Category: News

San Diego’s Good News of the Week – May 12, 2023

By Kyle Winnick,

Every week, ‘Good News of the Week’ features a curation of positive headlines from San Diego, delivered straight to your inbox. A blend of aggregated stories from San Diego’s most trusted news sources and original EDC-created content, GNOTW provides a comprehensive recap of the region’s best stories from the p ast week.

Get Good News of the Week in your inbox every Friday. → Sign up

For the week of May 12, 2023, here’s what we’re reading:

…and here are some events and opportunities:

Six ways to return to the office by Cultura

EDC sat down with Anne Benge and Annie Cook, executives at design and furnishing company Cultura, to discuss how employers can promote a successful transition back to the office. In working with hundreds of employers, EDC investor Cultura has observed companies with successful Return to Office strategies do six things.

Read more

Business information and resources page

Be in the know – sign up below to receive future editions of GNOTW.

Want to submit your event or news update to our weekly newsletter? Contact us for more information.

sign up for gnotw

Contact SDREDC
To learn more, please contact us.

San Diego’s Good News of the Week – May 5, 2023

By Kyle Winnick,

Every week, ‘Good News of the Week’ features a curation of positive headlines from San Diego, delivered straight to your inbox. A blend of aggregated stories from San Diego’s most trusted news sources and original EDC-created content, GNOTW provides a comprehensive recap of the region’s best stories from the p ast week.

Get Good News of the Week in your inbox every Friday. → Sign up

For the week of May 5, 2023, here’s what we’re reading:

…and here are some events and opportunities:

Last Call: MetroConnect PitchFest & World Trade Week Expo

Next week, May 11, join World Trade Center San Diego (WTCSD) and 300+ international business professionals from across Southern California for an international trade exhibition and network with top regional exporters, trade offices, and consulates. And don’t miss the MetroConnect VI pitch competition, where finalists from the latest round of our export assistance program will pitch for $25,000 grand prize award.

There is still time to apply to our next MetroConnect cohort! Apply before May 18 here.

Register here

Business information and resources page

Be in the know – sign up below to receive future editions of GNOTW.

Want to submit your event or news update to our weekly newsletter? Contact us for more information.

sign up for gnotw

Contact SDREDC
To learn more, please contact us.

San Diego’s Good News of the Week – April 28, 2023

By Kyle Winnick,

Every week, ‘Good News of the Week’ features a curation of positive headlines from San Diego, delivered straight to your inbox. A blend of aggregated stories from San Diego’s most trusted news sources and original EDC-created content, GNOTW provides a comprehensive recap of the region’s best stories from the p ast week.

Get Good News of the Week in your inbox every Friday. → Sign up

For the week of April 28, 2023, here’s what we’re reading:

…and here are some events and opportunities:

EDC’s Annual Dinner at Petco Park

EDC’s Annual Dinner is back on Thursday, June 1! We are excited to again gather more than 900 business and community leaders to celebrate our region and organization. Before time on the field and dinner in Gallagher Square, we’ll hear briefly from our Board Chair Jennie Brooks, SVP of Booz Allen Hamilton, and EDC’s President and CEO Mark Cafferty as they share their vision for San Diego’s inclusive economic growth.

Early Bird tickets available through May 5

Business information and resources page

Be in the know – sign up below to receive future editions of GNOTW.

Want to submit your event or news update to our weekly newsletter? Contact us for more information.

sign up for gnotw

Contact SDREDC
To learn more, please contact us.

Reflections on #SDinDC with the Chamber

By Mark Cafferty,

Last week I traveled back to Washington, D.C. with our partners at the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce for their 15th annual #SDinDC trip. The delegation brought more than 160 San Diego political, business, education, and community representatives together in Washington to advance local agendas with our federal leaders and partners.

While there, I had the opportunity to sit down with senior leadership at the Pentagon and Washington Navy Yard, meet with members of our congressional delegation, and host a meeting for local San Diego leaders with our partners at the Brookings Institution. Purposeful and beneficial meetings, all. But it was a short walk that I took from my hotel to the Washington Monument that likely had the greatest impact on me.

About a block from our hotel was the U.S. Department of Commerce. As I walked around the building, I took note of the quotes etched in stone above all of the entrances. They are attributed to Lincoln, Washington, and numerous other American leaders who have all famously shared their thoughts on trade, innovation, and the pillars of a free economy. Yet it was a quote from a more obscure statesman from the mid-1800s that still has me thinking.

One-time diplomat (and Secretary of the Navy) from Massachusetts John Bancroft said: “Commerce Defies Every Wind, Outrides Every Tempest, And Invades Every Zone.” He shared these words almost 175 years ago.

While I know that this quote hasn’t proven true for many individuals and populations in our country throughout its existence, it is an important reminder of the intentions and promises of our systems, and clear proof of just how far and wide commerce is supposed to reach—to every zone, and every person, in every corner of our communities.

