200 Global Leaders Find Their Edge in Sacramento
Shape uncertainty. Lead through ambiguity. Find your edge. Amplify your impact.
These principles guided the four-day SHAPE North America 2018 summit, which brought over 200 young global leaders to Sacramento from August 9-12th.
#SHAPENA18 participants came from 63 city-based “Hubs” in 30 countries, but all were members of the Global Shapers community, which is the youth leadership network of the World Economic Forum. The 27-member Sacramento Hub, to which I belong, won a competitive bid to host this important event – and we created an experience that has been billed by many as the best “SHAPE” event ever, on any continent.
Valley Vision has been fiscal agent for the Global Shapers – Sacramento Hub throughout the production of the SHAPE North America gathering. Through this formal partnership, the Sacramento Hub has access to a high-performing and trusted local nonprofit that manages its finances and records, keeping things running smoothly. For Valley Vision, the Global Shapers bring a unique connection to the global community not found in other young leaders groups, which further boosts VV’s toolset in advancing the livability of the Sacramento region.
From the get-go, our team modeled #SHAPENA18 as an “anti-conference.” The programming was meant to introduce uncertainty into the lives of #SHAPENA18 attendees, give them the tools to navigate that uncertainty, and then celebrate each individual’s ability to grow their leadership acumen and overcome obstacles of all kinds. Tears are not normally shed at conferences, but they were commonplace as Shapers recounted life-altering insights to their peers at key points during our time together.
The four days were modeled after the Hero’s Journey concept popularized by scholar Joseph Campbell, and were highly experiential. This meant that (1.) the lion’s share of “sessions” were led by actual Shapers/attendees, (2.) we were constantly changing physical locations and backdrops, and (3.) there were no “expert” panels to be found. Each day, Shapers were exposed to new means of “Leading Through Ambiguity” and “Finding Their Edge” before a final day of “Amplifying Impact,” in which #SHAPENA18 participants spent their afternoons giving back to the community via service projects in partnership with local organizations.
Highlights included (but certainly were not limited to):
- Kicking off the anti-conference on the Capitol West Steps with a deeply moving and personal story from Hub Alumni Kelly Rivas.
- Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs speaking at Golden 1 Center, followed by Shaper-led breakout sessions around the concourse on topics like “Identity, Power, and Privilege,” cryptocurrency, radical storytelling, and more.
- Setting up 22 separate “Salon Dinners” across the region, providing an opportunity for Shapers to divide into small groups and find their way to meals hosted by community leaders, friends, and family.
- Organizing a Friday night after-party at The Urban Hive featuring authentic performances in partnership with Sofar Sounds Sacramento.
- Saturday breakfast in the State Capitol followed by a dynamic workshop on embracing failure as an indicator of success.
- Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg reflecting on his time at UC Davis Law School – he was a bit of a rabble rouser!
- Volunteer service projects across the Sacramento region, where Shapers were able to give back to their temporary region of residence.
- A final dinner at the Stanford Mansion which featured recognition of sponsors, delicious Farm-to-Fork food, and a heartfelt blessing with the Sacramento-based Maquilli Tonatiuh Aztec Dancers.
The Sacramento Hub could not have pulled off this production without the help of our fantastic sponsors: UC Davis Global Affairs, P&G, Sacramento Kings, Balanced Body, UC Davis Health, Statehouse at the Capitol, Sacramento State, UC Davis Dining Services, Blue Shield of California, Sierra Health Foundation, Valley Vision, The Urban Hive, Visit Sacramento, Sacramento Region Community Foundation, University of San Francisco, Capital Public Radio, Uber, California Chamber of Commerce, UC Davis Graduate School of Management, Lucas Public Affairs, NextGen America, ACLHIC, and Blanket Marketing Group. You are all awesome!
Our team looks forward to harnessing this momentum, expanding our community partnerships, and doing another mind-blowing thing in the not-too-distant future. I encourage you to learn more about the local Sacramento Hub and the Global Shapers Community at large. You are also free to dig into the final #SHAPENA18 Schedule for more information about the specific components of the 4-day experience. Please email us if you have any Shaper-related questions or ideas!
To keep up with Valley Vision’s work to advance livability in the Sacramento region, subscribe to our Vantage Point email newsletter!
Adrian Rehn is a Valley Vision Project Manager overseeing the Cleaner Air Partnership and Valley Vision’s online communications.
Ode to the Old Office – 2320 Broadway
As Valley Vision staff box up their belongings and prepare for the big move, we took some time to recall our favorite (and not-so-favorite) memories from the office that we’ve called home for 11 years!
