Summit · June 5–6, 2026

The Bronx is
building its own
economic future.

Join Our Bronx, the Bronx Economic Development Corporation, and hundreds of Bronxites, planners, organizers, practitioners, business leaders, anchor institutions, and national thought leaders as we unveil the borough's first-ever Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy — and chart a course for what comes next.

📅
WHEN Fri June 5 &
Sat June 6, 2026
📍
WHERE Andrew Freedman Home
1125 Grand Concourse
Register Now
See The Program
 
 

▪ about the ceds

Join us as we unveil the Bronx's inaugural Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) — and celebrate our borough's assets, leadership, and shared future.

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The Bronx Economic Development Summit celebrates the Bronx’s inaugural borough-wide Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS).

Since 2019, community, faith, and labor organizations have come together to create a unifying vision for the future of our borough’s economy that brings us together across neighborhoods and advances an economy that is equitable, resilient, and environmentally sustainable.

In 2024, with a planning grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration, the Bronx Economic Development Corporation (BXEDC) and Our Bronx partnered to coordinate and finalize this momentous accomplishment for our borough.

In 2025, we spent a year engaging the public, community, and business leaders, experts, and elected officials through surveys, focus groups, public assemblies, and interviews. If you were one of the hundreds of Bronxites who participated in that process, thank you! We have now gathered all of that data and insight and compiled it into a first draft of the Bronx’s first-ever Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy.

The main components of the Bronx CEDS include:

  • A SWOT analysis of the Bronx economy (identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats).

  • A set of strategies and priority projects aimed at fostering inclusive economic resilience and growth.

  • A measurable framework to track outputs and outcomes over time.

● Highlighted speakers

VISIONARIES FROM ACROSS THE BRONX & THE COUNTRY—AND BEYOND

From cooperative real estate pioneers in Oakland and Philadelphia to anchor institution leaders in Boston, employee-ownership champions, and Bronx-based practitioners — every panel features people doing the work, not just talking about it.

Vanessa Gibson

Vanessa Gibson

Welcome Remarks

Bronx Borough President, Office of the Bronx Borough President

Winston Peters

Winston Peters

Welcome Remarks

President, The Bronx Economic Development Corporation

Sandra Lobo

Sandra Lobo

Welcome Remarks & Moderator

Executive Director, Our Bronx

Adria Powell

Adria Powell

Opening Remarks

President, CEO & Worker-Owner, Cooperative Home Care Associates

John Calvelli

John Calvelli

Opening Remarks

EVP, Public Affairs, Wildlife Conservation Society

Charli Cooksey

Charli Cooksey

Opening Keynote

Founder & CEO, WEPOWER

Nneka Onwuzurike

Nneka Onwuzurike

Opening Keynote & Panelist

Executive Director, The Community WEB

Anh-Thư Nguyễn

Anh-Thư Nguyễn

Moderator

Director of Strategic Partnerships, Democracy at Work Institute

Carmen Huertas-Noble

Carmen Huertas-Noble

Moderator

Professor, CUNY Law

Noni Session

Noni Session

Panelist

Co-Founder & Executive Director, East Bay Permanent Real Estate Cooperative

Lisa Sorin

Lisa Sorin

Discussant

President, Bronx Chamber of Commerce

Adriana Abizadeh-Barbour

Adriana Abizadeh-Barbour

Panelist

Executive Director, Kensington Corridor Trust

James Johnson-Piett

James Johnson-Piett

Panelist

Principal and CEO, Urbane

Cynthia Colon

Cynthia Colon

Discussant

Chief Marketing Officer, Bronx People’s Federal Credit Union

Esteban Kelly

Esteban Kelly

Panelist

Executive Director, U.S. Federation of Worker Cooperatives

Jason Spicer

Jason Spicer

Panelist

Associate Professor, Marxe School of Public and International Affairs, Baruch College

Rosanna Viera

Rosanna Viera

Discussant

Project Director, Lemle & Wolff

Christine Curella

Christine Curella

Panelist

Co-Founder + CEO, Hive Ownership

Dr. Elijah Miller

Dr. Elijah Miller

Panelist

Director of Policy, Boston's Office of Economic Opportunity and Inclusion

Gina Patterson

Gina Patterson

Panelist

Director of Place-Based Initiatives, Boston Medical Center (BOS Collaborative)

Sam Jung

Sam Jung

Panelist

VP, Renewable Energy Industry Development, New York City Economic Development Corporation

Karen Tingley

Karen Tingley

Panelist

Vice President of Education, Zoos and Aquarium, Wildlife Conservation Society

John McMicken

John McMicken

Panelist

Chief Executive Officer, Evergreen Cooperative Corporation

Pedro Suarez

Pedro Suarez

Discussant

Executive Director, Third Avenue Business Improvement District

This is just a sample of the people you'll hear from at the Summit. See every speaker, moderator, and discussant on the full agenda directly below ↓.

