# Alex Torpey's substack A municipal manager rethinking governance, management, community, mind, and life. Follow the different threads here, from philosophy of governance, Upper Valley happenings, technology, science fiction, photography, nature and more. Page: Feed: --- ## [Ep 9: Practical tips for building better committees and volunteerism in your town with Nate Bernitz](https://alextorpey.substack.com/p/ep-9-practical-tips-for-building) _2026-07-14 · Alex Torpey_ Welcome to a special episode of the RETHINK LOCAL podcast. ## [Podcast: Five easy ways to regain attention and agency amidst growing tech dependence](https://alextorpey.substack.com/p/podcast-five-easy-ways-to-regain) _2026-06-16 · Alex Torpey_ After meeting Beth Malow at a Vermont Town and City Management Association Braver Angel’s workshop last month, we not only brainstormed some ways for me to get more involved with Braver Angels, but talked a lot about how people engage with what’s around them (Beth is a neurologist after all). ## [Five ways to reset your relationship with your smart devices](https://alextorpey.substack.com/p/five-ways-to-reset-your-relationship) _2026-06-12 · Alex Torpey_ This week, I wrote a guest post on the the Together Across Differences Substack on device dependency and reclaiming agency ## [Congrats to Waterville Valley, NH's new Town Manager, Ed Mullen](https://alextorpey.substack.com/p/congrats-to-waterville-valley-nhs) _2026-06-08 · Alex Torpey_ A belated congratulations to Ed Mullen, the new Town Manager in Waterville Valley, NH who is just about 30 days into the job and already doing awesome work for the community! ## [Ep 8: Five things we are missing in the discussion about local government public records](https://alextorpey.substack.com/p/ep-8-five-things-we-are-missing-in) _2026-03-12 · Alex Torpey_ Today I want to talk about public records requests — not from an abstract legal perspective, but from the ground level of actually working in towns across Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. ## [Rethink Local and Alex hired as Interim Municipal Manager in Rockingham and Bellows Falls Vermont](https://alextorpey.substack.com/p/rethink-local-and-alex-hired-as-interim) _2026-02-02 · Alex Torpey_ The Rockingham Selectboard and Bellows Falls Trustees unanimously approved a three day per week three-month contract with Rethink Local for Alex Torpey to serve as Municipal Manager. ## [Episode 7: The high stakes of land use and zoning](https://alextorpey.substack.com/p/podcast-episode-7-the-high-stakes) _2025-07-31 · Alex Torpey_ Episode 7 of the "Rethink Local" podcast (formerly Upper Valley Vibes) explores some important themes around housing ## [Rethink Local working with Randolph, VT!](https://alextorpey.substack.com/p/rethink-local-working-with-randolph) _2025-07-24 · Alex Torpey_ In a new partnership through Rethink Local, I'm serving as Director of Planning, Zoning, and Regional Partnerships on a part-time, multi-year contract with the Town of Randolph ## [Working with VLCT and Hartford, VT](https://alextorpey.substack.com/p/working-with-vlct-and-hartford-vt) _2025-07-02 · Alex Torpey_ Taking a proactive, rather than reactive, approach to future work as a Board can net big benefits ## [Episode 6: Community Nursing in the Upper Valley](https://alextorpey.substack.com/p/community-nursing-in-the-upper-valley) _2025-05-16 · Alex Torpey_ Join us over on the Upper Valley Vibes podcast to talk about healthcare, trust, relationships, rural community, and more through conversations with four tremendous nurses, including: ## [100,000 Bonus Points Await You (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/EcveVaBlRHzZ) _2025-05-16 · **Sponsored**_ Earn 100,000 bonus points after spending $5,000 in the first 3 months. ## [Leadership lessons from Ted Lasso](https://alextorpey.substack.com/p/leadership-lessons-from-ted-lasso) _2025-02-22 · Alex Torpey_ Over the last 15 years I’ve worked on projects and touched “leadership” from a few different perspectives, as a student, then professor, as a mayor, then as a mentor helping others run for office, as a town manager, and just generally a person in the world wondering what’s happening in our politics and our communities that so often leads to spoiled trust and poor outcomes and how we can do better. ## [Rethink Local launches New England Municipal Managers email group](https://alextorpey.substack.com/p/rethink-local-launches-new-england) _2025-01-16 · Alex Torpey_ The free Google group for municipal managers in New Hampshire and Vermont will help provide collaboration and connection ## [Alex on the City Manager Unfiltered podcast discussing unique shared services in CT](https://alextorpey.substack.com/p/alex-on-the-city-manager-unfiltered) _2025-01-02 · Alex Torpey_ Alex joins Joe Turner on his City Manager Unfiltered podcast about the unique shared town administrator recruitment w/ three small towns & a regional entity that he's working on at the Collins Center ## [Upper Valley Vibes Episode 5: "I voted!" Now what?](https://alextorpey.substack.com/p/i-voted-now-what) _2024-12-12 · Alex Torpey_ Last month, millions of people turned out to vote in the 2024 elections. Here are five ways to have an even greater impact around us, for all time/skill levels. ## [Upper Valley Vibes Episode 4: Education, civility, critical thinking, civil disobedience with Greg Prince of Norwich, VT](https://alextorpey.substack.com/p/upper-valley-vibes-episode-4-education) _2024-11-22 · Alex Torpey_ In this episode of Upper Valley Vibes we took another visit to Norwich over the summer where I sit down with Greg Prince. ## [Rethinking Episode 34 - The Allure of Ted Lasso](https://alextorpey.substack.com/p/rethinking-episode-34-the-allure) _2024-11-07 · Alex Torpey_ Why is Ted Lasso just so darn compelling for so many people? ## [Upper Valley Vibes Ep 3 with the Raymond Voter Information Project discussing Town Meeting, civic engagement and community trust](https://alextorpey.substack.com/p/upper-valley-vibes-ep-3-with-the) _2024-10-13 · Alex Torpey_ Hi everyone, Alex Torpey here, your host of Upper Valley Vibes. ## [Rethinking Repost: Five Minute Book Review - The Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold](https://alextorpey.substack.com/p/rethinking-repost-five-minute-book) _2024-10-02 · Alex Torpey_ In this month’s Five Minute Book Review, I give a strong recommendation for Aldo Leopold’s The Sand County Almanac. ## [A few quick hits from ICMA 2024](https://alextorpey.substack.com/p/a-few-quick-hits-from-icma-2024) _2024-10-01 · Alex Torpey_ This past week, the International City/County Management Association hosted their annual conference, which took place in Pittsburgh, PA. ## [AI News Summaries & Audio (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/fYjYQjjfqP80) _2024-10-01 · **Sponsored**_ Tap an article for an AI summary and an audio briefing. ## [Ep #28: Using AIM to reflect on always-on tech and social norms](https://alextorpey.substack.com/p/ep-28-using-aim-to-reflect-on-always) _2024-09-20 · Alex Torpey_ Callback to one of my favorite posts