Robyn Krock:
- Bill Mueller wearing a pink wig and riding a unicorn around the parking lot.
- I will not miss having to wait for trucks blocking the parking lot to move.
Trish Kelly:
- I have loved all the times we’ve had meetings with community partners and business leaders; federal, state and local policy and legislative leaders; and others who come together to work on creative, cross-cutting regional solutions and projects. There is magic in the collective community and the place that helps make that happen.
- On the upside, I don’t have to look at bathroom from the conference room.
Evan Schmidt:
- Sitting in the kitchen for lunch and socializing, team sessions in the conference room with snacks, white board, computers, beverages, the (few) four square games in the parking lot.
- The glass grinding might be a Stockholm syndrome thing – I will probably miss it terribly in ways I don’t currently understand.
Alan Lange:
- The dog from the building next door running into our office to hang out, and not wanting to leave. This proved that our dog friendly policy is well established in the canine community.
- Responding to the burglar alarm in the middle of the night – expecting a false alarm – only to find that we had been broken into. What was stolen? Our microwave. And nothing else. Apparently that breakfast sandwich just couldn’t wait until sun-up.
Meg Arnold:
- Thinking positively, the fully-open office set VV apart from others, early-on and distinctively. You could say that we’ve had the co-working vibe since at least five years before the term even existed!
- On the less positive side, the chronic sound of breaking glass from next door.
Bill Mueller:
- Funny: Ping pong matches in the office for fun and team building, and designating a “2 pointer” if you were able to hit the ball off Robyn and keep the ball in “play.” She was a great sport.
- Poignant: Taking walk breaks around the neighborhood and passing through the nearby cemetery on Broadway and frequently being reminded of the saying attributed to the Buddha that “The problem is that you think you have time.”
Adrian Rehn:
- I will never forget being asked to lift Valley Vision’s office dog, Adonis, into Robyn’s car in the parking lot. I squatted down to get my arms underneath him, and my pants promptly split. This would have been bearable if Trish, Evan, and I weren’t at the office until after 9:00 PM that evening to submit our application for the AgPlus IMCP designation!
- I will not miss the white specks that fall from the ceiling every day. What is that stuff?
We are excited to continue our work in North Oak Park. As of July 9th, Valley Vision will be located at 3400 3rd Avenue in Oak Park. The 2320 Broadway location will be closed from July 4th through the 6th as we move all of our stuff.
Building Stronger Leaders and Regions
“Regional stewards are integrators who cross boundaries of jurisdiction, sector and discipline to address complex regional issues such as sprawl, equity, education and economic development. They see the connections between economic, environmental and social concerns and know how to “connect the dots” to improve their regions.”
– Alliance for Regional Stewardship, 2006
Regional stewards provide important leadership by pursuing triple bottom line values, including economic prosperity, environmental sustainability, and social equity. The California Stewardship Network (CSN) brings together regional stewards, like Valley Vision, from across California to seed collaborations, share stories, challenges, accomplishments, and, yes, dinners and drinks. These quarterly exchanges have been occurring for nearly 10 years and have created important relationships and collaborations that set the stage for a united vision of triple bottom line values across California.
In early 2017, the group of fifteen regions decided to widen the net, build leadership capacity, and invite a group of young leaders to join a brand new Leadership Fellows program hosted by CSN. I was fortunate to be invited to participate as a Sacramento region representative, along with Maritza Davis of Unseen Heroes, Leah Moehle of California Forward, and Patrick Guild of Sacramento Metro Chamber Foundation. We joined about 25 other Fellows to participate in the exchanges in addition to a leadership program uniquely focused on steward, or service-based leadership.
As the 2017 Fellows program comes to an end, here are some of my take aways from the program and the exchanges that I have participated in:
- Stewardship is humble leadership that is in service to the greater good, and in this case, to triple bottom line values. This interpretation of leadership resonated with me more than any other that I have heard and has provided an aspirational vision for how to approach work and life.
- Relationships, relationships, relationships – the key to getting cool things done is building relationships. That’s why dinner and drinks is important – you aren’t surprised are you? The cohort approach helped foster these relationships.
- Grappling with complexity – in our latest exchange, June 27-29 in Ventura, we were given the time and open format to discuss hard questions. For example, we grappled with how automation will impact the workforce, and meandered from the importance of skill-based job descriptions to preserving the values and qualities that create meaning in people’s lives. This ranging conversation brought about new perspectives for all of us, which in turn created deeper understanding into an important and complex conversation. We need this kind of time and nuance in our age of sound bites and memes.
