Agenda
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Bringing Jobs Back Through Innovation, Collaboration and Leadership
2012 EDA Seattle Region Training Conference
April 3 – 5
Portland Hilton and Executive Towers | 921 SW Sixth Avenue | Portland, OR
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
8:30 am – 6:00 pm Conference Registration
8:30 am – 1:00 pm Mobile Workshops
- Ports and the Regional Economy (8:30 am – 1:00 pm)
Jump on the bus and head out of the city for a trip along the Columbia River to the Port of Hood River and the Port of Cascade Locks! Enjoy the wondrous scenery as the guide shares a bit of information about the economic aspects of the region. Upon arrival at the Port of Hood River, the group will learn about EDA’s infrastructure investment that has enhanced the Port’s operations, and about the impact and importance of the Port to the region. Attendees will learn about the businesses located in the Port’s industrial park. Over lunch, attendees will also participate in a roundtable discussion with about the high-tech cluster in the region, how EDA investments helped the high-tech cluster flourish in a rural area. The workshop capacity is 30; there is a $40 additional charge to cover the cost for lunch and transportation. Pre-registration is required. Comfortable shoes are a must as you will be getting on and off the bus numerous times.
- Science Revolution (9:00 am – 11:30 am)
Join your peers for this walking tour to the campus of Portland State University (PSU) to learn about EDA’s $1.2 million investment in the Science Research and Training Center. After a presentation from PSU leadership, the group will break into smaller groups for a tour of the facility and to meet with staff and students to learn how the enhancements have impacted their research. Also as part of this mobile workshop, representatives from Oregon’s three Signature Research Centers will share insights into their efforts to commercialize promising emerging technology from university-based research across the state through their EDA-funded i6 Challenge Grant. The tour capacity is 50; there is no charge to attend but you must pre-register. Be sure to wear comfortable walking shoes and bring an umbrella if there is a chance of rain as the tour will proceed rain or shine!
2:30 – 5:30 pm Opening Plenary
Bringing Jobs Back through Innovation, Collaboration and Leadership
Welcome: A. Leonard Smith, Seattle Regional Director, EDA Seattle Regional Office
Conference Gurbax Sahota, Chief Operating Officer for CALED and Executive Director for the
Moderator: California Academy for Economic Development
Three panels and facilitated discussions will tackle the challenges and opportunities for job creation and growth as evidenced through various programs aimed at cultivating entrepreneurs and expanding export opportunities, and businesses that are making considerable investments locally.
- Panel 1: Getting Back to the Basics: Creating Local Job Opportunities
Learn about the logistical and economic reasons that are prompting businesses to maintain operations in the U.S. as opposed to on foreign shores; and learn why businesses are choosing to move operations back to the U.S. Panelists will also talk about the impact of job creation and retention on the economy.
Panelist: Hank Wuh, MD, MPH, Founder and CEO, Skai Ventures
Panelist: Jesse Oliver, Director of Sales, AmFor Electronics
Facilitator: Dan Ripke, Director, Center for Economic Development at CSU, Chico
- Panel 2: Expanding Exporting Opportunities
Participate in a discussion about the importance of exporting from all sectors of the region and hear about successful approaches and strategies to becoming a part of the active global economy.
Panelist: Sean Robbins, CEO, Greater Portland, Inc.
Panelist: David Sikkink, Acting Administrator, Hawaii Foreign Trade Zone 9
Panelist: Scott Goddin, Director, International Trade Administration
Facilitator: Dan Ripke, Director, Center for Economic Development at CSU, Chico
- Panel 3: Cultivating Entrepreneurs
Hear about innovative and successful entrepreneurial programs that are working in the region, and participate in a living conversation about ways to help entrepreneurs overcome challenges and barriers they will likely encounter as they build and grow their businesses.
Panelist: Hank Wuh, MD, Founder and CEO, Skai Ventures
Panelist: Dave McFadden, Yakima County Development Association
Panelist: Bruce Wright, Associate Vice President, University Research Parks, U. of AZ
Facilitators: Gail Fujita, Economic Development Representative for Hawaii and Pacific Islands
John Kennedy, Senior Vice President for Development, Government and External Affairs,
Los Angeles Urban League
6:00 – 7:30 pm Networking Reception
Continue the discussions from the opening plenary, unwind with long-time colleagues from throughout the region, share and exchange information and ideas with peers, or visit with EDA Seattle Regional Office staff before you head out to dinner at one of Portland’s many fabulous restaurants!