The words etched above the doors of the U.S. Department of Commerce are meant to stand the test of time and remind us of who we must continuously strive to be as an economic development community—defying every wind and riding out every storm are only important in that their benefits can truly invade every zone. Until then, our work will never be complete.

Inspired and energized by the past, present, and future of our work,

Mark Cafferty
Mark Cafferty

President & CEO

San Diego’s Good News of the Week – April 21, 2023

By Kyle Winnick,

Every week, ‘Good News of the Week’ features a curation of positive headlines from San Diego, delivered straight to your inbox. A blend of aggregated stories from San Diego’s most trusted news sources and original EDC-created content, GNOTW provides a comprehensive recap of the region’s best stories from the p ast week.

Get Good News of the Week in your inbox every Friday. → Sign up

For the week of April 21, 2023, here’s what we’re reading:

…and here are some events and opportunities:

Need talent? Paid interns available

If you are in need of talent, there are paid interns available this summer through Advancing San Diego. We are recruiting local companies, in partnership with STEAM-to-Careers and the Border Region Inclusive Talent Pipeline Collaborative, to provide work-based learning opportunities for San Diego’s students at no cost to you.

Apply by April 25

Business information and resources page

Be in the know – sign up below to receive future editions of GNOTW.

Want to submit your event or news update to our weekly newsletter? Contact us for more information.

sign up for gnotw

Contact SDREDC
To learn more, please contact us.

San Diego’s Good News of the Week – April 14, 2023

By Kyle Winnick,

Every week, ‘Good News of the Week’ features a curation of positive headlines from San Diego, delivered straight to your inbox. A blend of aggregated stories from San Diego’s most trusted news sources and original EDC-created content, GNOTW provides a comprehensive recap of the region’s best stories from the p ast week.

Get Good News of the Week in your inbox every Friday. → Sign up

For the week of April 14, 2023, here’s what we’re reading:

…and here are some events and opportunities:

Pushing forward – AI and San Diego

For the past two years alongside underwriter Booz Allen Hamilton, EDC has released a series of five studies on the proliferation of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI-ML) within San Diego County’s key economic clusters.

These reports dive into how San Diego’s AI-ML adoption is informing and enhancing the region’s economy through job growth and business expansions.

Read the series synopsis

Business information and resources page

Be in the know – sign up below to receive future editions of GNOTW.

Want to submit your event or news update to our weekly newsletter? Contact us for more information.

sign up for gnotw

Contact SDREDC
To learn more, please contact us.

Pushing forward – AI and San Diego

By EDC Research Bureau,

For the past two years alongside underwriter Booz Allen Hamilton, EDC has released a series of five studies on the proliferation of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI-ML) within San Diego County’s key economic clusters. The reports represent the most comprehensive deep dive on San Diego’s AI-ML ecosystem—evolving and growing since the baseline report was published in December 2020.

The reports found, by and large, that AI-ML technologies are creating new jobs, not eliminating them. Furthermore, the high pay commanded by workers in AI-concentrated fields has positive ripple effects in the local economy; for every 1,000 jobs gained in this industry, another 1,400 are created in other sectors. And while San Diego is well-positioned to welcome a new era of this innovation, accessibility and compensation remain ongoing challenges across the region.

The growing talent gap

In order to maximize the full potential of AI-ML integration, San Diego must grow its skilled workforce. Demand for AI-ML talent is more than double our regional supply. In fact, San Diego produced fewer than 3,000 AI-ML-related graduates in 2021, meanwhile, more than 7,800 local unique job postings required AI-ML skills in 2022.

San Diego’s colleges, universities, and training programs are hard at work to bridge this gap. The region boasts a collective 118 degree-track programs focused on cybersecurity, many of which include AI-ML training, as well as numerous certificates on AI-ML methods. The growth of cybersecurity, smart urban development, and life sciences innovation will depend on the development of AI skills in the next generation of workers.

Connecting with a wide array of training programs, such as community colleges, certificate programs, and bootcamps, can help San Diego companies source talent locally.

Inclusion is key

Even as San Diego’s existing AI-ML talent supply is more racially diverse than the national average, it still lags in comparison to the region’s population demographics. Making growing industries and high-wage roles accessible to San Diego’s Black and Hispanic talent—our region’s fastest growing populations—would help San Diego companies enjoy a talent surplus, strengthen our region’s competitiveness, and enhance our ability to drive life-changing innovation. Ultimately, greater diversity in the workforce will make AI-ML tools more powerful.

More on inclusive growth

When implemented, AI-ML has the potential to help San Diego companies expedite life-saving drug discovery, thwart cyber threats, and revolutionize transportation and logistics. More importantly, AI-ML can help cities and regions improve affordability and quality of life for residents, as well as support job growth and business expansion.

