Are you making change in your city?

If you answered yes, it may be time to break out the 2015 calendar. From May 6th to 8th, Next City will host its sixth annual Vanguard leadership conference in Reno, Nevada, bringing together 40 of the brightest urban leaders age 40 and under for three days of learning, exchanging ideas and building relationships with fellow innovators from cities across the world.

Vanguard 2014 in Chattanooga

We know that solving urban problems means working across divides and breaking silos, so we are inviting applicants from all sectors, including urban planning, community development, entrepreneurship, government, transportation, sustainability, design, art and media. We will select 40 applicants whose smart ideas for cities, experience in the field and ambition for the future all show great promise.

Past Vanguards have worked for the Obama administration, founded successful city-focused startups such as Ioby and Fundrise, held municipal office, and climbed the ranks of influential organizations such as the Brookings Institution, the Urban Institute, Code for America, Transportation Alternatives, the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Smart Growth America. Many come back to participate in subsequent conferences.

This year’s three-day conference will include workshops, tours and conversations about the newest ideas in urban development, transportation, tech and politics. You will leave Reno inspired by new perspectives and more connected to the growing urbanist movement transforming our cities.

Vanguard 2013, MOCA Cleveland

The 2015 Vanguard will be the first held west of the Mississippi River. It’s fitting that we selected Reno — a growing city now experiencing a surge of new cultural and entrepreneurial activity — as our first West Coast partner. The city’s gaming industry is shrinking while new economic drivers such as advanced manufacturing, technology and media are thriving, bringing fresh, creative energy to the city’s downtown. A three-hour drive from San Francisco and home to a research university, Reno is well-positioned for expansion of its tech industry and has already in the last year welcomed Tesla and Apple. Both are building new facilities just outside the city’s borders.

“We are at an inflection point as a community,” says Mike Kazmierski, president and CEO of the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada, the lead sponsor of the conference. “We want the young urban leaders in the country to come and see Reno for what it is becoming, not what it has been.”

The Reno Collective is a collaborative workspace for designers, creatives, technologists, entrepreneurs, freelancers, rocket scientists and startups.

The Vanguard will be curated by Next City with participation from a host committee led by EDAWN and including representatives from local businesses, the Nevada Museum of Art, the University of Nevada, Burning Man and other civic organizations. The conference will be headquartered at the Whitney Peak Hotel, the first non-gaming boutique hotel in downtown Reno and home to the world’s highest climbing wall.

Vanguards will experience Reno with the locals and explore key issues facing the city including its downtown revitalization, the role of anchor institutions such as the University of Nevada, Reno, the maker movement and the innovation economy.

Lost City Farm in Reno (Photo by B. Macdonald on Flickr)

“The entire city is excited to host the Next City Vanguard, and we truly believe we are the ‘next city’ in the west,” says Kazmierski.

We will accept applications for the 2015 Vanguard conference until Feb. 8, 2015. The only requirement is that applicants must be 40 or younger. The fee to apply is $30. If you apply before Feb. 1st, pay a reduced early-bird fee of $20. Apply here.