Welcome

Strategic Code Enforcement Management Academy

We would like to thank the following teams for virtually attending  the Fourth Annual Strategic Code Enforcement Academy, where participants learned and shared knowledge about all things code enforcement: Memphis,TN; Covington, TN; Rockford, IL; Cincinnati, OH; Toledo, OH; and St. Louis, MO. 

We believe that building capacities while organizing sustainable collaboration among a coalition of the willing is the foundation for strategically managed enforcement of local residential housing and environmental codes. It is the key to getting the best results with the limited resources available to all neighborhoods. 

Welcome to the website of the Strategic Code Enforcement Management Academy (SCEMA). This website is intended for both public information and for use by enrolled Academy Members to continue their education and interaction with colleagues about strategic code enforcement management. You are invited to learn about the Academy and its mission by browsing the site. Click here for images from previous years.

The first three Academy sessions, held in the Spring of 2017, 2018 and 2019 in Memphis brought together teams of three to six department managers, senior public officials, lawyers, and community organization leaders from seven cities to provide training in strategic code enforcement management.  The Academy curriculum consists of four courses each led by experienced experts introducing the course topics. The teams from each city then work together on the course topic using real facts and circumstances from their actual circumstances. The objective is to share knowledge and build profession skills through the experience of working collaboratively with colleagues in other departments, organizations and professions.


The Fourth Annual Academy will take place June 25-26, 2020 and be held entirely online. Contact info@npimemphis.org for more information regarding this Academy and future peer learning opportunities. IF YOU EXPERIENCE TECHNICAL ISSUES DURING SCEMA 2020, PLEASE EMAIL IMANI JASPER AT IMANI@NPIMEMPHIS.COM. 

Since 2017 and due to the generous support of a local funder, SCEMA has been offered at no cost to participating jurisdictions. In order to sustain the work of SCEMA and to continue sharing the knowledge of our faculty we will be charging a small per person fee to attend SCEMA moving forward. We respect the budgetary restrictions cities like Memphis face and we are prepared to offer some financial assistance to cities who would not otherwise be able to participate. The fee for individuals will be $150 per person with discounts for larger groups. We believe our content and expertise is well worth the price and hope you agree. 
 
What do you get for $150? Glad you asked. SCEMA is the premiere Code Enforcement conference in the country. Comprised of two days filled with collaborative workshops, SCEMA delivers sophisticated expertise all while identifying challenges to housing code enforcement in each team’s unique city and implementing strategic solutions that involve multiple branches of city government. The access alone is worth the price of admission. Join us!

In the News…

Click here to learn more about our work in Storyboard Memphis’ Community Development Law Corner.

Click here to see who is fighting blight in Memphis.

Here’s what previous attendees are saying…

Dana M. Malkus

Associate Dean for Experiential Education

Associate Clinical Professor

Supervisor, Entrepreneurship and Community Development Clinic
Saint Louis University School of Law

SCEMA’s team-based approach and commitment to meeting workshop participants where they are was exactly what our team needed.  We came away with deeper relationships, a renewed sense of purpose, new perspectives, and some concrete ideas for action.

Matt Moak

Executive Director

Community Development Administration

City of St. Louis

There is something about working on City vacancy that affects you. It gets under your skin. I believe it has to be a part of you for you to want to work to achieve success addressing it.  It is not for everyone. The participants and instructors at the Memphis SCEMA conference had this in common.  To hear each of them present, question, offer insights and guidance with enthusiasm and determination was inspring and stirring.  It was real to connect with other urban cities in this way.  This type of work can make one feel quite alone.  Memphis brought us “loners” together. An incredible conference. Practical and intellectual, thought provoking, interactive while consistently positive and hopeful.The great cities preserve but also have to rebuild.  I felt the ability to do this at SCEMA.  Thank you.

Kathy Dillon

City Manager

City of Union City Tennessee

The Union City team was fascinated by the amount of knowledge and accomplishments in one place at one time. We learned much of what we are doing right and where we need to improve or change.  We are looking forward to this conference and networking next year.

Tiberius Laughlin

Kansas City, Kansas

Kansas City, Kansas showed up to SCEMA feeling like we have a pretty good grasp of blight and vacancy issues. We are in year 3 of our 5 year SOAR project. SCEMA provided our team a wonderful sense of validation for the strides we have made! It also showed us how far we have left to go to bring our legal processes into line with our other progress in the SOAR war on blight and vacancy. The contacts we made among the faculty, the guest and from other cities energized our commitment to continue fighting to bring our community what it needs and what it deserves! SCEMA left us feeling proud to be a member of a growing family of communities struggling and winning many of the same fights we have here in Kansas. We are not alone in the dark! SCEMA introduced us to tools he have not explored yet. We are not at the end of our journey and out of ideas! We are on an ever more crowded road with colleagues who face the same hurdles.