A Fresh Perspective: Future Leader Discovers the Real Atlantic City

Sometimes it takes seeing Atlantic City through someone else's eyes to appreciate everything happening within its 48 blocks.

For Madison Miller, a rising senior at Spelman College majoring in psychology on a pre-law track, Atlantic City was a place she knew very little about. Growing up in a small town in South Carolina, she had never been to New Jersey before and when given options, chose Atlantic City as the city she wanted to experience firsthand through the African American Mayors Association (AAMA) Future Leaders Fellowship Program.

This year, Atlantic City was one of only two cities in the nation selected to host an AAMA Future Leaders Fellow, giving Miller the unique opportunity to spend several days shadowing Mayor Marty Small, Sr. and experiencing municipal government in action. With an interest in public policy and local government, she wanted to see how a mayor leads and how a city operates on a daily basis.

Throughout the week, she shadowed Mayor Small and experienced nearly every aspect of municipal leadership.

"It's been a whirlwind experience," Miller said. "I've learned how Mayor Small is trying to build up the community with housing and redevelopment and infrastructure."

Upon arriving at City Hall, she was welcomed by city staff before attending Mayor Small's weekly directors meeting, which included a presentation from the City's Division of Reentry Services. She also participated in a variety of meetings and community events, including a major Bangladesh celebration at Bader Field, a Community Walk for a Safer Atlantic City alongside New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport, and an Atlantic City Police and Fire promotional ceremony.

At a news conference announcing the progress of Lighthouse Row Phase II, one of the latest residential developments helping transform the city's Inlet neighborhood, Mayor Small handed Miller the microphone and asked her to introduce him before the assembled media.

"As an attorney I'm going to have things come at me all the time and I'm going to have to speak so this is great practice for that and great exposure," Miller said.

The experience not only gave Miller a close-up look at the work taking place across Atlantic City, but challenged many of the assumptions she had before arriving.

She was impressed by Mayor Small's leadership style and his passion.

"I love how transparent he is," she said. "He's very upfront, and that gets stuff done at the end of the day, so I think his style is good. Also, his love of the community contributes to his success. His style is determined and that's how you get things done."

One lesson in particular resonated with her and is something she plans to carry into her future career in public service: "Relationships matter."

"When he said that to me when I first got here that stuck with me," she said.

By the end of her fellowship experience, Miller left Atlantic City with a much different perspective than when she arrived. What began as a visit to a city she had never seen before became an opportunity to witness a community experiencing a remarkable resurgence.

She saw that far more is happening in Atlantic City than many people realize, and that the city's reputation is only part of its story.

Photos by City of Atlantic City photographer Edward Lea

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