News & Updates

LEADers On The Move

LEADNews

September 14, 2021

We enjoy seeing what our graduates are doing and how they are making an impact on the world. Share your good news with us via email: lead@sdchamber.org.

Influence 2021 graduate Sarah Lyman, Impact 1994 graduate and Past Board Co-Chair Stath Karras, and Board Member Satomi Rash-Zeigler now serve on the City of San Diego’s Middle-Income Housing Working Group. Read more.

SDYL Board Member and Impact graduate of 2018 Javier E. Metoyer is now serving on the Board of Walden Family Services.

Influence 2019 graduate Allison Soares now serves on the City of San Diego’s Balboa Park Committee.

Influence 2020 graduate Ken Barnes is now a Dean’s Advisory Board Member for LeBow College of Business, Drexel University. Read more.

Impact 2006 graduate D. Todd Philips is now the Planning Manager for the City of Chula Vista.

Influence 2020 graduate Ashley Camac is now the Chief Executive Officer of zero8hundred.

Impact 2012 graduate Kwofi Reed is now the Manager of Housing Programs for LISC.

Impact 2021 graduate Eric Keen-Louie is now the Executive Producer for the La Jolla Playhouse. Read more.

Impact 2015 graduate Brad Carter is now the Director of Electric Energy Infrastructure Portfolio for the Cordoba Corporation.

Impact 2020 graduate Laura Rice is now the Senior Director of Sustaining Philanthropy for the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance.

Influence 2011 graduate & Past Board Member Lidia S. Martinez was named a recipient of the Inaugural 2021 Champion Award by the Latino Leaders Network.

Influence 2011 graduate & Past Board Chair Carisa Wisniewski was featured in McCauley & Co.’s Leadership Journey Podcast. Read more.

SDYL Board Member Charles Lu is now the Associate Dean of Diversity & Inclusion for The Johns Hopkins University.

Advance 2021 participant Padma Nagappan was named a 2021 Life Sciences Woman of Influence Honoree by the San Diego Business Journal. Read more.

Impact 2016 graduate Ingrid de Llamas is now the Director of Philanthropy & External Relations for the Epilepsy Foundation of San Diego County.

Impact 2012 graduate Rita De la Fuente is now the Director of External Affairs for San Diego Community Power.

Influence 2021 graduate Susan Guinn is now the President & CEO of The San Diego Regional Policy & Innovation Center. Read more.

Influence 2021 graduate Kirti Gupta now serves as a Board Member for the Womens Museum of California.

Advance 2021 graduate Carla Nesbitt Stokes now serves on the Board for Longwood University College of Business & Economics (Virginia).

Influence 2021 graduate Lisette Islas is now the Vice Chair of Inclusive Growth for the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation.

Influence 2013 graduate Brian Zotti now serves as a Board Member for San Diego Pride.

LEAD Board Member and Impact 2009 graduate Chanelle Hawken is now Chair of the Board for Downtown San Diego Partnership.

Influence 2021 graduate Randy Frisch is now the Interim President of National University.

Impact 2016 graduate Joel Stern is now the Manager of Talent Acquisition Operations at Cue Health.

Member Spotlight: Red Door Escape Room

Member Spotlight

September 7, 2021

Connecting with people is always the main goal when it comes to Red Door Escape Room’s many exciting adventures. Each escape episode is created to spark imagination, inspire teamwork, and encourage endless screen-free fun.

As COVID challenged businesses across the country, Red Door was no exception. When in-person gatherings became a risk, there needed to be a bold plan for when people—who were more than ready for a change of pace—could finally come together. This was when Red Door’s safety measures were fully implemented: private escape rooms, extensive cleaning protocols between games, and social distancing of both staff and guests, among many other cleanliness standards.

It became clear over the last few years that connecting with those we love, whether they’re miles away or just in the other room, is precious. The staff at Red Door understand that creating memories and fun experiences is how we nurture our relationships. And what better way than to enter whole new worlds together?

Whether your taste is more enchanted fairytales, eerie carnivals, or sneaky prison breaks, there is an adventure for everyone. Some you can accomplish as a team, finding and solving clues in order to beat the clock, and others you can go head-to-head, racing each other for the all-too-important bragging rights!

Red Door is focused on offering experiences for people of all ages—bring Mom and Grandma Deb! Bring the soccer team! Gather the whole sales branch and build trust among your corporate leaders! You can even book private suites for dates, birthday bashes, and meetings alike.

It’s time to step into our own adventure and deepen relationships, totally screen-free. Let’s do something real together. Real fun. Real connection.

Visit their website to learn more.

Ribbon Cutting – The Cravory

Ribbon Cuttings

August 31, 2021

Collin Smith aka Cravory Cookie Monster and Jerry Sanders)

The Cravory opened its second location on August 18, 2021 near SDSU’s campus with a Grand Opening performed by the San Diego Chamber of Commerce. Jerry and the Chamber team welcomed The Cravory to the College Area District with a ribbon cutting ceremony. The Cravory – SDSU is located off El Cajon Blvd in between Montezuma and College. With its flagship store in Point Loma and shipping nationwide, The Cravory is excited to expand to a new community in San Diego.

The Cravory is a gourmet cookie company that was created in 2009 at all the local farmer’s markets in San Diego. Bringing new flavors every week, customers wanted to pick up cookies at a brick and mortar…so they opened the first store in Point Loma in 2014! It has been a whirlwind since then and The Cravory is very excited to have the opportunity to open its 2nd location near SDSU! Please come visit The Cravory – SDSU for 24+ flavors of cookies, 8+ flavors of ice cream, and the best coffee and espresso in town!

