San Diego Regional EDC welcomes Julian Parra as new board chair

EDC works toward the “right recovery” with new chair leading the way

As San Diego works to recover from a global pandemic and faces systemic race and equity issues that plague all metropolitan economies, EDC continues to drive an inclusive growth and recovery strategy as outgoing Board Chair Janice Brown passes the gavel to Julian Parra.

“While we are all facing many challenges right now, we also see opportunity. I look forward to working with EDC’s team to ensure that all San Diegan’s have access to opportunities so that we can position our region for the right recovery.” said Julian Parra, Region Executive, at Bank of America.

The right recovery is rooted in our inclusive growth work and focuses on ensuring we double down on the building blocks that make for a strong economy by creating skilled talent, economically-stabilizing jobs, and thriving households.

“There is nobody I trust more than Julian to continue this work in a time that San Diego needs it most,“ said outgoing Chair Janice Brown, founder of Brown Law Group, who spearheaded the inclusive growth initiative during her time as chair, “I believe in how EDC’s work has evolved, and will continue to support this organization and team.”

As chair, Parra is supported by four officers:

  • Vice Chair, Rob Douglas, President and COO, ResMed
  • Vice Chair, Jennie Brooks, Senior Vice President, Booz Allen Hamilton
  • Treasurer, Phil Blair, President and CEO at Manpower San Diego
  • Secretary, Tom Seidler, SVP Community & Military Affairs, San Diego Padres

Along with the election of a new chair, EDC’s board also elected three new board members:

  • Tonya Cross, Senior Vice President People & Corporate Operations at Lytx Inc
  • Heather Ace, Executive Vice President of Human Resources at Qualcomm Inc
  • Sandra McDonough, Partner at Paul Plevin Sullivan and Connaughton LLP

EDC is a membership-based non-profit organization that mobilizes government and civic leaders around an inclusive economic development strategy in order to connect data to decision making, maximize regional prosperity, enhance global competitiveness and position San Diego effectively for investment and talent. The organization’s nearly 200 investors range from small businesses like Brown Law Group, to the region’s largest employers like Qualcomm and SDG&E, to the leading anchor institutions such as universities and hospitals.

THE RIGHT RECOVERY

Over the last two decades, San Diego’s economy has more than doubled in size. Meanwhile, the typical household has seen its income increase at roughly half that rate. The impacts of COVID-19 have likely exasperated income inequities, disproportionately affecting the parts of the community historically disconnected from opportunities.

The right recovery means putting systems into place that ensure that as we rebuild our economy, we are doing so in a thoughtful and resilient way, that ensures all San Diegans can benefit from our region’s future growth.

“I am the first one to acknowledge that EDC has not always been focused on inclusive strategies. When Janice became chair, we were just beginning to understand how San Diego – as a region – has missed out on economic opportunity by creating racial disparities. We have an opportunity to ensure that we are pivoting programming and putting systems into place so we do not widen racial and economic inequities as our region recovers.  Nobody understands these responsibilities more than Julian,” said Mark Cafferty, EDC’s president & CEO.

To address these inequities, EDC has pivoted and launched programming aligning with the three pillars: skilled talent, economically-stabilizing jobs and thriving households. With the majority of San Diegans employed by small and medium size businesses (SMBs), San Diego has set a goal to create 50K economically-stabilizing jobs by 2030. To help achieve that goal, EDC programs such as MetroConnect and Advancing San Diego will continue in a virtual capacity, providing export assistance and paid internship programs, respectively.

We hope you’ll join us as we work to create a more equitable and prosperous San Diego, for all who live here.