- Cross generational dialogue – as a Gen Xer sandwiched between two generations that take up a lot of air in the room (Boomers and Millennials, you know who you are), I know the importance of cross-generational learning. Respectfully, Millennials need to learn and Boomers need to cede some of their power. Just saying. Fortunately, CSN created dialogue and safe space for leaders to explore how to support each other across generations.
- Regions are where it’s at – It’s easy to get frustrated, or even depressed, about statewide or national policy. Working from the ground-up, sharing successes and failures, and creating spaces, like the CSN exchanges, where leaders share a commitment to stewardship and a vision for the future of California, sets a hopeful path.
CSN has invested in the future leadership of California by bringing new leaders into the fold. Having now spent a year gathering with new and not-as-new leaders through the exchanges, I feel confident that CSN’s investment will seed stewardship values for many years to come. CSN will soon be recruiting new Fellows for next year’s class – I look forward to continuing to work with CSN and to helping usher in a new group of Fellows, strengthening the stewardship network and building new leaders across the state.
Evan Schmidt is Valley Vision’s Director of Strategy and Evaluation working on the Public Opinion Surveying initiative and projects in the Healthy Communities and 21st Century Workforce strategy areas.
Place Matters
Does place matter any more? It’s a hard question to answer at first.
Research shows that regardless of whether you are rich or poor, virtually everyone has a smart phone today. It’s today’s essential lifeline. Having a fast and reliable Internet connection is another matter, but most of us can get online from almost anywhere. Anytime. Day or night. We are completely mobile and connected, 24×7. So it really shouldn’t matter where we are, right?
In fact, place matters more than ever.
While technology can make us feel globally connected and empowered in one moment, in the next we live with the consequences of being permanently “tethered,” unable to escape its web. At once, it is a very connected yet very solitary “place.” As technology continues to advance and lines blur between “virtual” and “real,” let’s not forget an essential truth.
Where we truly connect is in physical spaces.
Words that describe certain touchstone places like “home,” “office,” or “school” stir up powerful emotions in us. Some places bring us calm and refuge. Others we associate with regimen and productivity. Still others inspire us and connect us to something larger.
As many of you know, Valley Vision just moved into a new “place” this week. A single story building in Oak Park in the heart of Sacramento and the Greater Sacramento region. 3400 3rd Avenue, to be precise.
After just a few days working from here I can tell you that place absolutely matters. While we loved our old office on Broadway, this space is even livelier, with better energy and more places to connect. There are bright colors on the walls. Light streaming in from long windows. Views out on homes and businesses and people and bikes and dogs going by. And let’s not forget the new Ping-Pong table in the middle of the office. It has already brought together former Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson and Ruben, our communications intern, in a fun match up.
This is what place does. It creates memorable, one-of-a-kind experiences. Humanizing connections we all want. This is pretty important for an organization like Valley Vision that is constantly seeking out ways to unite our region and improve lives. We are thankful that we have an even better place to do this work from today.
Come by and play a game. We hope to see you soon.
Bill Mueller was Chief Executive of Valley Vision.
How Does Idaho Innovate?
“So…what is JUMP?” Joe Gagliardi, CEO of the Folsom Chamber of Commerce, spoke for our entire delegation as we stood atop the 6-story monolith in downtown Boise, Idaho.
JUMP – or “Jack’s Urban Meeting Place” – is a bizarre, Jetsons-inspired building built by J.R. Simplot, the billionaire farmer most famous for supplying Idaho and Oregon-grown potatoes for use in McDonald’s fries. The building serves as a towering public hangout spot, tractor museum, classroom, and features a 5-story-tall spiral slide down to the ground floor. I still don’t know what it is, but it’s pretty cool!
For 12 straight years, the El Dorado County and Folsom Chambers of Commerce have collaborated to bring local leaders to pioneering cities and towns across North America. The goal of these “study missions” is to see firsthand new ideas for advancing livability and economic growth, and to take these learnings back to the Sacramento region. In 2018, our group of 24 participants – current and former elected officials, businesspeople, and community leaders – headed north to Boise and the smaller resort town of McCall over four days to see how Idaho is innovating.
My major takeaways:
- GROWTH: The Boise Metropolitan Area is the fastest-growing in the entire U.S., currently home to around 700,000 people (half of Idaho’s population).
