On June 25th, the Economic Innovation Group hosted a webinar on strategies for community-led Opportunity Zones investments, with representatives from the Washington State Department of Commerce, the National Development Council (NDC), the Emerald Coast Opportunity Zone, and the North Star Opportunity Zone. A recording of the webinar can be found here, with the slides here.
EIG’s Rachel Reilly was joined by Sarah Lee and Sharayah Lane of Washington State Department of Commerce who discussed their approach to supporting Opportunity Zone communities, Melissa LaFayette of NDC who shared how she and her colleagues have engaged with local leaders to empower community-led Opportunity Zones strategies, and Julie Knott, Karen Francis-White and Ernie Rasmussen of the Emerald Coast Opportunity Zone and North Star Opportunity Zone, who each discussed how their communities are working and learning together to identify and support investment opportunities that can create shared prosperity.
Both the Emerald Coast Opportunity Zone and North Star Opportunity Zone were formed as learning communities and collective marketing efforts to ensure rural and tribal zones in Washington state could secure investment in the ever-growing and competitive Opportunity Zone marketplace. Learn more about the investment opportunities identified by these communities – climate resiliency projects, workforce housing, health clinics, industrial symbiosis projects, and more – by listening to the webinar and visiting their respective websites.
Guest Speakers:
- Sarah Lee and Sharayah Lane – Washington State Department of Commerce
- Melissa LaFayette – National Development Council
- Ernie Rasmussen and Karen Francis-White – Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, North Star Opportunity Zone
- Julie Knott – Emerald Coast Opportunity Zone
This webinar was the third in a series EIG will host throughout 2019. These webinars focus on a variety of topics related to implementation of the Opportunity Zones incentive, showcase best practices from around the country, and serve as a resource for investors, project sponsors, and community developers looking to use the incentive. So far, EIG has covered an introduction to Opportunity Zones, an analysis of the most recent round of regulations, and more.
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