Mesa Vice Mayor Jenn Duff is joining the second class of the Complete Streets Champions Institute.

The champions institute is a program created to help motivated local elected officials from across the U.S. define, design, build and evaluate Complete Streets in their communities. Smart Growth America; the Active People, Healthy Nation Initiative; and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity support the program, according to a release.

“I am honored to be accepted into the program to learn more about Complete Streets and share innovative ideas with my colleagues, staff and residents that will help create safer, more accessible streets in Mesa for all users,” Duff said in the release.

Over the next six months, Vice Mayor Duff and her peers will attend virtual learning sessions with national experts and former local elected officials in the areas of public health, policy, street design and project implementation. After completing the program, the “champions” will be experts in promoting community reforms to create safer streets for all users, including pedestrians, cyclists, transit riders and motorists.

SGA provides Compete Streets Champions with continuing support as they serve their communities. Graduates of the program also act as emissaries to other local leaders, sharing their expertise and ideas to grow a national network of leaders who will build and expand activity-friendly routes to everyday destinations in the U.S.

“We are pleased to welcome Vice Mayor Duff to the second class of the Champions Institute,” John Robert Smith, senior policy advisor at Smart Growth America, said in the release. “Her commitment to position Mesa to become a more accessible, equitable, and economically viable community for all residents was compelling.”

The Champions Institute program is funded through a cooperative agreement with the CDC’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity.