Tues. May 10, 2022

10:00-6:00

Registration Open (Regency Foyer)

1:00-1:30

CEDA Founder’s & Annual Meeting (Seaview Ballroom)

1:30-3:00

CALED Board Meeting (Seaview Ballroom)

3:00-3:45

Academy Board Meeting (Seaview Ballroom)

4:00-5:00

After two years away, CALED is happy to bring members back together to celebrate making it through a difficult time and share successes and challenges from the last two years. CALED Chair, Larry Vaupel will kick off the conference, welcoming all attendees before we hear from the City of Long Beach about how they faced the pandemic, supported their businesses, and emerged as a leader in safety. Then economist Dr. Seiji Steimetz will give attendees an overview of the economy and what to expect moving forward.

Speakers:

  • Larry Vaupel, Economic Development Director, City of Vista
  • Nick Schultz, Deputy Director, City of Long Beach
  • Seiji Steimetz Ph.D., Professor & Chair of Economics, Director, Office of Economic Research, California State University, Long Beach

5:00-6:30

We­lcome Reception (Rainbow Lagoon)

Weds. May 11, 2022

8:00-4:30

Registration Open (Regency Foyer)

9:00-9:50

(Continental Breakfast will be served at this session)

As California communities deal with economic disruptions from natural disasters to the COVID-19 pandemic, we often say that resiliency and recovery go hand in hand because recovery is not linear; in fact, it’s a process, and while you are in response or recovery mode for one economic interruption, you may be planning to mitigate the impacts of another. Join us for a future-focused discussion led by West Sacramento City Manager Aaron Laurel, as California’s top economic developer, Dee Dee Myers, and workforce expert, Stewart Knox, highlight state tools and resources and how they can be used to further your economic development efforts.

  • Aaron Laurel, City Manager, City of West Sacramento
  • Stewart Knox, Undersecretary, Labor and Workforce Development Agency
  • Dee Dee Meyers, Senior Advisor to the Governor and Director, Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz)

10:00-11:00

California’s communities have faced unprecedented disruption over the last two years. This discussion session will allow rural economic developers to come together and communicate what is going on in their communities while focusing on solutions, learning from each other, and identifying next steps for implementation.

Facilitators:

  • Tara Schiff, ACE, Economic Development Director, Mariposa County
  • Katie Simmons, Deputy Administrative Officer, Economic & Community Development Butte County

California’s communities have faced unprecedented disruption over the last two years. This discussion session will allow urban economic developers to come together and communicate what is going on in their communities while focusing on solutions, learning from each other, and identifying next steps for implementation.

Facilitators:

  • Carolyn Hull, Economic and Workforce Development Department, City of Los Angeles
  • Hazel Wetherford, Economic Development Director, City of Dublin

California’s communities have faced unprecedented disruption over the last two years. This discussion session will allow non-profit economic developers to come together and communicate what is going on in their communities while focusing on solutions, learning from each other, and identifying next steps for implementation.

Facilitators:

  • Barbara Levine, MBA, District Director, Economic Development, Business Assistance, LAEDC
  • Rochelle Mills, President & CEO, Innovative Housing Opportunities

11:15-12:15

Leadership is always a hot topic, but what are you doing personally to develop your skills and prepare for your next step? The group will break down how to find a mentor, when or if you know you’re ready for a promotion, and how to build the skills to take the jump into a new role.

Facilitators:

  • Michelle Geller, ACE, Economic Development Manager, City Manager’s Office, City of Oceanside
  • Rob Moran, Deputy Director, Riverside County Office of Economic Development

From brick and mortar to online to distribution centers, retail has a variety of roles in a community. This session will dig into COVID’s impact on retail, how communities are addressing resident needs and supporting businesses, and which retail strategies are working.

Facilitators:

  • Robin Reimold, President & CEO, TeamCalifornia
  • Tamra Spade, ACE, President & CEO, Tracy Chamber of Commerce

Entrepreneurs are often seen as self-made men and women but what can you do as an economic developer to support their growth and success? This session will provide space to discuss how to support entrepreneurs, what methods are most successful, and how to fund these efforts.