- The City of Boise has some great things going for it – it sits in close proximity to mountains and agricultural land with a vibrant riverfront, is home to the second largest Basque population outside of Europe, and has an entire City Department dedicated to Arts & Culture. Boise is the most geographically isolated of all mid-size cities in the contiguous U.S., which has resulted in a burgeoning creative culture (“because there is no other place to go!”) among other unique qualities.
- HOMELESSNESS: The homeless population in the Boise region is about half that of Sacramento County on a per capita basis, but these folks were nearly invisible downtown and throughout the trip. The police department aggressively arrests those who sleep outdoors, have open containers, or who commit minor infractions. It is unclear what the continuum of care looks like or how many homeless individuals fill Boise’s jails.
- EDUCATION: Boise State University has a College of Innovation & Design campus downtown, which is building programming around virtual reality (VR), “pop-up majors,” cooperative education, and new ways to make college affordable in partnership with local credit unions.
- One Stone School in Boise is a tuition-free alternative nonprofit high school that allows students to design their own education. In fact, two-thirds of their Board of Directors are students! Revenue is generated from sponsorships, hosting classes, providing creative services to clients, and other community-facing work that students lead. They have yet to have a graduating class, but are building ad-hoc partnerships with colleges and universities so that students can still be accepted into top-flight schools despite non-standard testing.
- RURAL-URBAN CONNECTIONS: McCall, Idaho is a 3,000-person mountain town two hours north of Boise that expands to over 10,000 during ski season and peak summer. The town is grappling with a deep housing crisis, with service workers commuting in daily from as far as the Boise suburbs.
Boise and McCall should be commended for innovating despite little to no support from the deeply austere State of Idaho. These municipalities are experimenting with creative approaches to financing, public-private partnerships, securing federal grants, and more to bring housing, broadband, skilled workers, and investment to their areas.
I want to thank the El Dorado County and Folsom Chambers of Commerce for putting this trip together and bringing amazing people along. It’s important to leave our region – physically – to learn how other areas are excelling and sometimes failing within their unique circumstances. The community that is built while doing this important work is an added, awesome bonus.
All things considered, the lessons of Idaho will help the Sacramento area become a more livable place. To keep up with Valley Vision’s work to advance livability in our region, subscribe to our Vantage Point email newsletter!
Adrian Rehn is a Valley Vision Project Manager overseeing the Cleaner Air Partnership and Valley Vision’s online communications.
Avenues for Equality: Lessons Learned from the Trailnation Summit
Four flight delay notifications, two layovers, and a red-eye flight later, I found myself walking along Lake Michigan on a sunny Tuesday morning. I was already far too late to make it to the first plenary of the Summit, but I was happy to take the time to chug a quick coffee. A pristine walkway took me along the water, with an immense, lush park on the other side. There wasn’t a person in sight. I was the only one enjoying this view and in that moment, I felt so spoiled – to be in this city, in this park, to appreciate this trail and why I was here.
I attended the TrailNation Summit on June 5th-7th in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Over 150 participants from across North America shared their passion and motivation for trail-building. Their stories inspired me to reflect upon our approach to the EPIC Trail, a project led by Valley Vision and SACOG to connect the Sacramento region via a 100-mile recreational trail.
Several speakers’ messages stood out to me in their discussions on equitable development and a desire for greater inclusivity, not only in the communities in which we build these trails, but also amongst the populations at the forefront of trail activism. By my estimate, at least 80% of the Summit attendees were white and 70% were over the age of 40. Sterling Stone, Executive Director of Gearin’ Up Bicycles in D.C., made powerful statements about race and equity that seemed so obvious and yet, weren’t mentioned earlier in the conference. How are we trying to engage with the local residents as we move forward with this project? Are we patting ourselves on the back for throwing around words like ‘equitable development’ and ‘implicit bias’ without having the tough discussions around how to help underserved communities?
Mr. Stone told a story of a young black man who was stopped by a cop while riding his bike with his friends on a recreational bike trail. He was neither breaking any laws, nor disturbing the peace.
“That kid didn’t say, ‘oh, that road wasn’t equitably developed for me’. No – he said “that cop was racist.”
We have to face these difficult truths and realize that top down strategies to “connect communities” will only get us so far in this process of advocating for equitable development. “It’s great if you all want to do this work forever, but we need to create a new generation of activists that reflect the communities we work for.”
Try as we might to improve connectivity and inclusiveness in our regions, our work needs to go beyond trail mapping, fundraising strategies, and branding. We could stop at recreation and improved tourism, but is that all we’re trying to accomplish with the EPIC Trail?
