deputy coordinator for Recovery Implementation (Executive Office of the President) will provide a framework about how to map out where you are in your career and how to balance and maximize different aspects of your life – personal, work, values, etc. How do you think through opportunities as they arise and how can you put yourself in the position to be offered promotional opportunities? Attend the Next Generation of Government Summit to find out.

For a complete listing of the Next Generation of Government, you can view the schedule on the event website: http://www.nextgengovt.com/schedule

Register by June 13th with discount code "GLrockstars" to save $110. nextgengovt.com