LEAN GOVERNMENT SUMMIT 2026

Ever received a consultant's report that led to…nothing? No change, just more cynicism? In this talk, Jeanette and Craig share how their collaboration delivered real business improvements, not just paperwork.

They cut development permit timelines from 6-12 months to just 2-6 weeks, and their report to Council earned enthusiastic support. Discover how they:

• Built strong, sustained buy-in from leaders and teams
• Created momentum and avoided the "slow-work tax"
• Protected teams from distractions to achieve early wins
• Leveraged experimentation and iteration to accelerate progress
• Sparked a City-wide continuous improvement movement, training 250+ Lean Yellow Belts
• Combined the best of Lean and Design Thinking to deliver measurable results

Jeanette Bax is an employee at the City of Burlington.  She has 15 years of experience in municipal government over which she has held roles as a Lean Six Sigma expert (supporting improvement across many areas of municipal business), as the City of Burlington’s concierge support for high impact development files and as the Strategic Business Advisor in Burlington’s Transformation Office (supporting improved business planning, performance and change management and continuous improvement).  She has experience leading continuous improvement efforts with Niagara Regional Police Service, Senior Services, Ontario Works, Procurement, Niagara Regional Housing, and, for the last 4 years, improving development application processes in Burlington. 

Craig Szelestowski is a thought leader in applying Lean to the work of government. As a public sector executive leading the Royal Canadian Mint’s Lean turnaround, he helped it move from precarious financial losses to profitability, and poor morale to being the first public sector organization in Canada being named to Top Canadian Employers lists.  Founder of Lean Agility, he has developed this public sector practice into one of the most effective providers of training and consulting in North America.  He teaches several programs at the University of Ottawa’s Telfer Centre for Executive Leadership, including Lean Strategic Planning.

Being an agent of change is grueling at the best times; and we aren’t in the best of times. Helping others is what we do, but who’s helping you? Building upon last year’s successful presentation, join Jean Marleau, a seasoned public servant and self-described "positive disruptor," as he shares practical tools to help you manage yourself, as you support others, during these trying times. Discover strategies that enable you to recast challenges, maintain a positive mindset, and continue driving change within your organization.

Jean Marleau is a seasoned public servant with over 20 years of experience, including a significant tenure in executive roles. His career began on the front lines, delivering essential services to Canadians and gaining firsthand insights into the public service's impact. Throughout his career, Jean has been a champion of service excellence, leading transformative projects that prioritize the needs of Canadians. His focus on service design and delivery has driven significant improvements in government operations. More recently, Jean led the modernization of the Official Languages Act, demonstrating exceptional leadership and resilience in the face of complex challenges. As a dedicated Lean practitioner, he is passionate about continuous improvement and is particularly interested in the human aspects of organizational change.  

All the world is abuzz with talk of AI these days…but when it comes to actually using it to improve the daily work of government, it’s still not very common.

In this session Ken will use real-life examples and hands-on demonstrations to speak to you about:

• In what sorts of typical government work tasks AI can help you… and in what sorts of tasks it can’t.
• How AI improves work processes and how it does not.
• How to apply an intelligent combination of AI solutions and traditional process changes (aka Lean) to increase the overall impact of your improvements.

Whether you’ve never used AI before, or you’ve only used it in your personal life, you will leave this session feeling more confident in where, when, and how to start using AI at work.

Ken has been a Senior Consultant with Lean Agility since 2020.  He is author of Office Lean: Understanding and Implementing Flow in Administrative and Professional Environments (CRC Press, 2020).  Prior to being a consultant, he held process improvement roles in the areas of government financial services (Export Development Canada) and international ocean transportation (Maersk Line).  He holds an MA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an MBA from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto.  He teaches part-time in the MBA program at the University of Ottawa’s Telfer School of Management.

Transformation and improvement methodologies are designed to improve speed, quality, and efficiency. At the same time, expectations around equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility continue to grow, and the use of Gender-Based Analysis Plus (GBA+) is becoming more common. When these considerations are introduced late in the process, teams often face rework, limited design options, and challenges with adoption.

This session explores how GBA+ and accessibility can be embedded into the DMAIC framework through small, intentional shifts in each phase. By reframing how we define, measure, and analyze issues, teams can identify barriers earlier and design improvements that are more inclusive, accessible, and sustainable over time.