We tell people that this trail is for regional connectivity, to promote healthy lifestyles, and to improve quality of life. But for whom? Perhaps we could focus more on the disadvantaged communities in our region that have little access to green space. Or maybe, the rural counties that are often forgotten and have little representation among our regional leadership. What about the lower-income population with little time for recreation between working multiple jobs and caring for their children?
While we have really amazing trail groups like the Friends of El Dorado Trail, the Folsom Auburn Trail Riders Action Coalition, and American River Conservancy, our region doesn’t have a unified trail activism group that can meet regularly to improve trail access for these target populations. Many of the inspiring trail groups that I had the honor of meeting in Milwaukee were able to make monumental progress because of their network of other likeminded organizations. Together, they were better able to interact with these persistent community issues at a grassroots level.
It’s with this goal in mind that we continue in our process of fundraising for an alternatives study which will prioritize community engagement and inclusivity. Valley Vision’s purpose is to serve the region and this Summit was a great reminder of the power these trails can have – beyond recreation and connectivity – to making lasting social impacts in our neighborhoods and the Sacramento region at large.
Chloe Pan was Valley Vision’s Executive Assistant to CEO Bill Mueller and Project Lead for the EPIC Trail.
An Epic Day of Giving
Valley Vision joined over 500 of the region’s nonprofits to participate in the Big Day of Giving (BDOG)! BDOG is coordinated by the Sacramento Regional Community Foundation, and assisted nonprofits with raising over $7 million this year, and over $30 million since its inception. We started by snapping photos of our office dogs Kasha and Lily, pondered our best dog related puns, and fine-tuned our messaging. Standing out in a region full of exceptional nonprofits is no easy task, but I drew from my previous experience supporting Big Day of Giving communications. The excitement for BDOG inspired us to put our best communications foot forward to make sure Valley Vision stood out among our region’s impressive nonprofit ecosystem.
Although Valley Vision has previously participated in BDOG, this was the first time that we decided to dedicate all of the funds to a specific project. This year we raised funds to continue to the development of the EPIC Trail, an initiative to connect over 100 miles of biking and walking trails from the Sierra Foothills to Yolo County. The trail could also contribute to a larger regional trail, and link existing paths in the Bay Area and Northern San Joaquin County. Studies have shown that recreational trails increase tourism, boost community health, helps attract new businesses, and are desired by residents of our region. Valley Vision’s own 2017 Public Opinion Survey on Amenities found that a majority of Sacramento region residents view parks and trails as the single most important amenity to their quality of life.
To mobilize the staff around the fundraising campaign, I created a large wall tracker with locations along the proposed EPIC Trail. The day started with the tracker being located in Davis, and as more donations were received, we were able to move the bike along the trail to West Sacramento, Sacramento, and beyond. Every time the tracker was able to be moved was exciting because it was simultaneously representing us raising funds and also visually moving along the trail. With every donation, it became clearer that the region strongly believes in building a contiguous path for recreation. Throughout the day, we were sure to thank our donors on social media, and maintain a steady stream of content.
Assisting with the development and execution of the Communications plan, I learned more about the complexities, and importance of managing an effective fundraising campaign. Asking people to imagine themselves at specific locations on the trail, showing them the existing trails, and emphasizing the flexibility for trails to be used for exercise, recreation, and the arts added the human element of our efforts. My key takeaway is that a communications strategy to support fundraising is a year-round process that does not start when BDOG comes along, but increases and culminates on the Sacramento Region Community Foundation’s annual Big Day of Giving.
Ultimately, Valley Vision was able to raise $1,477 from 17 donors! The generosity of our region brought joy to our staff, and gave the office a fun project to rally behind. Valley Vision is continuing to convene our over seventy stakeholders to ensure that the EPIC Trail comes to fruition. Thank you to those who gave – your generosity will prove transformative to the connectivity of our region!
Ruben Moody is Valley Vision’s Communications Intern.
Air Quality Team Makes Moves at Cap-to-Cap
As usual, the Metro Chamber’s annual Capitol-to-Capitol program was jam-packed, tightly-scheduled, well-run – and very large. This year’s delegation numbered 375, including the business community, local electeds, nonprofit leadership, and representatives from our academic institutions.
