chasity wells
Unapologetically Uplifting Women
Local Government Leadership Strategist, Speaker & Researcher
Leadership Strategy for Local Government Leaders and Their Teams
I bring leadership strategy to local government and public sector teams through staff workshops, board and council retreats, and keynotes.
For women leaders preparing for the next seat, I provide individualized strategy through a private advisory retainer.
Does This Sound Like You or Your Team?
- Your staff is facing increased incidents of incivility and hostility from residents.
- Your staff is divided over conflicts outside local government.
- Your board or council needs clear norms for how members treat staff.
- Your managers need the capacity to lead through conflict and stress.
- You absorb hostility at the podium, in your inbox, and in the grocery store.
- A new board arrived, and you must prove your value from scratch.
- You carry the stress home, and the people who love you feel the weight.
- You are already doing the work of the next seat without the title.
The strongest local governments do not wait for the next crisis to invest in their people.
Resources
free download
What No Training Program, Campaign School, or Leadership Cohort Will Tell You…
free Newsletter
THE LEADERSHIP CATALYST
My Signature Methodology
The SCALE™ Framework
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The SCALE™ Framework for Public Sector Leadership™ guides my workshops, retreats, and individualized strategy.
SCALE™ is your blueprint for building, naming, and using the record that already qualifies you to lead at the next level.
Work With Me
Workshops, Retreats & Keynotes for Local Government Teams
Custom Engagements · Starting at $12K
Build a Stronger, More Unified Team.
Your staff absorbs the anger at the front counter. Your board feels it at the podium. Most of them carry it home in silence. The strongest local governments give their people a plan for that pressure.
Every custom workshop, retreat, and keynote starts with your team’s own voices and comes from someone who has sat in every seat at the table.
HOW IT WORKS
- Book a partnership assessment.
- Receive a custom proposal built around your goals.
- Lead a team that stays steady under pressure.
Work With Me
The Catalyst Strategic Advisory Retainer ™
Four (4) Months · $15,000 · Limited Seats
Step Into the Next Seat With Calm Authority.
You already run the meeting, calm the crisis, and carry the department. Someone else still holds the title.
Talent built your record. Strategy wins the seat.
A comptroller I mentored now runs a city. For four months, you prepare with someone who has sat on both sides of the hiring table.
What You Receive:
- SCALE™ to Soar Leadership Assessment™ with a written report
- Eight private 60-minute strategy sessions
- Text or voice message access between sessions for urgent situations
- Board Dynamics Brief™, with a review of one of your meetings, in person or by video
- Leadership Response Vault™ with ready -to-use language for your toughest conversations
- A bound SCALE™ Leadership Guidebook™
- One strategic introduction from my national network of mayors and managers
Results From Local Government Leaders
"Working with Coach Chasity was a turning point in my leadership journey. After serving as Comptroller under five mayors, I was accomplished but hadn’t envisioned myself in the top role. Through her coaching, I gained clarity and the confidence to lead at a higher level. That shift empowered me, and today I serve proudly as a city manager."
— Elizabeth B., City Manager
“Chasity was instrumental in helping me navigate stakeholder management and rigorous prioritization. She helped me establish a clear, strategic boundary between high-leverage responsibilities and tasks better served by delegation. Learning how to delegate effectively empowered my leadership team to own their roles and scale our impact.”
— L.S., Municipal Executive
"Chasity helped me launch a successful campaign for Illinois State Representative. She guided me during the creation of strategy and helped me leverage my strengths to broaden my networks. She is focused and tenacious while at the same time exuding encouragement and inspiration to those around her."
— Kate C., Former Illinois State Representative
“Working with Chasity has greatly boosted my confidence and ability to lead. I now communicate more effectively, participate actively in meetings, and handle conflict without shying away. This has enabled me to create better policies, set priorities for my team, and lead with greater confidence.”
— Barbara B., Municipal Department Director
"Chasity strategic guidance and counsel instills confidence and determination to pursue goals despite obstacles. Her commitment to an inclusive and supportive environment empowers women, particularly those of color, to excel in leadership. Chasity's leadership and mentorship exemplify the transformative power of diversity."
— Deborah W., Retired Village Administrator
"As a journalist and podcast host, I was looking for someone who could explain policy, leadership, and empowerment. Her lived experience and her career as a barrier breaking leader give her real credibility. She is the sounding board, coach, and strategist you never knew you needed. She is authentic, and her perspective is hard won."
— Robin Hamilton, Journalist & Podcast Host, Democracy Does
I have sat in your seat.
As a former mayor, village manager, city council member, and school board member, I have led through crises, hostile boards, and public pressure with no playbook.
Chasity Wells-Armstrong is a local government leadership strategist, speaker, and researcher. She served as a congressional staffer, school board member, city council member, mayor, and village manager.
She was the first Black mayor of Kankakee, Illinois, and only the second woman elected to that office.
Chasity co-researched Under Pressure, a Mayors Innovation Project and University of Wisconsin-Madison report cited by POLITICO. A quarter of the women mayors surveyed reported harassment three or more times per month, compared with 10% of men. She knows that pressure firsthand from her own years in office.
Today, Chasity brings leadership strategy to local government and public sector teams through staff workshops, board and council retreats, and keynotes. For women leaders preparing for the next seat, she provides individualized strategy through the Catalyst Strategic Advisory Retainer™.
Catalyst Coaching & Transformation is a certified Woman-Owned Small Business available for government contracts and interagency partnerships.
Research & Published Work
- DAILY JOURNAL
- CHICAGO TONIGHT
Get In Touch!
Join Our Newsletter
The Leadership Catalyst™ is my free newsletter for the terrain in front of you. Each issue delivers strategy for local government leaders navigating political pressure and preparing for the next seat.
About Chasity
With leadership experience spanning congressional staffer, city council member, mayor, village manager, and private school board member, she has built a record most people never take the time to see, navigated hostile boards, and led through crises with no playbook.
As the first Black mayor of Kankakee, Illinois, she led through COVID-19, national unrest, and rising public hostility while securing record infrastructure investment and advancing equity, public safety, and inclusion across her community.
Today, she brings leadership strategy to local government and public sector teams. For women leaders preparing for the next seat, she provides individualized strategy.