Caption - from top to bottom, left to right: Miguel Santana, Weingart Foundation; Susan Greene, Bank of America; Lew Horne, CBRE; Ellen Riotto, South Park BID

This week, CCA hosted a panel focused on leveraging pandemic recovery to strengthen economic development in our city center. The panel featured leaders including:

• Dr. Christopher Thornberg, Founding Partner, Beacon Economics (Keynote Speaker)
• Miguel Santana, President & CEO, Weingart Foundation (Moderator)
• Susan Greene, Senior Vice President, CDFI Lending and Investing, Bank of America
• Lew Horne, President, Advisory Services - Greater Los Angeles, Orange County and Inland Empire, CBRE
• Ellen Riotto, Executive Director, South Park Business Improvement District

The event began with Jessica Lall, President and CEO of CCA, describing how Downtown can be a major force for economic opportunity and growth for the rest of the city. She introduced CCA's newly relaunched sister organization, Downtown Works, which will help elevate solutions to DTLA's challenges and build on its opportunities. Founding Partner of Beacon Economics Chris Thornberg then gave a keynote speech illustrating Downtown's resilience with significant growth potential. The panel discussed what's happening on the ground, adaptable business models, addressing challenges worsened by COVID-19 and cross-sector collaboration to spur economic development. We look forward to continuing these important conversations that help ensure a strong recovery. Thank you to Bank of America for making this event possible!