NEW ORLEANS – The Delta Regional Authority will announce two major initiatives Thursday, August 27, 2015, at GNO, Inc., 1100 Poydras St., at 9:00 a.m., to grow the capacity of regional business owners to reach global markets and train local leadership to incorporate disaster resiliency in their economic development strategies.
The announcements come as the City of New Orleans commemorates the 10th anniversary of the Hurricane Katrina disaster and the great strides in economic growth and resiliency the city and larger region have made since.
Following the announcements will be a high-level panel discussion on international trade in the Mississippi River Delta and greater New Orleans, featuring federal leadership, local economic developers, business owners and community leaders.
The panel entitled, “Fueling Economic Growth and Resilience through International Trade,” will start at 9:30 a.m.
The announcements incorporate partnerships with the U.S. Department of Commerce, U.S. Economic Development Administration, and the White House Rural Council’s Made in Rural America Export and Investment Initiative to increase the number of businesses in rural communities exporting their goods and services to the global marketplace.
Expected to attend the event and participate in the panel are:
• Michael Hecht, CEO, Greater New Orleans, Inc.
• Chris Masingill, Federal Co-Chairman, Delta Regional Authority
• Ken Hyatt, Deputy Under Secretary for International Trade, U.S. Department of Commerce
• Matt Erskine, Deputy Assistance Secretary for Economic Development, U.S. Department of Commerce
• Kathe Falls, Executive Director for International Commerce, Louisiana Economic Development
• Brandy Christian, Chief Operating Officer, Port of New Orleans
• Donna Lemm, Business owner and exporter, The Mallory Group
• Hank L. Torbert, Founding Principal and Partner, RLMcCall Capital Partners
• Mayor Mitch Landrieu, City of New Orleans
• Mayor Hyram Copeland, City of Vidalia, La.
• Mayor Belinda Constant, City of Gretna, La.
After the panel discussion, the U.S. Commercial Service in partnership with the DRA will lead a series of three workshops targeted to helping businesses increase sales and boost profits through international trade.
The Delta Regional Authority is a federal-state partnership created by Congress in 2000 to help create jobs, build communities, and improve lives through strategic investments in economic development in 252 counties and parishes across eight states. Through the past thirteen investment cycles of the DRA’s States Economic Development Assistance Program, DRA investments have leveraged $2.7 billion in other public and private investment into projects that are helping to create and retain 42,000 jobs, train 13,000 for a 21st century workforce, and provide more than 82,000 families access to clean water and sewer services.
