Jeanne Goodvin, the immediate past president of the Wichita Sister Cities program, has been appointed as the state coordinator by Sister Cities International. Goodvin was selected as a state coordinator because of her past 15 years involvement with Sister Cities. She served two times as the President of the Wichita Sister Cities program.
Representing more than 2,400 communities in 134 countries, Sister Cities International (www.sister-cities.org) is a citizen diplomacy network that creates and strengthens partnerships between the U.S. and communities abroad.
“I’m eager to represent the state of Kansas and I hope to add more cities to the program and create a network of information to connect cities to each other,” Goodvin said.
Goodvin has been a local elected official, serving four years on the Wichita Board of Education and one year as the president of the board. She has been with the City of Wichita the past 14 years where she serves in the City Manager’s Office as the ADA Director. She also served two years as the City’s interim government lobbyist in Topeka. She has been active on several local boards and currently serves on The Wichita Children’s Home Advisory Board and the Kansas World Trade Center’s Advisory Board. She has been a foster parent to more than 15 children and a host to five students as part of the International Intercultural Student Exchange Program.
Kansas has 10 active sister city programs, partnered with 18 communities outside the United States.
“State coordinators play a pivotal role in strengthening the sister city movement and have extensive experience in grassroots community development,” said Patrick Madden, executive director of Sister Cities International, the Washington, DC based organization that connects 2,400 communities across 134 countries. “They are volunteers who provide hands-on help and advice to local sister city organizations in their state.”
Launched in 1956 after a White House summit where U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower called for people-to-people exchanges, sister city partnerships are tailored to local interests and increase global cooperation at the grassroots level.
Sister Cities International promotes peace through mutual respect, understanding and cooperation by focusing on sustainable development, youth and education, arts and culture, humanitarian assistance and economic growth programs.
Back to Top