State Senator Julie Rosen (R-Vernon Center) was one of only 26 state legislators from across the United States selected to attend an exclusive training seminar on legislative negotiation techniques and innovative ideas. The three day conference, which took place Nov. 29 – Dec. 1, was co-hosted by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) and Harvard University’s Kennedy School Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, and featured both Republicans and Democrats from state Houses and state Senates throughout the country.

The goal of the prestigious training program was to strengthen participants’ problem solving skills by examining case studies, with a focus on engaging in productive conversations and viewing issues from each other’s point of view in order to find common ground.

“It was an honor to be selected to attend this program with such an exclusive group of state legislators from around the country,” said Sen. Rosen. “I am especially interested to put these techniques into practice in my role as Finance Committee Chair. Developing a comprehensive state budget is a challenge task even under the best circumstances, and the approaches we studied will help us provide better service to our constituents and to the state of Minnesota.”

This was the first time that NCSL has partnered with Harvard for this training program, which they are attempting to roll out to a number of other states.