Tuesday, September 22, 2026
City of River Falls invests in leadership training through CVTC
Developing strong leaders doesn't happen by chance. For the City of River Falls, it happens through intentional investment in employees and partnerships that support professional growth.
When city leaders sought to strengthen leadership skills across departments, they turned to Chippewa Valley Technical College's Workforce Solutions and Continuing Education team to create a customized leadership development experience for employees.
"We really wanted to come up with a program that met the city's values and mission statement," said Karen Bergstrom, human resources director for the City of River Falls. "Melissa and I together pulled which sessions out of each of those four programs would best fit the needs of the city."
The result was a tailored leadership development program that brought together employees from multiple departments, including administration, public works, police, fire and community development.
One of the city's goals was to create opportunities for employees who don't typically work together to build relationships and collaborate.
"Part of that initiative of the program was to get them working and getting to know and collaborate with other departments at the city," Bergstrom said. "That worked out really, really well."
The customized approach is one reason the City of River Falls continues to partner with CVTC for workforce training. Over the years, the city has utilized a variety of training opportunities through the college, from technical and safety training to leadership development.
"We train at CVTC because we really trust them, and we trust that our employees are going to get the best training and outcomes available," Bergstrom said.
For Tyler Mason, communications coordinator for the City of River Falls, the leadership program offered a new perspective on what it means to lead.
"One of the goals I had for myself going into this was really just trying to figure out how I could become a leader in the organization, even though I don't necessarily oversee anybody in my role," Mason said.
Unlike traditional conferences or webinars he had attended in the past, Mason appreciated the interactive and comprehensive nature of the training.
"One of the ways that this training from CVTC differed from some of the other career development that I've done is it really kind of pulled in a lot of different elements throughout the course," he said. "Each session was something different and kind of pulled in something new."
As the program progressed, Mason said he gained confidence in his own abilities and discovered new ways to contribute within the organization.
"This course kind of made me realize that, yeah, I can do some of these things that leaders do," he said.
The impact extended beyond individual growth. Participants developed stronger relationships with colleagues across departments and learned from one another's experiences.
"I think everyone kind of gained some confidence, both individually, but also as a team," Mason said. "We were collaborating together in the class and sharing ideas and getting to know each other better, which I think goes a long way toward becoming leaders and really collaborating in the workplace."
Mason continues to apply lessons from the program in his day-to-day work.
"The skills that I learned from the CVTC course really helped me gain that confidence to speak up and say, 'Hey, I think we should be doing this,' or not being afraid to voice my opinion when I felt like it needed to be heard," he said.
For Bergstrom, the positive feedback from participants reinforced the value of investing in employee development.
"I got really, really great feedback from all participants," she said. "They had a lot of takeaways from each of the sessions."
As workforce needs continue to evolve, the City of River Falls sees employee development as an ongoing priority and CVTC as a trusted partner in that work.
"CVTC is an excellent partner to work with," Bergstrom said. "They were very collaborative, and it was just a really positive experience."
