Sold Out! Annual Meeting and DC Development Showcase

More than 1000 attendees and 65 exhibitors are registered for the WDCEP Annual Meeting and Development Showcase on Tuesday, October 17, at the Washington, DC Convention Center. The Development Showcase will feature all major public and private sector investments across the District of Columbia, highlighted by the unveiling of a cutting edge, computer animation showing development planned for the NOMA Corridor. The luncheon program will begin with a keynote address by Dr. Richard Florida, a leading social theorist, best-selling author and the Hirst Professor of Public Policy at George Mason University, followed by a well-deserved tribute to pioneers and change-makers in three leading DC neighborhoods: the 14th & U Street corridor, Barracks Row and the area comprised of Downtown, Chinatown and Penn Quarter.

Our intention at this year’s annual meeting is to encourage a shift in the thought process that has traditionally defined economic development. Dr. Florida’s provocative work suggests that attracting and retaining human talent is the key to economic vitality for regions comparable to Washington, DC. I’m certain that after hearing his address, you will agree that he makes a compelling case for valuing people as the key economic growth asset. By reexamining our goals and reestablishing our priorities, we might begin to tap and harness the full creative potential of the human capital—at all social and educational levels—that abounds in our region.