Facilitators:

  • Christine Damko, Economic Development Manager, City of Temecula
  • John Keisler, CEO & Managing Partner, Sunstone Management, Inc.
  • Dwayne Dalman, ACE, Economic Development Division, Manager City of Fairfield

Widely touted as the next great economic development financing tool in California, many communities have written off tax increment financing (TIF) as unavailable to them. This session will discuss the impact of SB 780 and which cities and counties are working together to make TIF a reality in their community.

Facilitators:

  • Larry Kosmont, Chairman & CEO, Kosmont Companies
  • Rafael Yaquian, Partner, Goldfarb & Lipman LLP

12:30-1:30

(Lunch will be served at this session)

As the world faced unprecedented hardships over the last two years, California’s economic developers have risen to the challenge and have a lot to celebrate. CALED Chair, Larry Vaupel will open this session. Afterward, Gurbax Sahota will give an update to the membership on CALED and its affiliates, the California Enterprise Development Authority and the California Academy for Economic Development.

Speakers:

  • Larry Vaupel, Economic Development Director, City of Vista
  • Richard M. Swanson Jr., Senior Advisor, Office of the Regional Director, Pacific South Network – CA, NV & HI, U.S. & Foreign Commercial Service, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce
  • Gurbax Sahota, President & CEO, CALED

2:00-3:45

The Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center has had several stories and white-papers written about its creative and successful repositioning of its facility, after hosting the TED conference for 5 years. The CVB, ASM Global Mngt Company, and the city teamed watched how their public spaces were used by the event planners of the TED conference. The combined “city team”, then incorporated those strategies into a repositioning of the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center facilities. These actions resulted in a doubling of food and beverage revenues over a 5-year period, as well as a spiked increase in TOT from a vibrant new product offering.

President and CEO of the Long Beach Convention Center, Steve Goodling, along with General Manager, Charlie Beirne, share their experiences learned from working with TED, to their first-hand insights of the public’s utilization of the new spaces at the City’s 2nd largest economic engine, the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center.

Attendees will meet CALED staff at 1:45pm at the registration table to walk to the Long Beach Convention Center.

Join staff from the Downtown Long Beach Alliance as they show attendees the exciting things that are happening in Downtown Long Beach. This will include stops at a new ghost kitchen, a former indoor mall turned outdoor mall that is getting a third rebrand, and a rooftop view of the area. This tour will focus on adaptive reuse, Redevelopment, and storefront activations.

Attendees will meet CALED staff at 1:45pm in the Hyatt Lobby.

SOLD OUT

For those not interested in the tours, use this time to give CALED staff your feedback on pressing economic development issues and what you’re doing in your community.

  • Gurbax Sahota, President & CEO, CALED

4:00-5:00

You’ve watched Shark Tank on TV many times, but now it’s time for our own Economic Development Shark Tank. Watch entrepreneurs pitch their economic development solutions where you are in the live audience. Listen to what the economic development sharks have to say about these company pitches. Then, the audience gets to vote to decide which companies are the winners!

Sharks:

  • Christina Bibler, Economic Development Director, City of San Diego
  • Jennifer McLain Hiramoto, Economic Development Director, City of Ontario
  • Josh Metz, Senior Advisor, Regional Government Services

Participants:

  • Peter Grabell, Senior Vice President Commercial PACE, Dividend Finance
  • Bryan Beatty, Director of Sales, GIS Planning
  • Mark Hays, Director, SizeUp
  • Sophia Zheng, Founder/CEO, Bludot Technologies, Inc.
  • John Keisler, CEO & Managing Partner, Sunstone Management, Inc.

4:30-5:30

Reception w/ Sponsors (Rainbow Lagoon)

Thurs. May 12, 2022

8:00-2:30

Registration Open (Regency Foyer)

9:00-10:00

(Continental Breakfast will be served at this session)

Wake up the right way with this panel of state and federal economic development leaders leading the work of recovery. This facilitated conversation between the panel will touch on their role in response and recovery, what they see moving forward, resources to help, and time for questions from the audience. Hear directly from the source on what tools and programs are available to you and your community.