The Air Quality team’s seventeen members took an equal number of meetings in two-and-a-half days, with plenty of bike-share commuting as well, despite this being one of the chilliest and rainiest Cap-to-Caps in memory. The four issue papers we “carried” (on federal funding, forest resilience, biomass, and broadband access) were well-received by the majority of our regional Congressional delegation, as well as by Senators Feinstein and Harris.
More challenging was our conversation with the Environmental Protection Agency, which focused significantly on vehicle emissions standards and the importance of not weakening the Clean Air Act, given all the benefits it has brought to the nation since its inception. Administration appointees debated with us the significance of vehicle emissions and particularly the issue of California continuing its higher standards.
Our discussion with the Majority staffer for the Senate’s Committee on the Environment and Public Works featured a slightly broader range of topics, with two pieces of welcome news and one piece of less ideal, though unsurprising, news. We learned that cuts to EPA’s budget are “not a high priority for many in Congress; that’s more the Administration,” and also that the Committee’s Republican Chair and Democratic Ranking Member are jointly sponsoring a bill that would fund the Diesel Emissions Reductions Act (DERA) at its statutory maximum of $100M. The not-surprising topic was that of CAFÉ standards (vehicle emissions standards), where our team’s strong points in support were acknowledged but met with a “we’ll have to agree to disagree” response.
As one final note, we were fortunate to benefit from two strong “freshmen” members of the team, who each set a high bar. Alberto Ayala of the Sacramento Metro Air Quality Management District was an able leader of “sub-team Ayala,” while Breathe Board member Paul Adams of Capital Public Radio arranged a special side-tour of the NPR headquarters for Cap-to-Cap attendees.
All in all, it was a successful Cap-to-Cap and the Air Quality team enjoyed a fun and impactful time in D.C. We are all looking forward to next year!
To keep up on the latest Valley Vision and Cleaner Air Partnership news, our research findings and analyses, and personal commentary and thoughts by those on the staff team, sign up for our Cleaner Air News and Vantage Point email newsletters!
Meg Arnold is Managing Director of Valley Vision, leading the Clean Economy and Innovation and Entrepreneurship Strategies.
Rural Broadband a Top Priority for Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue
On Wednesday, April 18, the 2018 Cap-to-Cap Food & Ag policy team had the opportunity to meet with Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue. The meeting, secured through the leadership and persistence of Linda Budge, mayor of the City of Rancho Cordova, was held Wednesday morning at U.S. Department of Agriculture headquarters, located in the historic Agriculture South Building in Washington, D.C. Mayor Budge and Secretary Perdue are former high school classmates, having attending high school together in Georgia, Purdue from a local farming family and Budge from a military family. The two have remained in contact over the years.
The Food & Ag team was there to talk about several policy priorities for the greater Sacramento region including rural broadband, forest management, conservation, and expanding support for and access to healthy foods for the hidden hungry, including college students and working families.
On the issue of rural broadband, Secretary Purdue noted that the lack of “e-Connectivity” is the top issue he hears about wherever he visits, most recently Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee. Purdue believes “e-Connectivity is the number one issue holding the [U.S.] ag industry back.” In fact, after meeting with our team, the Secretary was launching the first of a series of national listening sessions on improving e-connectivity in rural America, along with Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai and a coalition of industry leaders. (The Food & Ag team held a meeting with the Chairman’s office earlier in the week on the same topic).
Relaying to Purdue the challenges from a California perspective were third generation Clarksburg farmers, David and Phil Ogilvie. David shared his personal story of his ability to apply modern farming techniques to drive efficiencies in water use on several of his fields through sensors and remote irrigation management with an iPhone app. Due to lack of broadband access, he isn’t able to deploy the technology on all of his fields. His farm in Clarksburg is located is a community less than a fifteen-minute drive from the California State Capitol. Unfortunately, lack of broadband access in rural areas of California is not an issue unique to Clarksburg. In fact, as a whole, the region has relatively poor grades for broadband infrastructure.
The world views California as leader in technology and innovation. However, we are not leading in terms broadband speed and access. Many rural residents are disconnected from the many benefits of e-connectivity, including opportunities for distance learning, expanding global markets for small businesses, connecting to information on employment and job applications, and accessing telemedicine for improved health.
Fortunately, there is growing awareness of the importance of broadband as a critical utility for 21st Century competitiveness. As affirmed by Secretary Perdue, it’s time to build a 21st Century Highway of Connectivity. We can look to models from the past that have expanded utilities such as electricity and telephone service to all for ideas. Solving the problem will require creative partnerships between federal, state, local government and private partners.
