Lunch & Learn – Talking About What Divides Us: Communicating with Residents on Difficult and Controversial Topics

Presenter:  Susan Schrack Wood, PhD. Director of Communications, PA Municipal League

Susan Schrack Wood is the Director of Communications for the Pennsylvania Municipal League, and an adjunct professor at York College of Pennsylvania. She is a multiple Emmy award-winning reporter and meteorologist with decades of journalism experience. She has master’s degrees in environmental health and science and worked at the Pennsylvania Department of Health on studies researching the health effects of environmental exposures on populations. Dr. Schrack Wood has a PhD in communications and researches ways to improve the effectiveness of communication messaging.

Description:

Did you know that more than 70% of local government officials say they’ve personally experienced harassment connected to their public role? This Lunch and Learn session is a one-hour workshop on communicating touchy local issues like zoning, data center development, and taxes. We’ll provide practical frameworks, real scenarios, and a toolkit with messaging for social media and your website, as well as strategies to better communicate with your residents.

Academy Lunch & Learn Series

Lunch & Learns are scheduled for the third Thursday of each month

Join us for a dynamic series of monthly Lunch & Learn sessions designed to deliver bite-sized, high-impact learning for busy municipal officials and staff.  Each session will focus on a timely and relevant topic in Finance, Administration, or Management.

Whether you’re a manager, elected official, staff member, or administrative leader, these sessions will offer:

• Actionable strategies you can apply immediately
• Expert-led insights tailored to the realities of local government

Bring your lunch and your curiosity—we’ll provide the tools to help you lead more effectively, solve problems faster, and serve your community better.

Registration

• Send a message to lla@pml.org for group rates for 10 or more registrants.
• By registering for this Lunch & Learn webinar, you are authorizing the League Learning Academy to forward information to you at your email address related to educational offerings.
• Once your registration is completed, you should receive a confirmation email from The PA Municipal League. It contains the zoom link to the course. If you do not receive an email, check your spam folder.
• Participants must attend the entire 1-hour session to earn a course certificate.

Cancellation & No‑Show Policy

• Cancellations must be submitted in writing at least 72 hours before the class to receive a full refund.
• Cancellations after 72 hours may receive a partial refund, minus a processing fee.
• No‑shows or failure to cancel will forfeit the full registration