CE-CERT was excited to host the Deputy Treasurer of Housing & Economic Development for the State of California, Mr. Jovan Agee. CE-CERT Deputy Director Nicole Cleary and UC Riverside Professor of Political Science and Public Policy Dr. Karthick Ramakrishnan welcomed Mr. Agee to the Center on May 9th, 2019 to discuss investment opportunities in clean technology. The conversation also included key influencers in the areas of economic and workforce development, healthcare, public safety, climate change, and education: Leigh Hanson, Director of Strategic Partnerships for FUSE Corps; Dr. Paulette Brown-Hinds, Board Member of the James Irvine Foundation; and Aaron Thomas, Director of Economic Development and Opportunity Zones at Accelerator for America. UCR CE-CERT graduate student Chen Le assisted with the CE-CERT laboratory tour and research discussion portion of the visit.
The visit was in anticipation of the inaugural summit of Inland California Rising on May 10 at the Riverside Convention Center, which provided attendees with opportunities to dialog about narrative change, bridging emerging markets, and the promising role of innovative tools in improving civic engagement around planning decisions.