Agenda

Denise Fairchild

President & CEO, Emerald Cities Collaborative

Denise Fairchild is the inaugural President of Emerald Cities Collaborative (ECC), a national nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., with affiliates in major urban centers across the United States. She is charged with advancing ECC’s “high-road” mission to green our cities, build resilient local economies, and ensure equity inclusion in both the process and outcomes of a new green and healthy economy.

Ms. Fairchild is nationally recognized and respected for her 40-year successful track record and innovative programs in sustainable and community economic development, domestically and internationally. In 1995 she founded and directed the Community and Economic Development Department at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College, as well as an affiliated nonprofit community development research and technical assistance organization, CDTech. She founded the Regional Economic Development Institute, an initiative of Los Angeles Trade-Technical College, to provide inner-city residents with career and technical education for high-growth/high-demand jobs in the L.A. region, with a focus on the green economy. From 1989-1995 she served as executive director of LISC-LA, helping to build out the region’s community development industry, creating nonprofit housing, jobs, and businesses that strengthened and improved the health and environments of L.A.’s low-income communities of color.

Ms. Fairchild’s civic and political appointments have included the California Commission on Regionalism, the California Economic Strategy Panel, the California Local Economic Development Association, the Urban Land Institute National Inner City Advisor, the Coalition for Women's Economic Development and the Los Angeles Environmental Quality Board. She also served as Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's special advisor for South L.A. Investments.
Ms. Fairchild received her B.A from Fisk University, a Masters in City Planning from the University of Pennsylvania, and a doctorate in Urban Planning from UCLA. She holds a number of academic distinctions, including serving as a senior fellow at M.I.T., U.C.L.A. and The Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Fellowship.

David Hamilton

Partner, Hunt Consulting

David Hamilton is a Partner at Hunt Consulting, a 21-year-old Maryland firm offering turn-key energy efficiency lighting retrofit, solar and related electrical services on the East Coast.
David’s career spans 35 years with firms including ASSA ABLOY, the global leader in door hardware and access control manufacturing and National Gypsum where he was awarded the coveted President’s award, the company’s top national award.

David holds a B.S. degree from the University of Delaware, has held several Director positions within the Construction Specifications Institute and is currently on the NAESCO Affiliate Advisory Committee.

Philip Jordan

Vice President & Principal Researcher, BW Research Partnership

Philip Jordan is the Vice-President of BW Research Partnership, leading the firms’ Massachusetts offices. His work focuses on the impact of talent on economic prosperity and sustainable communities, and his personal passion is developing solutions that provide expanded opportunities for the most underserved to serve populations. Mr. Jordan is a fellow at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University where he focuses on talent development in the age of globalization and automation.

Mr. Jordan has extensive experience studying the innovation economy, in particular, energy and ICT.  He has authored dozens of reports including The United States Energy and Employment Report (USEER), The Solar Foundation's annual Solar Jobs Census, the Natural Resource  Defense Council's American Wind Farms Report, solar and wind labor Market analyses for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, statewide energy studies for nineteen states, and numerous local reports for workforce boards, community colleges, and municipalities.  He recently published a book with El Sevier on the global solar industry. Phil has worked in private industry, academia, and government, including the California Community Colleges, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and the United States Senate. He lives and works in Wrentham, Massachusetts.

Kevin Reilly

International Representative, Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA)

Kevin Reilly is an International Representative of the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA), where he has been on staff since 2006. He specializes in public policy issues related to construction procurement, the Davis-Bacon Act and prevailing wages, apprenticeship, and energy regulation. He represents LIUNA on several committees of North America’s Building Trades Unions, serves as LIUNA’s representative to the Metal Trades Department (AFL-CIO), sits on the Research Committee of the National Alliance for Fair Contracting, and is currently a board member of the Emerald Cities Collaborative. Reilly holds a Ph.D. in History from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.