Page 54 - 2021 Westchester County Economic Development Guide

Westchester Forward
Westchester County Association
The WCA: Towards a Stronger Economic Future for Westchester
The Westchester County Association (WCA) is an influential group of business and nonprofit organizations in the lower Hudson Valley.
Members of the Westchester County Association (WCA) Board at their February 2020 meeting at BioInc@NYMC
For more than 70 years, the Westchester County Association (WCA) has set the professional agenda by fostering strong connections while advancing issues and programs that cultivate a robust economic environment for its members and the community.
This year, the WCA ushered in a new generation of leadership with the appointment of Michael N. Romita, a former local business executive and U.S. Department of Justice litigator, as President and CEO. One of Michael’s first actions was mobilizing a broad collective of community and business leaders to launch a series of advocacy and action initiatives designed to drive long-term growth in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. This “Post Pandemic Working Group” issued a strategic report entitled Towards a Stronger Future, which identified four foundational pillars of economic recovery in the region: Healthcare and Bioscience; Real Estate and Housing; Digital Connectivity and Digital Equity; and Energy and Sustainability.
For each pillar, the WCA is collaborating to pursue purposeful, action-orientated initiatives with measurable results. For example, the WCA brought together businesses, nonprofits, and municipal agencies to create a “Digital
Opportunity Zone” – a scalable pilot designed to provide high-speed internet access to an underserved local community.
In real estate, the WCA’s Policy Playbook (a collaboration with the Pace University’s Land Use Law Center) with its brand-new chapter on affordable housing has become the primary smart development resource guide for developers, land use attorneys, and municipal planners.
Elsewhere, the WCA formed a “Healthcare Talent Council” to create a local talent pipeline and align curriculums at our regional educational institutions with employer-based needs.
Through the commitment and sustained efforts of our Board of Directors, committees and working groups, WCA members share a common goal of improving our economic firmament to benefit all of Westchester.
“Even in this pandemic-induced recession, we are excited about the future of Westchester and we are working hard to support our members’ collective interests. Progress requires innovation and creativity. It demands that we work together. That is how the WCA gets things done,” said Michael N. Romita.
Visit www.westchester.org to learn more about the Westchester County Association.
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WESTCHESTER COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE
© Mike Grayeb, Grade A Communications