“EDC’s AI series underscored that AI-ML adoption is creating new job opportunities, and the demand for these skills far outpaces the supply,” said Teddy Martinez, Senior Research Manager, EDC. “As we wrap with a focus on Smart Cities, it is clear that if done right, AI-ML also has the potential to advance economic inclusion and improve quality of life for more San Diegans.”

You can read our entire AI series here:

  1. Baseline AI-ML: Report | Summary
  1. AI-ML in Cybersecurity: Report | Summary
  1. AI-ML in Transportation: : Report | Summary
  1. AI-ML in Life Sciences: : Report | Summary
  1. AI-ML in Smart Cities: Report | Summary

Thank you to our underwriter Booz Allen Hamilton.

Learn more about EDC’s Research Bureau here

Get involved with EDC

San Diego’s Good News of the Week – April 7, 2023

By Bree Burris,

Every week, ‘Good News of the Week’ features a curation of positive headlines from San Diego, delivered straight to your inbox. A blend of aggregated stories from San Diego’s most trusted news sources and original EDC-created content, GNOTW provides a comprehensive recap of the region’s best stories from the p ast week.

Get Good News of the Week in your inbox every Friday. → Sign up

For the week of April 7, 2023, here’s what we’re reading:

…and here are some events and opportunities:

Case Study: American Lithium Energy Corporation

Carlsbad-based American Lithium Energy Corporation (ALE) manufactures the most advanced lithium-ion battery in the world, offering battery applications for defense, aerospace, medical devices, electric vehicles, and much more. ALE needed to grow quickly to meet the sharp increase in demand for its batteries during the pandemic.

Find out how EDC helped them to fulfil those demands and more in our monthly report.

Read more

Business information and resources page

Be in the know – sign up below to receive future editions of GNOTW.

Want to submit your event or news update to our weekly newsletter? Contact us for more information.

sign up for gnotw

Contact SDREDC
To learn more, please contact us.

A note from Mark…

By Mark Cafferty,

Look for the good.

EDC investors and partners:

It might be easy to look at headlines or social media these days and feel a bit weighed down by the news in San Diego. When those chosen to lead important roles fail us, it creates distrust, anger, and frustration that can make its way into all our lives. Yet at the same time, it is important to look away from the headlines and remember who we really are as a community and as a region, and refocus our time and energy on the leadership and contributions that continue to make San Diego shine.

Just this week, 60 leaders came together to address the regional workforce and supply chain needs of San Diego’s defense industrial base. Together with San Diego Military Advisory Council, San Diego Ship Repair Association, NAVSEA, and the IBAS SHIP program, the day-long event served to support near-term and future needs for shipbuilders, submarines manufacturers, and supply chain partners who support thousands of jobs in the region.

The City of San Diego’s Development Services Department just launched its Life Science Industry Pilot Program to provide dedicated permitting resources and information to help the industry expand and succeed in San Diego.

In the weeks ahead, we will celebrate World Trade Week and conclude the sixth round of our MetroConnect program, which has collectively supported 95 small and mid-sized businesses in accessing new international markets. We also look ahead to another Mayor-led trade mission, this time to Korea—a dynamic and innovative country which promises to be a force in the global economy throughout this century.

And, as EDC always tracks, you can count on the region’s employers, anchors, and industries to weekly make ‘Good News’ headlines.

In closing—and to seize the momentum of the SDSU Men’s Basketball Team’s historic run to the NCAA National Championship Game—let’s continue to find those successes, challenges, and opportunities that bring us together as a region. While we have lots of work to do throughout the City and County, I am certain that if we look closely enough, we will see that we are still surrounded by the leadership and partnership needed to get things done. I know that is how we feel at EDC every day.

With respect and admiration for your ongoing leadership, contributions, and support,

Mark Cafferty
Mark Cafferty

President & CEO

Read EDC’s Monthly Report

San Diego’s Good News of the Week – March 24, 2023

By Bree Burris,

Every week, ‘Good News of the Week’ features a curation of positive headlines from San Diego, delivered straight to your inbox. A blend of aggregated stories from San Diego’s most trusted news sources and original EDC-created content, GNOTW provides a comprehensive recap of the region’s best stories from the p ast week.

Get Good News of the Week in your inbox every Friday. → Sign up

For the week of March 24, 2023, here’s what we’re reading:

…and here are some events and opportunities:

EDC is hiring; join our team!

EDC is a 22-person team dedicated to mobilizing business, government, and civic leaders around an inclusive economic development strategy to connect data to decision-making, maximize regional prosperity, enhance global competitiveness, and position San Diego effectively for investment and talent. Join our team today, or spread the word about this open role:

  • Manager / Sr. Manager, Economic Development
  • Intern, World Trade Center San Diego

Join the team

Business information and resources page

Be in the know – sign up below to receive future editions of GNOTW.

Want to submit your event or news update to our weekly newsletter? Contact us for more information.

sign up for gnotw

Contact SDREDC
To learn more, please contact us.