(L-R) Rockefeller Foundation President Dr. Rajiv. Shah, Council on Metro Economies and the New American City Chair Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner

Council Session Highlights – 86th U.S. Conference of Mayors Annual Meeting in Boston:

The Council on Metro Economies and the New American City met at the 86^th U.S. ​Conference of Mayors Annul Meeting​, on June 8th, to hear from leading experts in the fields of economic development and inclusion. Below is a description of the session with links to speaker presentations.

U.S. Metro Economies

IHS Markit

Jim Diffley, of IHS Markit, summarized his economic growth and jobs forecast for 2018 and 2019:  

• Click here to view the Council’s latest Metro Economies Report on Economic Growth and Employment
• Click here to view the Council’s report on Bridging the Wealth Gap
• Click here to view the Council’s report on Technology and the Future Labor Market
• Click here to view the Council’s report on Smart Cities

Opportunity Zones and Opportunity Funds 

Rockefeller Foundation & The Enterprise Institute

Dr. Rajiv J. Shah, President of the Rockefeller Foundation, joined Scott Hoekman, President and CEO of Enterprise Community Management, Inc. of the Enterprise Institute, to discuss Opportunity Funds and the Opportunity Zone provisions that were included in the recently enacted Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.

Columbus (OH) Mayor Andrew Ginther shared his city’s efforts surrounding Opportunity Zones and Opportunity funds, as well as plans for the future.

• Click here for a background on Opportunity Zones from the Enterprise Institute
• Click here for the Enterprise Institute’s presentation slides

Building Inclusive Economies for Local Small Businesses

Interise & Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner

Interise President Jean Horstman reviewed working models for helping small businesses achieve “Second Stage Growth,” which focuses on further developing small businesses after they have been successfully launched. Interise’s street level MBA creates cohorts of local small businesses working with experts and other members of the business community over time.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner joined the conversation to share his city’s collaborative efforts with Interise, to develop small businesses in his community, through the “Build Up Houston” initiative.

• Click here for the Interise presentation slides

Literacy & Economic Mobility

Bank of America, The Aspen Institute, Learning Games Studios, & the Free File Alliance

Bank of America

Senior Vice President of Community Affairs for Bank of America, Jacqueline O’Garrow, discussed the success of The U.S. Conference of Mayors’ DollarWise Campaign, as well as the Bank’s additional efforts to support summer youth employment programs in cities throughout the nation. Jacqueline encouraged mayors to register for the 2018 DollarWise Summer Youth Contest, which encourages youth to complete an on-line financial literacy curriculum in conjunction with their summer job. 

• Click here to register your city for the DollarWise Campaign
• Click here for the 2018 DollarWise Summer Youth Contest Flyer
• Click here for the 2018 DollarWise at a Glance
• Click here for the 2018 DollarWise Innovations in Financial Education Best Practices Booklet
• Click here for Bank of America’s presentation slides

Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh shared her city’s efforts surrounding immigrant inclusion as a Welcoming City. The City of Baltimore was awarded a 2018 DollarWise Grant to integrate financial education into the City’s English as a Second Language programming, a program implemented by the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant and Multicultural Affairs.

The Aspen Institute

Joanna Smith-Ramani, of the Aspen Institute, discussed her efforts surrounding financial capability as the Managing Director of the Institute’s Financial Security Program.

• Click here for the Aspen Institute’s presentation slides

Learning Games Studios

Learning Games Studios President Ira Sockowitz shared the progress of the Council on Metro Economies and the New American City’s collaborative pilot program to expand adult literacy in cities through learning games technology.

• Click here for the Learning Game Studios presentation slides

Free File Alliance

Dave Macklin, with the Free File Alliance, spoke on the progress of the IRS’ Free File program, which helps households making $66,000 or less file their federal (and often state) taxes for free.

• Click here for the Free File presentation slides

Our Council Sponsors:

• Bank of America

• The Computer & Communications Industry Association

• Interise

• Learning Games Studios

Council on Metro Economies Press Room: