"Rethinking Westchester" Conference a Must for Municipal Officials, Land Use Attorneys, Businesses

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. - June 6, 2013 - PRLog -- WHITE PLAINS, NY…Westchester civic and business leaders will learn to “think different” to open the door to economic opportunity at “Rethinking Westchester: A Blueprint for Smart Growth,” a benchmark conference for planning, zoning, and land-use professionals; municipal officials, developers, and the business community. The conference, organized by the Westchester County Association as part of their BLUEPRINT for Westchester initiative, will  take place at the Westchester Marriott, 670 White Plains Road (Route 119), Tarrytown, NY on Friday, June 21st from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

"Rethinking Westchester" is designed to educate and encourage local elected and appointed officials to think creatively about innovative approaches to economic development, explains Marissa Brett, executive director of the WCA’s BLUEPRINT for Westchester.  “Westchester County has the potential to emerge as a hotbed of innovation, but both business and government leaders need to work collaboratively and adopt an entrepreneurial mindset. In other words, we need to follow the example of a great innovative company like Apple and ‘Think Different.’”

National experts in site selection, public-private partnerships, 21st century infrastructure, and revitalizing communities will offer detailed lessons on successful innovative approaches to improving cities, towns, and regions. The morning keynote speaker, Mark M. Sweeney (http://www.mccallumsweeney.com/msweeney.shtml), a world-renowned site selection expert and senior principal at McCallum Sweeney Consulting, will explain how smart communities pro-actively prepare themselves to work with site developers.   The afternoon keynoter, Kathryn S. Wylde (http://www.pfnyc.org/president.html), president and CEO of Partnership for New York City, will discuss the use of public-private partnerships to help fund important public projects.

“Everyone who attends this conference will gain a better understanding of the importance of creating vibrant communities to attract business and a talented workforce; they’ll also learn how to fund projects at a time when public dollars are limited,” notes William Mooney, president of the Westchester County Association, which created the BLUEPRINT for Westchester, a private sector initiative to spur economic development in the county.

Conference Agenda

7:30 AM - 8:15 AM


Registration and Networking Breakfast



8:15 AM – 8:30 AM
Welcome & Opening Remarks by Marissa Brett, Executive Director of Economic Development, Westchester County Association



8:30 AM – 9:30 AM 
Morning Keynote: “National Trends in Site Selection: What Municipal Officials Can Do to Attract and Retain Investment,”


Mark M. Sweeney, Senior Principal, McCallum Sweeney Consulting



9:30 AM – 9:45 AM


- Break -



9:45 AM – 10:45 AM


Panel 1: “Infrastructure for the 21st Century”


•Moderated by:Christopher Fisher, President, New York Wireless Association


• Carl Busseno, Director, RF Engineering NY Metro, AT&T Mobility


• George Vineyard, VP & General Counsel, ExteNet Systems, Inc.

• Manuel Vicente, President, Homeland Towers 



10:45 AM – 11:00 AM


- Break -



11:00 AM – 12:00 PM


Panel 2: “Work. Live. Play. Westchester!: Repurposing and Rezoning to Attract Business and a Vibrant Workforce”


Moderated by: Marissa Brett, Executive Director of Economic Development, Westchester County Association


• Ethan Kent - Vice President, Project for Public Spaces, Inc.


• Thomas Madden, AICP - Commissioner, Department of Community Development and Conservation, Town of Greenburgh



12:00 PM – 12:45 PM


- Networking Lunch -



12:45 PM – 1:30 PM


Afternoon Keynote: “Business as a Full Partner in Achieving

Smart Growth”

Kathryn S. Wylde, President & CEO, Partnership for New York City



1:30 PM – 2:25 PM


Panel 3: “Public-Private Partnerships: A Deeper Look”


•  Dan Sugarman - Vice President - Marketing & Strategy, UNITED WATER


•  Daniel Marsh III – Senior Director, National Development Council

•  TBA

2:25 PM – 2:30 PM


Closing Remarks & Conclusion

The cost to attend the conference is $200 for members of the Westchester County Association and $225 for future members. To register online visithttps://westchester.org/eventregister.php?event=369. For the latest up-to-the minute conference information, visit http://westchester.org/article.php?a=369.

Sponsors

The Premier Sponsors of Rethinking Westchester: A Blueprint for Smart Growth" are Con Edison, Cuddy & Feder, Entergy, Harrison Edwards PR, Heyman Properties, Houlihan Lawrence, John Meyer Consulting, Lightpath, McCullough Goldberger & Staudt, O'Connor Davies, and Simone Development. Supporting Sponsors are AT&T, C.W. Brown, and Homeland Towers. Sponsorship opportunities continue to be available and interested parties can contact Julia Emrick at jemrick@westchester.org or call 914-948-6740.