Register For The Summit
▪ Program

Two days of conversation — focused on building equitable, resilient, and environmentally sustainable economies.

Friday brings together speakers reforming and reviving economic development in communities across the country. Saturday turns the lens on our beloved Bronx — and what it'll take to implement the CEDS together.

On Friday, we are inviting speakers to share how economic development is being reformed and revived in communities across the country. The sessions will address the intersections of national and local landscapes, and invite local Bronx and New York City participants to be inspired and make connections between the challenges and opportunities in other places and our own place here. Join us for the reception as well to make new friends and catch up with your old ones!
11:30am

Registration and Check-In, Get Boxed Lunch

12:30pm

Welcome Remarks

1pm – 2pm

Lunch and Opening Keynote Speakers

2:15pm – 3:15pm

Session Block 1

Panel 1
Community Wealth and Real Estate

Panelists will share their work building real estate projects and portfolios that navigate tensions arising from ownership, finance, scale, and community context. Participants will learn about mixed use real estate projects and models from Oakland, Philadelphia, and New York City.

Panel 2
Broad Based Employee Ownership

Panelists will outline the current landscape, opportunities, and challenges facing broad-based ownership and workplace democracy across the United States. They will connect these dynamics and the benefits of broad-based ownership to challenges facing economic development and business landscapes in cities across the country as well as New York City specifically.

Panel 3
"Ownership Lens" Impact Investing

Panelists will share perspectives of investors in projects where diverse ownership structures are part of the array of impact metrics that are evaluated in addition to financial return. They will discuss opportunities and tensions around risk assessment and integrated capital that arise in financing and investment in projects with shared ownership that seek to build community wealth.

3:15pm – 3:45pm

Break

3:45pm – 4:45pm

Session Block 2

Panel 1
Local Government Leadership for Shared Ownership

Panelists with experience in local government will share their perspectives developing, promoting, and advancing economic development initiatives, projects, and programs that seek to address aspects of community wealth building.

Panel 2
Anchor Institution Roles and Strategies

Panelists will share their experiences stewarding and advancing "the anchor mission" to serve communities through investment, procurement, and workforce development approaches.

5:00pm – 5:45pm

Closing Remarks and Reflections

Keynote speakers will return to respond to comments and questions raised from the lunch session, reflect on themes from the day, and transition to preparing for the Saturday agenda.

6:00pm – 7:30pm

Networking Reception (Andrew Freedman Home)

On Saturday, our programming will focus more specifically on our beloved Bronx. Rather than panelists and moderators, we will have facilitators and discussants. Sessions will contextualize the history and trajectory that brought us to this boroughwide process and vision, and connect current economic conditions to pressing challenges and opportunities for the borough and the city in the current moment. The sessions will draw on content from the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) draft and invite Bronx community members and practitioners into implementation-focused dialogue about how the CEDS can guide and coordinate our work into the future. And of course, at the end of the day, we'll celebrate, eat, drink, and dance, and toast to the brighter Bronx future we will build together.
9am – 10am

Breakfast, Check-In, and Registration

10am – 11am

Opening Remarks - Ecosystem Building Across Sectors for Economic Development

11:15am – 12:15pm

Session Block 3

Workshop 1
Energy Resilience Initiatives in the Bronx

Participants will engage in a facilitated discussion on the current status of energy resilience projects in the Bronx and how these efforts can continue to be advanced with greater partnership and collaboration across the borough.

Workshop 2
Housing Affordability and Ownership

Participants will engage in a facilitated discussion about one of the most urgent and pressing issues highlighted from across the Bronx: housing affordability and quality. Discussants will outline the current conditions and opportunities and challenges identified in the CEDS draft report, and engage participants in a collaborative, action-oriented discussion.

Workshop 3
Small Business Resilience

Discussants in this session will outline the main challenges facing small businesses and commercial corridors in the Bronx, and name existing efforts to address them. Participants will be engaged in a collaborative discussion on how to advance efforts to support existing small businesses in the Bronx.

12:30pm – 1pm

Keynote Speaker

1pm – 2pm

Lunch, Tabling, and Networking

2pm – 3pm

Session Block 4

Workshop 1
Bronx Worker Ownership Strategy Session

This session will be structured as a strategy session to respond to proposed initiatives to increase pathways to shared ownership in the Bronx. Discussants outline existing challenges and efforts supporting worker ownership in the Bronx, and participants will be engaged in responding to proposed directions for expanding ecosystem elements that need further support in the borough.

