Opening Plenary: Leveraging Policy and Creating Cultural Districts to Drive Economic Success

This session focuses on the What and the Why of cultural designation. Focus here is really looking at what cultural designation is and why it’s important to leverage and lean into culture as an economic engine and using culture as a Transformation Strategy. Why it’s important to have a Transformation Strategy (economic development strategy) to focus and drive work done in the districts we represent. Get people excited to learn more throughout the day.

Speakers: Cristina Pacione-Zayas, IL State Senator Jose E. Lopez, Executive Director, Puerto Rican Cultural Center

Kick off a day of building connections and learning with a message from Dionne Baux, Vice President of Neighborhood Revitalization Services at Main Street America.

Based in Chicago, Illinois, Main Street America is a subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and has participated in the renewal of more than 2,000 historic downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts during its 30-year history.

Dionne Baux is currently serving as Vice President of Neighborhood Revitalization Services where she plays a key leadership role to expand technical service offering to neighborhood commercial districts. Dionne has over two decades of experience in project coordination in the fields of urban economic development and commercial district revitalization.

Leveraging Policy and Creating Cultural Districts to Drive Economic Success, Presented by the Puerto Rican Cultural Center