News

PEDA is currently seeking your feedback to a brief professional development survey, your responses to which will help us to continue meeting your evolving educational needs. Thank you in advance for your participation.

  

Click here to access the Young Professional Scholarship Request Form for PEDA's fall conference. These scholarship opportunities are made available through the generosity of FirstEnergy Corp and Team Pennsylvania Foundation.

Pennsylvania Approves C-PACE Program

On June 12, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf signed a new, bipartisan bill that will help commercial and industrial property owners finance upgrades for energy efficiency, water conservation, and renewable energy systems. Under the legislation, this bill will enable Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE).

Similar to the 33 other states who already run the program, it will be voluntary and will allow municipal governments to set up energy improvement districts, where private lenders can give money to commercial, industrial, or agricultural property owners for eligible improvements to buildings. C-PACE programs are growing in success, as last year these commercial and industrial properties accounted for over a quarter of U.S. energy consumption and about $521 million in investment through these programs,  according to a 2017 Department of Energy report.  C-PACE, however, can be time-consuming and complex for local governments to administer, especially in states like Pennsylvania, which is fragmented with 67 counties and 2,562 municipalities. The new legislation does not prescribe how the program will be administered.   

The bill, SB 234 moved through Pennsylvania’s legislature with broad support this year -- getting the approval of the state Senate (42-8) in January and House (163-28) at the end of May. While Pennsylvania’s Department of Labor and Industry does not track clean energy jobs, the Keystone Energy Efficiency Alliance found that the state’s clean energy sector is growing, and most jobs (about 55,000) were in fact related to energy efficiency.

DCED has advised PEDA that representatives of the Economic Development Administration (EDA) contacted them this week to seek help in spreading the word across Pennsylvania that funds remain available for the Assistance to Coal Communities (ACC) program.

Many of you are also familiar with the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) POWER initiative, which is currently evaluating applications submitted in round one of this fiscal year. ARC is accepting applications for the next round of funding that closes Aug. 29, 2018.

There remain significant resources available for Pennsylvania communities impacted by the changing coal economy via these two federal programs. This doesn’t just mean areas with coal mines. There have been investments in regions with supply chain impacts or closures/conversions of coal-fired power plants.

Contact your Local Development District (LDD) or Economic Development District (EDD) to discuss opportunities through both of these programs! Opportunities exist to access both programs to provide significant funding support for your project.

EDA Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA):
https://www.eda.gov/coal/2017/

ARC POWER:
https://www.arc.gov/funding/POWER.asp

Examples of coal-related projects funded in PA:
https://www.arc.gov/images/grantsandfunding/POWER2017/ARCPOWERAwardSummariesbyState9-6-2017.pdf

Photo Credit: Keystone Edge

On May 17th, PEDA teamed up with Keystone Edge to host the first ever "Gather Up" event in the Susquehanna Valley. Co-hosted with Team Pennsylvania, this event, held at Rusty Rail Brewing Co. in Mifflinburg, brought members and friends of the Greater Susquehanna Valley Young Professionals together with regional economic and community development leaders. 

Amongst good drinks, food, and conversation, we were inspired to hear about the interesting and forward-thinking work going on to engage young people and help the Valley thrive. PEDA is excited to be a part of that conversation now and in the future and has underwritten a new Keystone Edge feature story to be published this month. As follow up to the event, on-the-ground work in the Valley to connect young people with economic and community development volunteer and career opportunities is also in the works for this summer.

Finally, we would also like our PEDA members in the Valley for attending the Gather Up event and representing our profession!

Photo Credit: Keystone Edge

Meanwhile, elsewhere in PA, PEDA is joined with Keystone Edge on three "Day in the Life" visits and interviews with economic development professionals from three regions of the state:

• Steve McKnight of Altoona Blair County Development Corporation
• Jared Mast of Greater Easton Development Partnership
• Katrina Vincent of Erie County Economic Development

Stories featuring Steve, Jared, and Katrina will publish on KeystoneEdge.com in June, July, and August, respectively. Follow Keystone Edge on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for photos from their Day in the Life visits.

Krista Wieder is Managing Partner and Vice President of Kairos Development Group, a real estate development and consulting firm. Their consulting focuses on organizational development and economic development, working with nonprofit and public agencies in the northeastern US. She has been a dynamic leader for over 15 years. Her deep experience in economic development, project management, business planning, capacity building, marketing and organizational development give her a bird’s eye view of how these various puzzle pieces dovetail together for optimal results.

