In early December, several of our staff members attended the Council on Government Ethics Laws (COGEL) conference in Kansas City, Missouri. This annual program provides professionals from across the US and Canada with the opportunity to learn the latest in ethics training, legislation, and enforcement within the fields of campaign finance, lobbying, government ethics, freedom of information, and elections. Attendees and panelists this year included members of government agencies, lobbyists, auditors, journalists, good government advocates, and attorneys practicing in ethics compliance and litigation. COGEL also shared its yearly batch of “blue books” at the conference – an invaluable collection of resources containing high-level overviews of new legislation, rulemaking, legal precedent, and other noteworthy information from across North America in several relevant subject areas.

This year, General Counsel, Jordana Greenwald, and Director of Training and Outreach, Danielle Gardner Wright, both served as conference panelists. Ms. Greenwald spoke about campaign finance regulation in the age of social media, and Ms. Gardner Wright discussed Philadelphia’s ethics training program and Lobbying Information System. In addition, our Public Integrity Compliance Services Supervisor, Bryan McHale, helped plan the conference as treasurer of the COGEL Board of Directors. The Philadelphia Board of Ethics remains a leader within the national ethics community, and Board staff are looking forward to continuing to expand their professional network and implementing what they learned at this year’s conference.