Workshop 2
Bronx Community and Local Finance

Discussants will outline the existing landscape of efforts and challenges to supporting local consumer and business lending in the Bronx. Participants and discussants will collaboratively discuss a proposal aligned to the CEDS process to strengthen boroughwide coordination for investing in local economic development in the Bronx.

Workshop 3
Bronx Manufacturing and Industry

With a grounding in the existing industrial business landscape in the Bronx and the city's recently released industrial plan, discussants will articulate their experiences and challenges as manufacturing and industrial businesses and cooperatives in the Bronx. Participants will discuss opportunities for advancing boroughwide coordination and implementation of a coherent industrial strategy in the borough in the years ahead.

3:15pm – 4pm

Closing Reflections and Next Steps

4pm – 6:30pm

Celebration and Networking Reception (Andrew Freedman Home)

▪ Logistics

Everything you need to know.

Andrew Freedman Home

1125 Grand Concourse, The Bronx, NY 10452

  • Subway: B/D to 167th St
  • Subway: 4 to 167th St
  • Wheelchair accessible
Is the summit free?

Yes — the summit is free and open to the public. Registration is required so we can plan for food, materials, and seating.

Will food be provided?

Yes. Friday includes a boxed lunch and evening reception with light bites. Saturday includes breakfast, lunch, and a closing celebration with food and drinks. Vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options available.

Do I have to attend both days?

No — register for one or both. Friday's program features national speakers and frameworks. Saturday focuses on the Bronx CEDS and implementation. They're designed to complement each other, but each stands on its own.

Who should attend?

Bronx residents, community organizers, small business owners, anchor institution leaders, elected officials, educators, students, labor leaders, workforce development practitioners, industry leaders, faith leaders, funders, journalists, planners, and anyone curious about how community-rooted economic development actually gets built.

Accessibility & accommodations?

The venue is wheelchair accessible.

Can I download the CEDS draft beforehand?

Yes — the draft report is available now. Reading it isn't required, but if you want to come in primed for the Saturday workshops, give it a look. We're still collecting feedback from Bronx stakeholders, so if you have thoughts after reading, share them with us here.

▪ Our Leadership

Bronx leadership for a Bronx-built future.

The CEDS draws on decades of organizing, advocacy, and trust-building across the Bronx — work led by the people who know this borough best. Our coalition partners and Strategy Committee are the Bronxites who built this strategy, and who will keep stewarding it forward.

Our Bronx-wide Coalition Partners

Our Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) builds on the work of the Bronxwide Coalition — a group of community, faith, and labor organizations from across the Bronx — while drawing lessons from communities across the globe working to transform their local economies. Our work together since 2019 builds on decades of organizing, direct services, advocacy, and more by organizations and community members across the Bronx.

As a co-founder and coordination team member, Our Bronx brings leadership and development around community organizing and economic democracy to our partners.

Our CEDS Strategy Committee

Since 2024, the CEDS Strategy Committee brought together leaders from across the borough's anchor institutions, community organizations, labor and faith partners, financial institutions, and businesses to steward the CEDS process.

Paul LipsonBarretto Bay Strategies
Eddy BayardelleBronx Community College
Siddhartha SanchezBronx River Alliance
George NuñezBronx Tech Hub
Lucia GomezCentral Labor Council
Denise HernandezCooperative Home Care Associates
Surey Miranda-AlarconFordham University
Donald EversleyGreater Hunts Point EDC
Evelyn Fernandez-KetchamHostos Community College
David KohnLehman College
Rosanna VieraLemle & Wolff
Aissatou Barry-FallLES People's FCU (Bronx)
Cynthia ColonLES People's FCU (Bronx)
Karla CruzLocal 79 / LECET
Mariely Moronta-SanchezM&T Bank
Winston PetersManhattan University
Derrick LovettMBD Community Housing Corp.
Wanda SalamanMothers on the Move
Sandra LoboOur Bronx
Valerie CamejoPonce Bank
Akbar RizviSpring Bank
Jessica ClementeWe Stay / Nos Quedamos
Kerry McLeanWHEDco
John CalvelliWildlife Conservation Society
▪ Community Ownership in Action

Learn from the work already happening — in our borough and beyond.

The CEDS isn't starting from scratch. It builds on years of community-led economic development across the Bronx. Here are a few of the stories we draw lessons from.

A Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy for the Bronx

Our Bronx

Hop Aboard the Community

Our Bronx

Get Onboard the South Bronx

Our Bronx