The Connected Capital Broadband Consortium is working with partners and stakeholder across the region to elevate the importance of this issue and to help fill our broadband infrastructure gaps. Together, we can envision the future-ready e-connectivity infrastructure we need for regional prosperity and competitiveness. Let’s work together collectively tackle the challenge!
Tammy Cronin was a Valley Vision Project Leader working in the 21st Century Workforce and Healthy Communities strategies.
Partnering to Craft an Inclusive Economy
Today over 200 leaders gathered from 28 cities and counties at the Regional Futures Forum hosted by the Sacramento Area Council of Governments to hear from a national expert about how our region’s economy has restructured since the global downturn nearly 10-years ago.
“The Sacramento region benefits from an educated workforce, world-class research institutions, and the presence of the state government, but our research shows that the region also faces significant challenges, including lagging growth of its export industries, stark educational and earnings disparities between white, black, and Hispanic residents, and investment needs in transportation and broadband infrastructure to connect residents to opportunity,” said Amy Liu, Vice President and Director of of the Brookings Institute’s Metropolitan Policy Program.
“In an age of rapid technological changes and an ongoing demographic transformation towards a majority-minority future, existing disparities will be exacerbated without deliberate action,” continued Liu. “Now, leaders across the region must do the hard work of creating a shared vision for inclusive growth, mobilizing people in government, business, and the broader community to tackle these challenges and make the Sacramento region truly inclusive and prosperous in the years ahead.”
Earlier this year, Valley Vision, the Greater Sacramento Economic Council, Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and the Sacramento Area Council of Governments partnered to engage the nationally recognized Brookings Institution to conduct a market assessment of the six-county Sacramento region. The study examines the economic drivers of successful economies in regions and benchmarked Sacramento against national markets with similar characteristics.
The findings from the Brookings Institution informed the full-day Regional Futures Forum that included breakout sessions and group conversations to dive deep into topics and to develop priorities and actions to take the region to new levels of economic growth, prosperity and inclusion.
“This report shows just how important it is that we build an inclusive economy that provides opportunities for everyone in the Sacramento region,” said Jay Schenirer, Sacramento City Council Member and SACOG Board Chair. “Together, our region needs to provide — among other investments — more workforce development and job training opportunities for youth and young professionals. Investing in digital skills training and connecting young workers to in-demand occupations and industries will help our industries grow while creating access to jobs for more people.”
The full Brookings Institution Sacramento Region Market Assessment can be accessed at: https://brook.gs/2r4PbjI
Standing up for Cleaner Air in Our Communities
For over 30 years, the Cleaner Air Partnership has brought environmental advocates, business leaders, and decision-makers together to fight for cleaner air and job growth across the Sacramento region. Investing in clean air improves public health, grows and attracts businesses, and is simply the right thing to do.
The work of ‘CAP’ has been an immense boon to our communities for a long time. But the time has come to do more.
The Sacramento region has 5-7% of California’s population. It also has 5-7% of the state’s population who live in disadvantaged communities, as designated by the state’s CalEnviroScreen 3.0 mapping tool. But in key programs like the statewide Cap & Trade system, which reinvests money charged to polluters into a variety of state agencies and projects, our region is not getting its fair share. As a whole, our region only receives 1-2% of air quality-related Cap & Trade funds, while Southern California, the San Joaquin Valley, and the Bay Area in particular receive many times more funding to do this work. This is about more than money – it’s about the ability of our low-income neighbors to live healthy and full lives. It’s about making our communities more livable for everyone. It’s about our region’s future.
The Cleaner Air Partnership coalition, led by Breathe California Sacramento Region, the Sacramento Metro Chamber, and Valley Vision, is a catalyst for the vision of the future that I just described.
As an example, the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District has identified over $365 Million worth of shovel-ready projects in Sacramento County alone, much of which could be funded if our region were to receive proportionate Cap & Trade funding. Potential projects include electric bus conversions, electric vehicle charging infrastructure, cleaner locomotives, low-emission agricultural equipment, and more. The region’s other four Air Quality Management Districts (AQMDs) have similarly identified numerous shovel-ready projects in need of funding.
Through the leadership of Sacramento County Supervisor and CA Air Resources Board representative Phil Serna, CAP has been meeting with our region’s state-level elected officials and advisors, further building its coalition to include leaders skilled at navigating state legislation, the budget process, and the inner workings of California government. Our recent trips to the State Capitol to educate and inform leaders about how the state allocates Cap & Trade money have proven quite fruitful, as our region’s leaders at all levels are ready to do what it takes to modify the system. Addressing the Cap & Trade conundrum is a tangible first step in this new area of activity for CAP; as we become more connected and knowledgeable, we could engage with state representatives and agencies in all sorts of ways to the benefit of our communities.