 

Member Spotlight: Caster Properties, A-1 Self Storage

Member Spotlight

August 26, 2021

The Caster Group is a family-owned development company specializing in the acquisition, development, construction and management of premier A-1 Self Storage locations throughout California. For over 60 years the Caster family has worked in all aspects of the real estate industry including industrial, residential, retail and beginning in 1983, self storage development and management.  There are over 50 A-1 Self Storage locations throughout California which provide storage solutions to everyone as they offer business storage, personal storage, student storage, car storage and military storage. Whether you need a place for equipment and inventory or you just need to clean out your garage or make space for a home office, A-1 Self Storage has the storage solution you need.

Not only is A-1 Self Storage committed to building and operating the highest quality storage facilities but they are also committed to giving back to the community.  Through Serving Hands International the Caster Group and A-1 Self Storage have offered educational scholarships, medical services, portable classrooms, food and blankets to thousands of families in need in California, Mexico and around the world. 

The mission of the company is to provide the best experience for their customers and one another, effectively give back to the communities around us, and increase the value and profitability of their properties using innovation and excellence in their purchase, development, and operation.   The company looks forward to maintaining a leading role in the storage unit industry in California by offering top quality storage, first-class customer service, and a myriad of facilities in convenient locations.

 

Census Numbers (Finally) Released

Uncategorized

August 26, 2021

The 2020 census numbers were finally released, kicking off a flurry of efforts on redistricting, but also illuminating how our region has changed. While the state will lose a congressional seat — because of its declining population– San Diego grew by 7 percent and became more diverse. 

The City is now the eighth largest, and the County the fifth largest in the state.

Unemployment Rate Stays Stubborn Locally

NewsPolicy

August 26, 2021

In July, San Diego’s unemployment rate clocked in at 6.9 percent, highlighting the frustrating question around why it’s been so hard to fill local job vacancies. The well-documented reasons for people not returning to the workforce, including childcare, extra unemployment benefits, and safety concerns as COVID cases rise, haven’t been able to result in meaningful policy changes to motivate people to come back to work. San Diego’s unemployment rate was slightly higher than the nationwide number, which was 5.7 percent. For context, in July of 2020, the San Diego unemployment rate was 12.3 percent.

Pfizer Vaccine Receives Full FDA Approval

NewsPolicy

August 26, 2021

This week, the Pfizer- BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine received full FDA approval for individuals 16 and up. While it was long expected, this approval does trigger the vaccine-mandates that many have said they would apply to their workforce. Some examples include the military, several hospitals, and public school systems.

Upon announcing approval, President Biden encouraged the private sector to adopt more robust vaccine policies. Saying, “if you’re a business leader, a non-profit leader, a state or local leader, who has been waiting for full FDA approval to require vaccinations, I call on you now to do that…”

Border State Lawmakers Introduce Border Health Security Act

InternationalNewsPolicy

August 26, 2021

Rep. Veronica Escobar (TX) led border state lawmakers in introducing the Border Health Security Act to strengthen international cooperation to screen for infectious diseases and help support public health initiatives in border communities. 

The bill would require U.S. members of the U.S.-Mexico Border Health Commission to work with the Canada- United States Pan-Border Public Health Preparedness Council to recommend and implement initiatives that solve border health issues. In addition, border health grants would be authorized to address border issues and for Early Warning Infectious Disease Surveillance (EWIDS) in the border communities.

 

Mexico City Summit: August 30 – September 1

InternationalNewsPolicy

August 26, 2021

In the last few years, we’ve seen significant progress on several of our region’s key priorities like USMCA, the new North American free-trade agreement, solutions to address pollution issues in Tijuana River Valley, and completion of landmark border infrastructure projects. Reaching these milestones is a testament to the power of our region’s longstanding commitment to binational collaboration.

We need all the voices that make up our diverse and dynamic cross-border business community to make a strong, lasting impact. That message is most effective when we have a large, diverse representation of business and community leaders joining us.

Join us for this year’s Mexico City Summit, which provides an opportunity for participants to meet with key federal officials and diverse business industry leaders to discuss the major areas of focus: border infrastructure, transboundary pollution impacting the Tijuana River, and trade & economic opportunities.

Attendees will also benefit from the opportunity to network during a special in-person reception on August 31 and cultivate strong political and business relationships.

Register now!

Cross Border Travel Update

InternationalNewsPolicy

August 26, 2021

Canada has reopened its southern border to fully vaccinated U.S. travelers. After almost a year and a half of non-essential travel restrictions at our land ports of entry, the U.S. is the only North American country that continues to enforce restrictions until at least September 21. 

With northbound waits of up to six hours at the San Ysidro Land Port of Entry during the past months, the Chamber continues to urge the administration to lift restrictions that hurt our border community. Chamber staff has also been very active on media outlets stressing how border restrictions and delays continue to economically impact businesses across our region.

In the meantime, the Biden administration is developing a plan to require nearly all foreign visitors to be fully vaccinated. Interagency working groups are working on a policy and implementation process, including the determination of what would be accepted as proof of vaccination and whether all vaccines would be accepted. 

In Mexico, President Lopez Obrador announced that following a phone call with Vice President Harris, the U.S. confirmed the donation of 8.5 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. Vaccines will arrive in Mexico in the coming weeks and will contribute to help increase vaccination rates in border communities.

Locally, Mayor Todd Gloria met with Baja’s Secretary of Health to discuss vaccination efforts, reported cases across the region, and a new program to vaccinate migrants in Baja.