MAYORS + CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS
CITY MANAGERS
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TEAMS
PLANNING TEAMS
COUNTY OFFICIALS + AGENCIES
COMMUNITY BASED ORGS
EDUCATORS
WE ARE EXPERIENCING AN ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION UNLIKE ANYTHING THAT HAS COME BEFORE.
The 88 Cities Summit provides a CONVERSATION SPACE for stakeholders of the 88 cities and unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. One of the Summit goals is for participants to create actionable solutions to the economic development challenges of our cities.
The 88 Cities Summit, in its third year, provides a conversation space where leaders across LA County share and create solutions to the economic development challenges our cities and unincorporated communities face.
In conversations with honored speakers and elected officials, city managers, and business, educational and nonprofit leaders, you’ll hear best practices from people working on the same challenges you face. Attendees leave with new options and new partners to advance progress on some of the more complex challenges in our regional economy.
The program includes presentations on best practices, tackling a variety of economic development challenges, as well as working groups where attendees collaborate and discuss takeaways and validate ideas in their own action plans.
Fernando Guerra is the founding director of the Center for the Study of Los Angeles at LMU. His area of scholarly work is in local governance, urban politics, and racial and ethnic politics. Dr. Guerra has been a principal investigator in over 20 major studies on Los Angeles, leadership studies and electoral politics, and principal investigator for the largest general social survey in the Los Angeles region.
Shaun Fernando is a Government and Public Sector strategy consultant with Guidehouse focusing on future cities and urbanization issues, including economic development, sustainability and innovation. He has 10+ years global experience in developing innovation-led and market-based strategies that build thriving and competitive cities and regions and is currently working in the LA region on a number of projects around economic sustainability, mobility and clean energy.
MODERATOR: Dr. Fernando Guerra, Director @LMUstudyLA
GUEST: Lenny Mendonca, Chief Economic and Business Advisor at State of California
This is a must attend intimate conversation for Mayors, Council Members, and City Managers. Get direct access to Lenny Mendonca the Chief Economic and Business Advisor to Governor Gavin Newsom and learn key insights on trends and policy affecting the economic viability of LA County cities. This session will be moderated by Dr. Fernando Guerra of The Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Center for the Study of Los Angeles.
DO YOU HAVE THE DATA YOU NEED TO SERVE YOUR COMMUNITY?
@LMUstudyLA - Results of LA Public Opinion Survey: Ratings of City Services + Characteristics (6 year, countywide)
PRESENTERS: Dr. Fernando Guerra, Director @LMUstudyLA + Brianne Gilbert, Associate Director @LMUstudyLA
PANELISTS: Darrell George, City Manager, City of Duarte + Vince Bertoni, Director of Planning, City of Los Angeles
Previously unreleased data! Elected city officials and city economic development and planning team members will want to get a first look at the results of this six year, county wide survey of LA County city services. Don't miss the reveal of some unexpected trends discovered in the data and the demographic changes causing them. Dr. Fernando Guerra and Brianne Gilbert of the Thomas and Dorothy Leavey Center for the Study of Los Angeles will present this eye-opening data.
SPEAKER: Maryam Brown, President Southern California Gas Company
With the need to keep energy for your residential, commercial and industrial residents reliable, affordable and safe while also helping California achieve its environmental goals, we need to be thoughtful and creative. We must diversify our energy sources around the state in a way that achieves the best results as quickly as possible without unnecessary disruption to peoples’ lives and without burdening those who can least afford dramatic changes to their lifestyle. Come hear Southern California Gas Company President, Maryam Brown, provide a view of a balanced energy picture that works for everyone.
Mayors, Council Members, City Managers and city economic development and planning team members working together to push robust initiatives forward, need to be front and center for this session. As Chief Economic and Business Advisor to Governor Gavin Newsom Lenny Mendonca will outline key economic development initiatives that benefit LA County cities and serve to renew the California dream.
MODERATOR: Shaun Fernando, Director, Guidehouse
First of two sessions to be followed by working group break outs.
Is your city team facing new challenges in accessing capital in the absence of redevelopment? These panels will explore specific out of the box projects initiated by LA County cities that are already showing surprising results on the following two topics:
PANEL #1: BUSTING THE MYTHS OF P3S
PANELIST: Craig Beck, Director of Public Works City of Long Beach + Dale Bonner, Plenary Group
PANEL #2: WHAT IS IN YOUR ECON DEV WALLET? (EIFDs + Opportunity Zones)
PANELIST: Larry Kosmont, Chairman + CEO Kosmont Companies + Don Kendrick, Mayor City of La Verne, Bob Russi, City Manager City of La Verne
MODERATOR: Britt Harter, Director, Guidehouse
Second of two sessions to be followed by working group break outs.
How your city team can develop new economic opportunities by creating new targeted spaces and repurposing existing spaces to anticipate industry trends and changing demographics. These panels will demonstrate how it takes a village of economic developers partnering with community based orgs and educators to achieve bold transformation of spaces, as well as explore projects that are already showing surprising results on the following two topics:
PANEL #1: DO YOU HAVE AN INDUSTRY CLUSTER?
PANELIST: Fran Fulton, Economic Development Manager, City of Torrance + Carolyn Hull, VP Industry Cluster Development LAEDC
PANEL #2: REPURPOSING ABANDONED SPACES FOR A NEW ECONOMY
PANELIST: Jing Yeo, Planning Manager City of Santa Monica + Ken Lombard, Seritage Growth Properties + Allan Glass, HATCHspaces
This was the most requested session by members of city economic development teams. Learn best practices from your colleagues on other city teams. Three initiatives with best practice takeaways will be presented TED Talk style by the city teams who successfully implemented those projects.
PRESENTER: Todd Tipton, Economic Development Director, Culver City
PRESENTER: Simone McFarland, Assistant Community Development Director, City of Burbank
PRESENTER: Caroline Torosis, Principal Analyst, Economic Development and Affordable Housing, County of Los Angeles, Chief Executive Office
