Marina, CA (April 14, 2021) – Monterey Bay Economic Partnership (MBEP) is hosting its 7th Annual Regional Economic Summit on Thursday, May 6 from 9:30 am – 12:00 pm. This will be a virtual event. Topics include how our region is doing economically and the opportunities ahead to reimagine our region while taking advantage of relief and stimulus funds. We’ll hear about innovative ways to help our workers upskill and reskill.

“While we are seeing the impact of the pandemic every day, it is important to take a step back and understand the fundamental changes in our economy we can expect as we move forward. At MBEP’s 7th Annual Regional Economic Summit, we’ll survey the state of our region’s economy and the opportunities ahead,” said Dr. Eduardo Ochoa, CSU Monterey Bay President, and MBEP Board Chair.

Speakers. Dr. Fernando Lozano is Professor of Economics at Pomona College, and Chair of the Department of Economics. He also serves as co-chair to the California’s Governor’s Council of Economic Advisors. He will share his insights on labor supply and leisure trends that can help guide our region towards an expedited and equitable economic recovery.

MBEP President and CEO Kate Roberts will provide a perspective on organizing locally for relief funds and provide an update on a regional broadband effort, Equal Access Monterey Bay.

Jessica Morse is the Deputy Secretary for Forest Resources Management at the California

Natural Resources Agency. She will discuss how improved fire management can not only benefit our region’s wildfire resilience and environmental quality, but also provide year-round well-paying jobs that offer upskilling and reskilling opportunities for those impacted by the pandemic.

Derek Hansen, Co-Founder & CEO of Mynt Systems and Dr. Tiffany Wise-West, Sustainability and Climate Action Manager, City of Santa Cruz will discuss green jobs as a way out of the recession. Both will highlight careers that are good for the environment are also providing ways to upskill and reskill our local workforce.

Dee Dee Myers is Senior Advisor to Governor Gavin Newsom and Director of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development. Myers will provide a view from Sacramento of business recovery and a legislation update.

Public-Private Partnership Award. MBEP’s Public-Private Partnership award is given each year to an impactful cross-sector partnership that demonstrates a significant contribution to the well-being of our region and inspires others to take action. This year’s award will be given to Salinas Homekey, a project that has housed more than 60 formerly homeless residents who are now being provided wrap-around services on site in addition to housing.  Salinas Homekey offers a concrete and specific solution that is helping those in need, and is an excellent example of a complicated public-private partnership serving our community that the MBEP board felt worthy of recognition and replication across the region. The award recipients are the organizations that partnered in this project: Shangri-La Industries, LLC (SLI), Step Up on Second, Inc., the city of Salinas, the county of Monterey, the Coalition for Homeless Service Providers and the Housing Authority of the County of Monterey (HACM).

Sponsors. MBEP would like to thank our generous sponsors: Ow Family Properties, South Swell Ventures, San Benito Health Foundation, Goodwill of the Central Coast, California State University Monterey Bay, NDC, City of Gonzales, Sutter Health Palo Alto Medical Foundation, University of California Santa Cruz, Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System, Driscoll’s, Bay Federal Credit Union, Graniterock, Stanford Children’s Hospital, MC Weekly, Lookout Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz Tech Beat and KAZU. For registration and sponsorship information, please visit mbep.biz or click here.

About MBEP. Monterey Bay Economic Partnership (MBEP) is a regional member-supported nonprofit consisting of public, private and civic entities located throughout the counties of Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz. MBEP’s mission is to improve the economic health and quality of life in the region. Visit www.mbep.biz for more information.