Consider this a call to action. Over the next four weeks, the Cleaner Air Partnership will host three working sessions to build out a ‘Cap & Trade Playbook’ – a comprehensive plan to secure a balanced share of Cap & Trade funds for important air quality-related projects in the Capital region. We will be having additional meetings, beginning in May, with our elected representatives to share the Playbook with them and begin to implement our new strategy.
As the new Project Manager for the Cleaner Air Partnership beginning in January 2018, I’ve been tasked with continuing to build upon the strong foundation set by fellow VV’ers Tammy Cronin and Tara Thronson before her, their clean air colleagues, and surely others beyond my memory. I’m also responsible, under the supervision of Managing Director Meg Arnold (Valley Vision’s Clean Economy guru), for ensuring that this stepped-up level of activity leads to success. It’s a tough assignment, but achievable with the right partners, good data, and the wind at our backs.
If you haven’t already, please subscribe to Valley Vision’s Clean Economy newsletter, share this piece through your networks, or email me if you want to be involved in these efforts (or know someone who does). Join us! Together we can ensure a more healthy, prosperous, and equitable Sacramento region.
Adrian Rehn is a Valley Vision Project Manager overseeing the Cleaner Air Partnership and Valley Vision’s online communications.
Braving the Maze at State Leg Summit
I shouted “Hooray!” as I finally emerged from the elevator in front of Kip Lipper’s office in the California State Capitol. I learned the hard way that Kip’s office is in the older “historic” section of the Capitol building, and requires entry using a different elevator and set of stairs than the newer “Annex.” Suffice it to say, the secrets of the Capitol building began to reveal themselves to me on the afternoon of Tuesday, March 13th.
The 2018 State Legislative Summit was a window into the Capitol lifestyle that so many of my friends and colleagues live and breathe, but one that has remained mostly unknown to me. Organized by the Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce, ‘SLS’ (as it is known) is a day of meetings with the Sacramento region’s state-level elected representatives, staff, and consultants about policy issues that matter to our region.
I served on the Air Quality team this year, advocating for vital investments in clean air, transportation infrastructure, watershed protection, and more, alongside leaders from Valley Vision, the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District, SMUD, Union Pacific Railroad, and other members of the Cleaner Air Partnership.
The day kicked off with a brief program focused on the statewide housing crisis with a number of powerhouse speakers. Eleni Kounalakis, candidate for Lieutenant Governor and former Valley Vision board member, spoke concisely about issues including affordable housing finance and rent control. She challenged many in the room to think differently about solutions to the housing crisis, but did it in a way that was unifying at the end of the day. University of California President Janet Napolitano talked about the power of the UC system to shape the state narrative around housing, and brought up the important issues of workforce development and the serious lack of “workforce housing.” Jeff Michael with the University of the Pacific shared some excellent insights on the new federal tax bill and how it could affect our region’s housing market, as well as the possibility of redevelopment funds coming back to California under a new Governor. Assemblymember Jim Cooper facilitated a rockstar panel as well – it really was a fantastic program!
Lunch was followed by the real meat of the event – select appointments with a bipartisan group of our region’s elected leadership in the Capitol building. Setting aside Kip Lipper’s office in the older part of “The Building,” the rest of the appointments (as well as the restrooms!) were much easier to find. By the way, I’ll never get used to calling it, “The Building.”
Our conversations at SLS went incredibly well – perhaps unsurprisingly, everyone cares about air quality! Our team listened as much as we spoke – gleaning knowledge from those in the room, following up about relevant issues or initiatives, and taking copious notes about general (but critical!) insights about the processes that guide decision-making in the Capitol.
Huge congratulations to Anna Ballard of Intel, who did an excellent job as 2018 SLS Program Chair, and the whole team at the Metro Chamber for making this year’s event possible. I know how much of a team effort that was – thank you all! The State Capitol building will always be a maze to me, but these organizers of State Legislative Summit made it a truly a-MAZE-ing experience. I’m already looking forward to SLS 2019! My homework until then: get to know that “historic” side of the Capitol like the back of my hand. Oh wait, I’ve never noticed that birthmark before…
Adrian Rehn is a Valley Vision Project Manager overseeing the Cleaner Air Partnership and Valley Vision’s online communications.