Minutes from the general meeting held on February 6, 2020
DVTI Meeting
February 6, 2020
3-5pm Norseman Restaurant
Present: Beth Arman, Ryan Buckley, Kevin Cabral, Vickie Gordon, Joellen Heaney, Colleen Isenberg, Brian Nunally, Donna Van Wert
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Ryan opened the meeting at 3:10.
Meeting focused on developing a vision statement. Mission statement addresses what we’re doing; vision statement addresses why.
Current mission: “The Diablo Valley Tech Initiative (DVTI) will understand and promote the conditions that equip our community in cultivating and benefitting from a thriving tech business sector in the Diablo Valley.”
Vision should answer, “what problem are we trying to solve?”
Allow people to live and work in the community
Equity
Commute issues: increased traffic/carbon emissions, bad carbon footprint
Having a job close to home enriches quality of life, accessible to family life.
Economy: More tech business means more economic activity (restaurants, etc.), and living close to home affords more time to devote to local businesses. \
Real estate
Promote area growth. Need talent to grow the community.
Donna suggested that we think more regionally, as current goals feel bigger than DVTI. Wherever we can make connections will be beneficial.
Satellites could be a gateway to business growth, but it’s important not to aim too low.
Focus on ideas for improving tech infrastructure (broadband capacity, etc.) and encourage policy changes within local government.
Survey top three tech companies: Why are you here? What’s working/not working.
Ryan suggested combining mission and vision statements: “The Diablo Valley Tech Initiative (DVTI) will understand and promote the conditions that enable those in the region to benefit from a thriving tech business sector in the Diablo Valley.”
Vicki discussed a new initiative that follows students for 1-2 years after graduation to gather information about where they are, what they are doing, experiences at DVC, etc.
Beth discussed the Diamante Scholars (Diamonds in the Ruff) program: Focuses on helping high potential high school students find the path to higher education and career success. Focus on STEAM as well as STEM career paths.
Next meeting will focus on work plan and survey progress. Beth offered WFD resources to help with data collecting.
Meeting adjourned at 4:07.
