2017 GO Virginia Orientation Conference Resources

The Growth and Opportunity Board held a successful Orientation Conference on Thursday, April 20 for over 300 attendees including members from the nine GO Virginia regional councils, their support organizations, legislators, and other interested stakeholders. As the implementation of GO Virginia continues to move forward, the Conference provided a platform for state and local leaders to gather and discuss the economic concerns facing our Commonwealth and how GO Virginia can serve as a vehicle to help address those problems.

View the Orientation Conference Program

Presentations from the GO Virginia Orientation Conference

History of GO Virginia
John O. “Dubby” Wynne, Chairman Growth & Opportunity Board

Headwinds Facing Virginia’s Economy
John Accordino, VCU Wilder School of Government
Qian Cai, UVA Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service
Stephen Moret, Virginia Economic Development Partnership

GO Virginia Legislation and Budget Overview
Bill Shelton, Director, Department of Housing and Community Development

Economic Impact 101- “What data is available and how to use it”
Dr. Terry Clower, GMU Center for Regional Analysis
Spencer Shanholtz, GMU Center for Regional Analysis
Dr, Mark White, GMU Center for Regional Analysis

Regional Economic Data

• Region 1
• Region 2
• Region 3
• Region 4
• Region 5
• Region 6
• Region 7
• Region 8
• Region 9
• Statewide Data

Breakout Session Presentations*

Joint Site Development
Ken Benassi, CBRE
Beth Doughty, Roanoke Regional Partnership
John Reinhart, Virginia Port Authority

Scale Ups
Dr. Jim Atkinson, MIKRO Systems
Bill Donahue, GENEDGE
Chip Filer, Old Dominion University
B K Gogia, Lenvio

Credentialing and Workforce
Craig Herndon, Virginia Community College System
Susan Jacobs, Newport News Shipbuilding
Matthew James, Peninsula Council for Workforce Development

Virginia’s Innovation Economy
Monique Adams, 757 Angels
Shannon Blevins, UVA at Wise
Ted Chandler, New Richmond Ventures
Tom Weithman, Center for Innovative Technology and MACH 37

Charting Virginia’s Economic Future
Ryan Dunn, Virginia Chamber of Commerce
Paul Logan, Virginia Chamber of Commerce
Chris Saxman, Virginia FREE

*Not all speakers had presentation materials

“As each of you know, the engine that drives the state economy is each region. There is no state economy except for a sum-total of the regions. And for the first time we are empowering our regions to take charge of their futures and the state will help them do that.” – Chairman of the Growth and Opportunity Board, John O. “Dubby” Wynne

The Growth and Opportunity Board adopted GO Virginia’s official purpose statement at their March meeting, “to create more higher paying jobs through incentivized collaboration, primarily through out-of-state-revenue, that diversify and strengthen the economy in every region.”