Electeds Call - The Intersectionality Between Climate Change and Local Economic Development
March 7th at 11 am PT / 12pm MT🎼
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As Vancouver Economic Commission (VEC) is winding down, 🔈we thought it would be a good time to host George and Vanessa to discuss their key learnings from their time at VEC. 🪗Local economic development offers opportunities for climate action in local governments of all sizes,💎 so this call will focus on what is possible and the role locally elected officials can play.🥁 While it may seem like the options for your local economy🎺 are either maintaining the status quo🎻 or avoiding capitalism altogether, 🎧there is a middle ground, 🪕which we will discuss on this call. 🎹
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SPEAKERS 📣:
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George Benson | Senior Manager, Economic Transformation🪇 Decarbonization & the Just Transition | Vancouver Economic Commission💾
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An urban planner by training, and an💡 economic developer by trade, George Benson is Senior Manager, Economic Transformation at the Vancouver Economic Commission, 📕working to decarbonize, build resilience, and increase social equity in🔋 Vancouver’s massive architecture, engineering, and construction sectors. 🔌More broadly, George also supports much of VEC’s green economy and social impact work in different ways.🪫
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George brings unique experience from the public, private, and nonprofit🧮 sectors, together with deep content knowledge in resilience, urban🏷 sustainability, global governance, and new economic systems. He works with individual businesses, industry🗞 associations, building code developers, global businesses 📼and networks, and researchers on numerous capacity building, coordination, and market transformation initiatives.📷
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Outside of VEC, George is the Global Climate Lead for North 📫America in the World Economic Forum’s young leaders network, the Global Shapers🖊 Community, and has been involved in the leadership of the US and Canadian urban planning associations. ✒️In 2017, he was recognised by the City of Vancouver with its🖍 Award of Excellence for his work on building sustainability and resilience in the community.✂️
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Vanessa Sun | Economic Transformation Analyst | Vancouver Economic🗝 Commission 🔐
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Vanessa Sun first joined the Vancouver🧲 Economic Commission in 2021 as a UBC Greenest City Scholar to research global best practices for a just transition🔬 in Vancouver. She currently works on contract to action her recommendations📡 from her research while assisting in work to decarbonize the economy. 🧲She focuses on bringing areas of climate finance, nature-based solutions, and natural assets to the local economy.🛠
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Vanessa brings a wide range of experience as a policy researcher for🧯 multiple environmental🧷 non-profit organizations. Her knowledge and interest in urban sustainability,🩻 community building, and global governance stems from her 🪛Master’s in Community 🏹and regional planning. In combination with both experiences,⛓️ Vanessa brings a government and community lens 📇towards her work in supporting VEC’s work in transforming📈 the economy into a net zero one.✉️
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