Marie-Ève Gratton is a Senior Business Improvement Analyst working in transformation, process improvement and GBA+ in the Canadian public sector. Her background includes leading and supporting improvement initiatives using Lean, Six Sigma, and Agile methodologies. She brings a practical, human-centered lens to her work, with a focus on designing solutions that are both efficient and inclusive.

Does your organization struggle to say "no", leaving critical initiatives starved of capacity?  Are your business processes slow because your leaders overwhelmed by too many priorities?

The art of Lean Strategic Planning (hoshin kanri) adapted for government can be the breakthrough your organization has been missing.

In this session, Craig will share a proven Lean approach to strategic planning that helps organizations break free from the "too much, too slow" trap.  He'll share content from case studies where organizations went from 22 priorities to just two priorities, creating breakthrough focus and freeing up capacity.

Learn how to:

• Start with the problems to be solved, before identifying initiatives; allowing the organization to address causes instead of just symptoms.
• Distinguish "must-do, can't fail" priorities from "should-do", "could-do" and "don't do" initiatives.
• Recognize true capacity constraints and say "no thanks, not yet" to preserve focus.
• Create broader ownership by engaging operational-level employees in strategy development, not just its implementation.
• Make plans visible and adjust dynamically as you learn - using planned experiments, visual management, and continuous improvement routines.

This practical talk equips Lean change agents to guide leaders toward more realistic, executable strategies that free up capacity for both strategic work and continuous improvement.

Craig Szelestowski is a thought leader in applying Lean to the work of government. As a public sector executive leading the Royal Canadian Mint’s Lean turnaround, he helped it move from precarious financial losses to profitability, and poor morale to being the first public sector organization in Canada being named to Top Canadian Employers lists.  Founder of Lean Agility, he has developed this public sector practice into one of the most effective providers of training and consulting in North America.  He teaches several programs at the University of Ottawa’s Telfer Centre for Executive Leadership, including Lean Strategic Planning.

Washington State agencies have used Lean to improve how we work over the past decade—and now we’re building on that with a shift toward Customer Experience (CX) - bringing a stronger focus on empathy, equity, and what it feels like for people to interact with government.

In this interactive session, Jeannie will show how Lean and CX fit together, what’s changing in the State's approach, and what support we are providing to our public servants. You’ll explore tools and principles, and a handful of case studies of CX in action in the State of Washington.

Jeannie Bowen is a Senior Performance Advisor for Washington State, where she supports agencies and the Governor’s office in strategic planning, performance management, and continuous improvement. With over a decade of experience guiding statewide initiatives, Jeannie brings deep expertise in Lean Six Sigma (Black Belt), Human-Centered Design (LUMA-certified), and Prosci Change Management. She has led numerous process improvement efforts, served as a Baldrige Examiner, and helped develop strategic plans across multiple agencies. Known for her practical approach and people-first mindset, Jeannie is passionate about building organizational capability and improving the experience of those we serve. Outside of work, she’s an avid traveler who finds inspiration in exploring new places and perspectives.

Government organizations are rich with expertise, yet that knowledge is often fragmented across agencies, functions, and roles. This session explores how the State of Vermont is intentionally breaking down silos by building and sustaining cross-government communities that make learning visible, accessible, and actionable. Participants will learn how Vermont has developed a portfolio of Communities of Practice (COPs)—including grants and contracts, financial services, data, project and change management, workforce and organizational development, accessibility, continuous improvement, technology, and emerging areas such as artificial intelligence—to connect practitioners around shared challenges and solutions. The session will also highlight how these communities are reinforced with a centralized Subject Matter Expert Directory and structured Success Story Sharing that elevates improvements. Attendees will leave with practical insights on designing lightweight, scalable knowledge-sharing systems that reduce duplication, strengthen capability, and embed continuous improvement into the day-to-day work of government.

Katie Bockwoldt is the Director of Performance Improvement for the State of Vermont. She manages the State of Vermont’s Continuous Improvement Training Program, coordinates the Continuous Improvement Network of over 1,500 employees, and also works directly with teams and individuals on process improvement, performance management, and strategy development. Prior to this position, Katie was a Continuous Improvement Program Manager at the Agency of Transportation, Environmental Analyst at the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, and research fellow at US EPA. Katie has a Master of Science degree in Freshwater Science from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies from Roanoke College.