2018 GPLEX Seattle Wrap-Up

GPLEX 2018: An amazing program, a diverse group of people.

Be part of our #Tools4Philly!  

In late September, Billy Penn asked why 140+ Philadelphia leaders were heading to Seattle for the weekend.  Armed with an excellent briefing book and a deep sense of curiosity, for 3 days a diverse group of cross-sector Philadelphia leaders dug deep into how Seattle works, moves, and thrives - and critically, how it deals with major challenges. 

Economy League staff, led by GPLEX Director Jennifer Egmont, created a top-flight experience that included opportunities to meet with and learn from key business, civic, and political leaders, to see first hand what happens when a tech behemoth like Amazon drops 40,000 jobs in an urban neighborhood, what decades of rapid population and economic growth do to the character of historic immigrant and African American communities, how philanthropy and government and business and labor work together to tackle big challenges like homelessness, hyper-gentrification, and inadequate infrastructure.

"The coming together cements us, sharpens our ability to problem solve. The return on investment is higher because we get to know Philly’s leadership, our collective self-reliance increases because we know our context."
Beth Miller, Community Design Collaborative

"You know what’s the most important thing to me? Data. Data I did not have before. I am more informed." 
David Grasso, Method Residential, LLC

"I’ve walked away energized and determined to see how I can be part of the solutions that may enable us to apply some of the lessons observed into lessons learned and acted upon." 
Michael Mittleman, President, Salus University

To give you a taste of GPLEX 2018, check out the great content here. Or scroll through the extensive social media record at #GPLEX2018 and #Tools4Philly on Twitter.