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
7:30 am – 5:00 pm Conference Registration
8:45 – 10:00 am Plenary Session: Federal and State Strategies for Job Creation
Introductions: A. Leonard Smith, Seattle Regional Director, EDA Seattle Regional Office
Welcome: The Honorable Sam Adams, Mayor of Portland
Speaker: Governor John Kitzhaber (Video Welcome)
Speaker: The Honorable Matthew Erskine, Acting Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development
Speaker: Rohit Shukla, CEO, Larta Institute
Conference Gurbax Sahota, Chief Operating Officer for CALED and Executive Director for the
Moderator: California Academy for Economic Development
10:15 – 10:30 am Break
10:30 am – 12:00 pm Concurrent Sessions
- Regional Innovation Accelerator Network (RIAN)
Entrepreneurship, technology, innovation and commercialization are fundamental drivers behind the Regional Innovation Acceleration Network (RIAN). Funded by the EDA and supported by the State Science and Technology Institute (SSTI), RIAN is a virtual networking tool that bridges together people, ideas, and resources as the basis for economic growth and development. Learn more about RIAN during this interactive session.
Speaker: Mark Skinner, Vice President, SSTI
Moderator: David Porter, Economic Development Representative, EDA Seattle Regional Office
- Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS), part 1: Know Your Region
NADO’s Know Your Region initiative, funded by EDA, promotes regional approaches to economic development through education, training, and peer exchanges for Economic Development Districts (EDDs). This session will focus on emerging national and state trends that are creating opportunities for EDDs and discuss how Comprehensive Economic Development Strategies (CEDS) can be leveraged to strengthen regional partnerships and provide leadership on economic development and workforce issues. Topics will include statewide CEDS initiatives, innovation-based models at urban and rural EDDs, and the role of data in communicating the value of regional collaboration.
Speaker: Brian Kelsey, Civic Analytics and NADO Research Foundation
Moderator: Richard Manwaring, Area Director, EDA Seattle Regional Office
- Accessing Capital in Turbulent Economic Times
Attend this session to learn about innovative approaches that economic development organizations are implementing to help businesses (small and large, rural and urban) that are raising capital to startup or expand their operations.
Speaker: James Deffenbaugh, Executive Director, Panhandle Area Council
Speaker: Roberto Barragan, President, Valley Economic Development Center
Speaker: Steve Andrews, Special Assistant to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa
Speaker: Wanetta Ayers, Director, State of Alaska Division of Economic Development
Moderator: Ron Fox, SOREDI
12 – 1:30 pm Luncheon Plenary: Getting Back to Made in the U.S.A.
The featured speakers will talk about how their organizations have strategically decided to make their products in the U.S.A., either from the beginning or as part of a new direction to “re-shore” or bring jobs opportunities back to the U.S.
Speaker: Chandra Brown, President, United Streetcar
Speaker: James Curleigh, CEO, Keen
Moderator: Don Wick, Executive Director, Economic Development Association of Skagit County (tentative)
1:45 – 3:15 pm Concurrent Sessions
- Triple Bottom Line: Assessing the Real Bottom Line of Investments
Learn about this corporate sector approach to thinking about the economic, social, and environmental value that is added or destroyed by an investment. The triple bottom line (TBL) provides an accounting of the real bottom line – the full range of costs and benefits associated with an investment. This session will showcase a tool aimed at various stakeholders (practitioners, policymakers, and public, private, and non-profit investors) to account for the real bottom line – the full range of costs and benefits associated with an investment.
Speaker: Janet Hammer, PhD, Director, The Initiative on Triple Bottom Line
Development, College of Urban and Public Affairs, Portland State University
Moderator: Richard Berndt, Economic Development Representative, EDA Seattle Regional Office
- Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS),part 2: Meaningful Strategic Planning
Attend this session to hear from EDA staff about ways to undertake a CEDS planning process that results in a relevant strategic plan. Session will include discussion about statewide approaches to comprehensive economic development strategic planning and tribal planning.
Speaker: Richard Manwaring, Area Director, EDA
Speaker: Andy Varner, Executive Director, SWAMC
Speaker: Sue Wolf, PhD, Community Planning/Economic Development Director, Makah Tribe
- Disasters and the Economy: Preparing and Rebuilding
Participate in this afternoon-long session that will address ways to prepare for the inevitable – plant closures, weather events, climate change, economic downturns, and other events that can crush economies, and provide examples of communities that have reclaimed economic strength after disasters struck.
Speaker: Charles Ada, II, Director, Guam International Airport Authority
Speaker: Tony Hyde, Columbia County Commissioner and President, Columbia-Pacific EDD
Speaker: Bryson Bailey, Director Business Recruitment, Tri-City Development Council
Facilitator: Josh Barnes, Program Analyst, U. S. Economic Development Administration
3:15 – 3:30 pm Break
3:30 – 5:00 pm Concurrent Sessions
- Best Practices in Sustainable Economic Development
Find out how communities throughout the EDA Seattle region are embracing sustainable
economic development approaches and achieving results, especially with regard to job
creation through new approaches to green jobs.
Speaker: Joan Timeche, Navajo Nations Institute for Leadership (tentative – Jacob)
Speaker: Jesse Cardenas, Columbia-Pacific Resource Conservation EDD
Speaker: Amy Tykeson, CEO and President, BendBroadband
Speaker: Lori Miles-Luchak, President, Miles Fiberglass
Moderator: Cylvia Hayes, CEO, 3E Strategies
- Enhancing the Workforce to Meet Employer Needs Now and in the Future
Learn about innovative methods that communities, regions, and states are using to address the types of skills that today’s jobs, and those in the future, need.
Speaker: Todd Schwarz, PhD, Dean of Professional, Technical and Workforce Programs, College
of Southern Idaho
Speaker: Papalii Failautusi ‘Tusi’ Avegalio, PhD, Director, University of Hawaii University Center
Speaker: Steven L. VanAusdle, PhD, President, Walla Walla Community College
Moderator: Tom Harris, PhD, Center for Resource Economics, University of Nevada, Reno
- Disasters and the Economy: Preparing and Rebuilding
Session continuation.
Thursday, April 5, 2012
7:15 – 8:30 am Plenary Breakfast: Federal Updates
Join your peers for breakfast and continue the networking before hearing about the latest developments from Capitol Hill.
Speaker: Deborah Cox, Director of Government Relations/Legislative Affairs, NADO
Conference Gurbax Sahota, Chief Operating Officer for CALED and Executive Director for the California
Moderator: Academy for Economic Development
8:45 – 10:00 am Plenary Session: Successful Models for Job Generation
This final plenary session will leave conference attendees inspired as they learn about exciting new and innovative ways to develop skilled workforces that can meet the jobs of the future.
Speaker: Patricia Beckmann, Ph.D., Executive Director, Oregon Translational Research and
Drug Development Institute
Speaker: Pamela Treece, Executive Director, Portland Regional Partners
Speaker: Kristina Hudson, Business Development Manager, Enterprise Seattle
Facilitator: David Porter, Economic Development Representative, EDA Seattle Regional Office
Conference Gurbax Sahota, Chief Operating Officer for CALED and Executive Director for the California
Moderator: Academy for Economic Development
10:00 – 10:15 am Break
10:15 am – 11:15 am EDA Program Area Workshops
These nuts and bolts workshops are intended for current EDA grantees to hear from EDA staff about new details and requirements for programs, as well as talk about issues and concerns. Workshops will address issues and concerns related to applying for, and compliance with, EDA programs.
- Economic Adjustment Program (Special Initiatives, RLFs, Disaster Funds, Rural Jobs Accelerator)
Speaker: Linda O’Rourke, Program Specialist
Speaker: Brian Parker, Economic Development Specialist
Moderator: Bernhard Richert, Area Director
- Partnership Planning, Technical Assistance, and University Center Grant Programs
Speaker: Richard Manwaring, Area Director
Speaker: Frances Sakaguchi, Economic Development Specialist
Speaker: Sharon Metiva, Economic Development Specialist
- Public Works & Infrastructure Program
Speaker: Kristine Skrinde, Senior Civil Engineer
Speaker: Brian Alvis, Civil Engineer
11:25 am – 12:30 pm EDA Program Area Workshops
Repeat of the three EDA program area workshops.
12:30 pm Conference Adjourns