Speakers:

  • Jessica Gonzales, Moderator, Economic Development Director, City of Corona
  • Sheba Person-Whitley, Regional Director, U.S. Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration
  • Tara Lynn Gray, Director, Office of the Small Business Advocate
  • Ben Raju, District Director, Los Angeles District Office, Small Business Administration

10:30-12:00

The Port of Long Beach is the premier U.S. gateway for trans-Pacific trade and a leader in innovative goods movement, safety, environmental stewardship and sustainability. As the second-busiest container seaport in the United States, the port handles trade valued at $170 billion annually. Supporting 2.6 million jobs across the nation, more than 575,000 in Southern California, the Port of Long Beach is one of the few U.S. ports that can welcome today’s largest vessels, serving 175 shipping lines with connections to 217 seaports around the world.

Enjoy this special, 60-minute narrated boat tour. Once aboard, see up-close the operations at this bustling port, with towering cranes, the most advanced and green terminal in the world, new infrastructure projects such as the Gerald Desmond Bridge Replacement, and possibly even catch a glimpse of local marine life.

Attendees will meet CALED staff at 10:15am in the Hyatt lobby and walk to the Charter Boat docking area.

Host & Guide:

  • Joel Perler, Marketing Manager for Economic Development, Port of Long Beach

12:15-1:30

(Lunch will be served at this session)

Join CALED for a lunch discussion on equity and making your goals a reality in your community. The lunch will begin with a message from sponsor Peter Grabell of Dividend Finance. Then we will have a spirited conversation with the panelists about how equity conversations are shaping how local government thinks about economic development and key points for operationalizing your equity objectives.

Sponsor:

  • Peter Grabell, Senior Vice President Commercial PACE, Dividend Finance

Speakers:

  • Christina Bibler, Economic Development Director, City of San Diego
  • Sam Hughes, President & CEO, Economic Resources Corporation
  • Shai Poulard, Head of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Relativity Space
  • Ryan Sharp, Moderator, Assistant Vice Chancellor, Innovation & Business, University of California, Santa Cruz

1:45-2:45

This session will provide space to discuss serving the needs of the small businesses in one’s community, if those needs have changed, and what successes people are seeing.

Facilitators:

  • Mike Daniel, Regional Director, Orange County/ Inland Empire SBDC Network, Hosted at California State University, Fullerton, Mihaylo College of Business and Economics
  • Carolina Martinez, CEO, CAMEO

With the abundance of programs and money available right now, infrastructure is the belle of the ball. This session will focus on infrastructure financing, recent programs, and how to navigate those programs to find the best fit for your community.

Facilitators:

  • Josh Metz, Senior Advisor, Regional Government Services
  • Diana Sasser, Senior Director, West Team Leader, National Development Council

A vibrant workforce is key to a successful business ecosystem but developing that workforce can be difficult and feel impossible. Hear from peers about trends in workforce development and what programs are seeing real-world success so you can bring them back to your community.

Facilitators:

  • Dave White, CEO, Opportunity Stanislaus
  • Courtney Farrell, Project Manager, North State Planning & Development Collective, California State University, Chico

Grants are a popular and oft-cited way to increase your budget but they can also take up a lot of staff time applying, with no guarantee of success. We will dig into this topic during the session, touching on key items to remember when applying, how to avoid mission creep, and how to have success in the competitive world of grants.

Facilitators:

  • Bruce Stenslie, President & CEO, Ventura County Economic Development Association
  • Craig Schlatter, Director, Department of Community Development, City of Ukiah

3:00-3:45

Don’t miss this engaging closing session on the topics shaping and impacting economic development tools and resources. Experts from CALED’s Legislative Action Committee will brief you on current bills to watch, implementation of the Surplus Lands Act, California’s Competitiveness, and economic development financing tools like Tax Increment Financing. This is a great opportunity for you to share your input with our legislative leadership on these topics and more. Bring your questions and your ideas!

Speakers:

  • Jennifer McLain Hiramoto, Economic Development Director, City of Ontario
  • Bruce Kern, CALED Board Advisor
  • Gregg Foster, Executive Director, Redwood Region Economic Development Commission
  • Constantine Baranoff, Senior Counsel, Lozano Smith
  • Bob Burris, Deputy Chief Economic Development Officer, Rural County Representatives of California
  • Dan Carrigg, Political Consultant, Dan Carrigg Consulting
  • Kendall Levan, Principal Attorney, Kane, Ballmer & Berkman