Marshall Plan for Middle America Virtual Kick-Off Event With Labor Secretary Martin J. Walsh, Mayors of Pittsburgh (PA), Louisville (KY), and Huntington (WV) Event to Spur Regional Action Toward Economic Recovery and a Renewable Energy Transition

NEW YORK, October 1, 2021 /3BL Media/ - Resilient Cities Catalyst, along with Reimagine Appalachia, Heartland Investors Network, the City of Pittsburgh, and Columbia University’s Center for Resilient Cities and Landscapes, is convening the Marshall Plan for Middle America Kick-Off Summit, a program that seeks to advance the ambitious plans laid out in the Marshall Plan for Middle America agenda.

The event features remarks from U.S. Secretary of Labor Martin J. Walsh; Pittsburgh, Pa. Mayor William Peduto; Huntington, W. Va. Mayor Steve Williams; Louisville, Ky. Mayor Greg Fischer; and Dr. Leslie Marshall, Lead Author, Marshall Plan for Middle America Roadmap and Director, SFPE Foundation.

What: Marshall Plan for Middle America Virtual Kick-Off

• The event includes participation from over 190 senior leaders from federal and local government, academia, civic and community organizations, labor, philanthropy, and the investor community.
• The summit includes participatory sessions featuring real projects from the region that require new partnerships, innovative funding sources, and diverse collaboration across silos to address and overcome complex project priorities and barriers. With a focus on equity, climate, and jobs, interactive workshops will allow participants to bring their collective experience and serve as trusted advisors to help activate these projects.
• The summit is unique to the region as it is the first intersection of multi-sector actors working to activate MP4MA. Participants will be identifying barriers and opportunities across 6 transformative projects across the region, using a methodology derived from Resilient Cities Catalyst’s experience co-leading HUD’s billion-dollar National Disaster Resilience Competition while at 100 Resilient Cities. Examples of these types of regional projects include: green building and energy technology; river restoration; green hydrogen; and solar manufacturing; investment fund structuring.

When: Monday, Oct. 4 - Tuesday, Oct. 5 (key speaking slots below)

• Monday, October 4
  • U.S. Secretary of Labor Martin J. Walsh: 2:00pm - 2:20pm
  • Fireside chat with Pat Getty, Co-Founder, IN-2-Market and Andrew Place, State Energy and Climate Policy Director, Clean Air Task Force: 2:20-2:35
  • Ari Matusiak, Chief Executive Officer, Rewiring America: 2:35-2:40
• Tuesday, October 5
  • Dong Kim, Senior Advisor at U.S. Department of Energy Loan Program Office: 2:00-2:25pm
  • Panel moderated by Anne Slaughter Andrew, Former Ambassador to Costa Rica under President Obama & Environmental Attorney, include the following panelists: 3:25-4:25

    Heidi Binko, Executive Director, Just Transition FundBill Peduto, Mayor, City of PittsburghBruce Katz, Director of the Nowak Metro Finance Lab, Drexel UniversityPatty DeMarco, Chairperson of CONNECT, Member of Council of Forest Hills BoroughTrenton Allen, Managing Director, Sustainable Capital Advisors

Who: The event includes perspectives from senior-level actors across government, the private sector, labor organizations, philanthropy, and academia, including:

• Martin J. Walsh, U.S. Secretary of Labor
• William Peduto, Mayor, City of Pittsburgh, PA
• Steve Williams, Mayor, City of Huntington, WV
• Steve Patterson, Mayor, City of Athens, OH
• Anne Slaughter Andrew, Principal, WindRun Strategies,LLC and Former U.S. Ambassador to Costa Rica under President Obama
• Dr. Leslie Marshall, Lead Author, Marshall Plan for Middle America Roadmap and Director, SFPE Foundation
• Ron DeLyons, Chief Executive Officer, Creekwood Energy Partners
• Dong Kim, Senior Advisor at U.S. Department of Energy Loan Program Office
• Tom Croft, Executive Director, Steel Valley Authority
• Heidi Binko, Executive Director, Just Transition Fund
• Kyle Fee, Regional Community Development Advisor, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
• Brian Anderson, Executive Director, Interagency Working Group on Coal and Power Plant Communities and Economic Revitalization & Director, National Energy Technology Laboratory

About

MP4MA maps out a vision for an equitable economic recovery in the Upper Appalachia/Ohio River Valley region, while laying the foundation for a robust renewable energy sector. This plan has been spearheaded by Pittsburgh Mayor William Peduto, in partnership with the nine key cities across four states in the region: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Youngstown, Ohio; Dayton, Ohio; Columbus, Ohio; Cincinnati, Ohio; Athens, Ohio; Huntington, West Virginia; Morgantown, West Virginia; and Louisville, Kentucky.

"The goal is to be able to understand where the strategic advantages are for all of the different subregions of northern Appalachia and the Ohio Valley, and recognizing how we should be working to help each other instead of competing against each other,” said Mayor Bill Peduto, of Pittsburg, PA.

The plan envisions $60 billion annually over the next ten years, through private investment, federal, and state funding. This moment for transformation comes during a time that the Federal Government has laid out its ambitious climate change agenda in tandem with stimulus resources. Unparalleled investments into these communities aim to lay the foundation for a just and equitable recovery that also supports high-quality jobs and thriving communities.

“What is happening in Huntington, West Virginia is indicative of what is happening across the Ohio River Valley” said Mayor WIlliams, of Hungtington, WV. “The Marshall Plan for Middle America gives us all an opportunity to compete in the global marketplace.”

"We felt that partnering with the cities included in the Marshall Plan was important because communities in the Ohio Valley are wrestling with energy transition as an existential challenge," said Andrew Salkin, Principal at Resilient Cities Catalyst. "It is critical to have local partners own and drive the work to create meaningful outcomes for their communities. Drawing on our resilience work in more than 100 cities around the globe we have the tools and expertise to help these communities take practical steps towards a transition that is more equitable, sustainable and resilient.”

About Resilient Cities Catalyst

Resilient Cities Catalyst (RCC) is a nonprofit comprised of urban practitioners and resilience experts with deep experience working in cities and regions around the world. RCC joins with cities and regions worldwide to help them better leverage the experience, resources, and energies of their leaders, managers, communities, companies, and urbanists to realize their collective visions. Founded by executives from 100 Resilient Cities, RCC’s work is anchored in the knowledge gained in the development of the resilience movement. For more info, please visit: www.rcc.city.

Contact: media@rcc.city

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