Whether engaging the community, strategizing, or orchestrating sustainable funding, Krista is gifted at visually mapping out and collaboratively managing long-range processes. She has the ability to listen to the needs and challenges of a community while assessing the strengths and opportunities in order to leverage them for economic growth and development of a specific geographic place. She has the unique ability to strategically align a client’s mission with their internal funding or financial goals as well as their external marketing strategies, enabling them to successfully grow and change, accommodating market demands while scaling sustainably.

Krista has leveraged over $10 million in both annual and capital dollars to build capacity for a number of strong, mission-driven organizations needing to take their services to the next level.

She holds a B.S. in Geography, with a focus in Urban and Regional Development from Pennsylvania State University and an MBA in Urban Economic Development from Eastern University.

Krista is nuts about tennis, golf, cooking, eating and a little pug named Cooper.She welcomes people to connect with her on LinkedIn or via email at krista@kairosdg.com.

It's been said that there is no greater honor than to be recognized by one's peers. The window for submitting 2018 PEDA Membership Award Nominations is now open and, with two new categories added this year to recognize marketing innovation and up-and-coming young professionals, we've made it easier to showcase successful projects, initiatives and individuals.

Showcasing key accomplishments at the statewide level not only benefits those being honored, but also shines a light on the meaningful work being done by our peers in the economic development profession. Please take this opportunity to publicly recognize those who are most deserving.

Decisions on winners are expected to be made in early September and awardees will be notified as soon as possible in advance of PEDA's 2018 Fall Conference, where recipients will be recognized.

Download nomination forms here. 2018 PEDA Membership Awards nominations must be submitted electronically to pedastaff@peda.org by 4:00 pm on Friday, August 31, 2018.

In March 2018, Dan Gundersen joined Camoin Associates to launch and lead a new office in Richmond, Virginia. As Senior Vice President, he is supporting national accounts and helping to expand the firm’s economic and fiscal consulting business in Pennsylvania and throughout the Mid-Atlantic and South.

Dan brings with him over 20 years of experience in economic development, serving in top leadership positions in Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland and Virginia. He was Executive Deputy Secretary for Pennsylvania’s DCED from 2003-2007 where he managed a $667MM budget and $2.8B economic stimulus program. He went on to become Commissioner of Economic Development for New York State and Co-Chair of the Empire State Development Corporation. Most recently, he served as COO and Interim President and CEO for the award-winning Virginia Economic Development Partnership. During his tenure there, Virginia saw record-breaking capital investment of nearly $20 billion from more than 1,000 economic development projects. In addition, he led economic and workforce development efforts in Baltimore County, Maryland and worked with the consulting group Econsult Solutions out of Philadelphia.

Dan is a recipient of the Fellow Member and Honorary Life Member designations of the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) for his outstanding contributions to the economic development profession. He is looking forward to reconnecting with the Pennsylvania economic development community and taking an active role as a new PEDA member. Look for him at the Spring conference. In the meantime, connect with Dan on LinkedIn or send him an email at Dan@camoinassociates.com.

Born and raised in Clearfield, Pennsylvania, Rob Swales returned to his hometown to make a difference. Swales returned less than a year after graduation from the University of Pittsburgh - Bradford Campus in 1999 with a major in Economics and a Minor in Business Management.

Swales began his career working in economic development under Clearfield County Government in 2000. By 2004, Swales revamped and privatized the organization, whereby the lead economic roles are administered and staffed under Clearly Ahead Development, a private nonprofit corporation.

Clearly Ahead Development provides resources for the local manufactures to grow their operations, business recruitment and financial packaging for capital projects. Clearly Ahead Development specializes in redevelopment projects such as Brownfield's, industrial park development and industrial multi-tenant building management throughout Clearfield County

Swales' most notable recruitment efforts in recent years include, Continental Carbonic, WhiteWave Foods, Inc., Forum Energy Technologies, Pennsylvania Grain Products, Baker Hughes, Cameron, HydroSpray Wash Systems and Race Street Brewing.

Successful Brownfield cleanup projects administered throughout Clearfield County include the 26.5 acre Howe's Leather Tannery, the Dubois Brewing Company, the Downtown Clearfield Riverfront & Riverwalk Redevelopment Project, Rumbarger Reservoir, FCI Electronics Industrial Complex and the high profile resurrection of the former Harbison-Walker Brick Refractory and Clearfield Tannery in to a 55 acre Technology Park in Clearfield Borough - now home of Pennsylvania Grain Products and Continental Carbonic.

Swales resides in Clearfield with his wife, Kellie, and children, Denis and Elli.