Identifying Economic Recovery Priorities
On November 12, 2015, IEDC held a webinar on Identifying Economic Recovery Priorities. Following a disaster, there are varying visions for the community’s recovery. To create a thorough recovery plan, it is essential to start by understanding the different perspectives. This collaborative process of bringing stakeholders together, hosting focus groups and actively participating in visioning sessions can be time-consuming yet provides rewarding results. This webinar covered the process of identifying economic development priorities for recovery in the state of New Jersey after Superstorm Sandy, as well as in the towns of Mayflower and Vilonia Arkansas.
Click here for the webinar recording
Click here to download the presentations
Speakers
Sara Maffey Duncan
Sara Maffey Duncan is the President & CEO of Edgewood Strategies, which provides corporate and government consulting services including site selection and business incentives negotiation, economic development strategy, and economic disaster recovery planning. Sara has experience working with and for a variety of government agencies and economic development organizations across the country and around the world. Prior to founding Edgewood Strategies, she was a Senior Consultant with Cushman and Wakefield’s Global Business Consulting team, focused on site selection and business incentives. Sara was also a contractor at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, where she researched small business and banking issues impacting the Sixth District. As the Director of the Office of Recovery at New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA), Sara developed the HUD CDBG-DR funded $100 million Stronger NJ Business Grant program and managed daily operations. Before joining NJEDA, she led the inter-agency economic recovery team following Hurricane Sandy in NJ under the National Disaster Recovery Framework (NDRF) for the U.S. Department of Commerce. Sara was a Presidential Management Fellow with the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA), where she developed and managed projects throughout TX, LA, OK, NM, and AR, including BP Oil Spill and multiple hurricane recovery grants. Sara has consulted for organizations operating in Brazil, India, and Tanzania, as well as the U.S. She began her career with the Turner Construction Company supervising the construction of lab buildings in New York City. Sara Maffey Duncan earned her Bachelor of Arts in Urban Design and Architectural Studies from New York University cum laude, a Certificate in Entrepreneurship from the University of Texas, and an MBA from Yale University. She is a member of IEDC.
Devin Howland Devin Howland is a young economic development professional currently serving Faulkner County Arkansas. His role is the Local Disaster Recovery Manager with Central Arkansas Planning and Development District, Inc. (CAPDD). Devin holds a degree in Political Science from the University of Central Arkansas. He began his career in economic development working with the Institute for Economic Advancement (IEA), University of Arkansas at Little Rock. During his time at IEA he would represent his organization by working with the Economic Recovery Support Function, with the Economic Development Administration under the National Disaster Recovery Framework (which was activated following President Obama's Presidential Disaster Declaration, following the April 27, 2014 tornado which tore through Central Arkansas). Immediately following the completion of his time working with EDA, he was hired as the Local Disaster Recovery Manager with CAPDD. This role serves the Mayors of Mayflower and Vilonia Arkansas as well as Faulkner County Judge Jim Baker. During his time in this capacity these two communities who have a combined population of 8,000 would see over $200,000,000.00 in economic activity along with dozens of new businesses. In only ten months each community would develop citizen based recovery plans, urban designs based on the plans, code and zoning overall, and have both entered the implementation and engineering phase for their downtown redevelopment. Devin is married and currently resides in his home town of Little Rock, Arkansas.
Brad Lonberger Brad is a Principal with Gateway Planning Group, a town design firm focused on value-creation and driving development through market-based design and implementation strategies. He focuses on regional planning, economic and environmental sustainability, mixed-use development, multi-family residential and green infrastructure. He has most recently served as the project manager for the Central Arkansas Jump Start Initiative serving seven communities in Arkansas on behalf of a HUD grant for sustainable communities. Brad joined Gateway Planning in 2010 from the Los Angeles office of an architecture and urban design firm headquartered in Washington, D.C. With this firm he managed various digital modeling productions within the Los Angeles office, including projects in Leander and Round Rock, Texas, Ventura, California and Honolulu, Hawaii. He has worked on a variety of projects involving military-housing planning and affordable housing for workforce and senior living. Brad received his Bachelor of Architecture and Master of Architecture in Urban Design from the University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL. He is a member of ULI, APA, CNU and National Town Builders Association (NTBA).