Matt Mueller

Matt Mueller is the Town Manager for Little Elm, Texas, one of the fastest-growing communities in the nation. Having served in local government for 15 years, he holds a bachelor?s degree in political science from the University of Central Oklahoma and a Master of Public Administration degree from the University of Oklahoma.

The biggest challenge you?ve conquered? ? I started in my first executive level position when I was 26, and a challenge that I have had to overcome has been my age.  Since that time, I have been tasked with managing people older than me, and in many cases, with many more years of experience who aren?t excited about change.  I realized that I had to earn their respect from my actions, not expect it because of my title. 

Advice to young leaders? ? The growing trend of social media as a communication platform…It used to be that you needed a strong relationship with your local media to communicate with the public, then it was important to identify the local bloggers, but now with the overwhelming growth of social media over the past five years, every citizen has a voice and a platform. If you are not able provide a high level of transparency, clarity, and communication, the local social media groups can spiral out of control with misinformation.