News

The official press release can be found at this link.

Since April of 2013, Brian Hansbury has been the Vice President of the Schuylkill Economic Development Corporation (SEDCO), a county-wide economic development organization whose mission is to expand employment opportunities and improve the overall quality of life for county residents. Brian is responsible for project management, marketing, financing and business outreach, and serves on multiple local, county and regional boards of directors.

Brian earned both Bachelor's and a Master's Degrees from Kutztown University in Public Administration and Political Science. Prior to joining the SEDCO staff, Brian spent six years with Greater Hazleton CAN DO in a similar capacity.

"I am honored to serve PEDA as the EDC committee co-chair with Steve McKnight.  I'm excited to get to work with Steve, PEDA Chairman Jim Becker and the rest of the Board of Directors. The EDC committee and PEDA continue to help guide policy and improve the economic conditions in the Commonwealth. 

For years, the Economic Development Course in Pennsylvania has served the needs of full-time economic development practitioners and those involved in economic development in a secondary way. The course draws participants whose backgrounds range from the seasoned professional to the beginning practitioner. Participants learn theoretical and practical approaches to economic development. This year's IEDC-accredited course takes place in Lancaster from December 3-6.  

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.