Through myregion.org, Central Florida’s public, private and civic leaders have built a framework for our community’s future – and now we are building regional leaders. 

The framework is designed to make our region globally competitive while offering a quality of life unmatched in the world.  Building regional leadership requires that citizens young and old have access to resources and the opportunity to reach their full potential, helping to build a community where we all want to live, work and play.

The first-ever Regional Leadership Academy, presented by myregion.org in partnership with the National Alliance for Regional Stewardship, the Florida Chamber of Commerce Foundation and the Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce, brings together the highest levels of leadership across the seven-county region to examine and develop recommendations to address Central Florida’s phenomenal growth projections.

With Central Florida’s population projected to grow from 3.5 million to 7.2 million by 2050, the Academy participants will work to address the critical question, “How Shall We Grow?” Following an orientation session in January 2006, 67 participants are working to create strategies for ensuring that our citizens, community leaders and elected officials are thoughtfully engaged in conversations about our collective future.

At the end of March, a three-day strategy session will team participants working “side-by-side” with local technical leaders from across the region and national experts who will offer their perspectives on how other regions are dealing with the issue of growth.  The national faculty includes:
 

Dr. Dee Allsop serves as President, Harris Interactive Solutions Research Groups. He has had experience providing market positioning and communications strategies for some of the world's largest companies and organizations, including the largest automobile manufacturer, largest aerospace manufacturer, largest hotel and lodging chain, and largest chemical company, among others. Dr. Allsop is also the principal investigator on several regional growth and transportation efforts around the country.

Ms. Christine A. Chadwick is Executive Director of FOCUS St. Louis. She was named the first Executive Director of the organization following the merger between Leadership Center of Greater St. Louis and Confluence St. Louis in November of 1996. In addition to serving as Executive Director, she also directs the Leadership St. Louis and Experience St. Louis programs. Ms. Chadwick has more than 125 cumulative years of experience on over 25 boards of community organizations.

Mr. Robert Grow holds degrees in engineering and law and has had a diverse career, including practicing law, being president of a large manufacturing company, chairing a national trade association, and being recognized as Utah’s entrepreneur of the year. Mr. Grow is founding chair emeritus of Envision Utah, a private/public quality growth partnership founded in 1997. Mr. Grow is presently Senior Counsel with the law firm O’Melveny & Myers LLP resident in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Mr. Doug Henton has more than 30 years of experience in economic and community development at the national, regional, state, and local levels. Mr. Henton is nationally recognized for his work in bringing industry, government, education, research, and community leaders together around specific collaborative projects to improve regional competitiveness. He serves as national coordinator for the John W. Gardner Academy of the Alliance for Regional Stewardship and has co-authored two published books.

Mr. John Kaliski is a Principal of Cambridge Systematics with expertise in the areas of economic development, transportation, and growth management. He serves as the Project Director for the Florida Chamber Foundation’s New Cornerstone initiative and has worked with several states and regions to link transportation investment programs to economic development and growth management goals. Mr. Kaliski received a Bachelor’s degree in Government from Dartmouth College.

Mr. John Parr is a co-founder of the Denver-based Center for Regional and Neighborhood Action (CRNA) that created Civic Results, a non-profit organization that assists governments, businesses and non-profit institutions. He also serves as President/CEO of the Alliance for Regional Stewardship and he is an associate of the Citistates Group working on issues of regional governance in the United States. Mr. Parr is a licensed attorney with extensive experience in public administration, strategic planning, mediation, public interest group management and political campaign organization.

Ms. Katherine A. Perez is the Executive Director of the Transportation & Land Use Collaborative of Southern California (TLUC). Ms. Perez is a professional transportation planner with experience in national policy, regional planning and local government. Previously, she served as the Deputy to the first citywide elected Mayor in Pasadena, California. She was recently recognized as an “Outstanding Leader” in Business Life Magazine, San Gabriel Valley and she is a frequent speaker at national, state and local conferences on the issues pertaining to land use, development, transportation, community planning, and civic engagement.