Wendy Rodriguez: 2022 Austin Chamber Intercity Trip SLC Reflection
Recently, Bingham Group Associate Wendy Rodriguez represented the firm at the Austin Chamber of Commerce’s annual InterCity Trip, this year to Salt Lake City. 107 regional business leaders and elected officials traveled to the Beehive State to learn best practices from Salt Lake City leaders.
Find Wendy’s impressions below, and a BG Podcast to follow:
The intercity trip was packed with back to back sessions where speakers, including government officials, business leaders, and experts, touched on a variety of topics. Some of these topics included economic development, childcare, regionalism, housing and density, and workforce development. I enjoyed hearing about city urban planning and the many initiatives that SLC has implemented over the years. Here are some of my key takeaways from these sessions:
Local and state partnerships are vital to moving policies forward
The way the public is engaged and informed about government projects matters.
Employers must elevate their team and offer a work environment that is family friendly and values worker’s well being (i.e mental health)
Youth workforce programs are important to creating a career/trades pipelines, especially for underserved students
A city’s history and early laws put into place leave a long lasting impact. Change is okay and necessary for a more just, technological, diverse and inclusive society.
Overall, what struck me the most was the many similarities that Austin and Salt Lake City had in common. For example, both cities had a foundation of segregation and redlining that led to citizens of color being concentrated in certain areas of town (the East side in Austin and the West side in SLC). Additionally, both Austin and SLC are some of the fastest growing in the nation and have a similar political dynamic in which both are urban democratic cities in a mostly rural conservative state.
However, while Salt Lake City also faces some of the same issues Austin does, such as homelessness, the lack of affordable housing, mobility, and workforce issues, it was incredible to learn how well the state and local governments in Utah worked together to address them despite political and personality differences. The word “collaboration” was continuously repeated across multiple sessions, even by Salt Lake City mayor, Erin Mendenhall, herself.
Another significant part of my experience on the trip was the networking. More than 100 members attended, many of which included E-suite professionals, business and community leaders, and city officials. I was able to bond with such inspiring individuals and connect on a professional and personal level. Some even took me under their wing and offered their support, praise, and mentorship.
In the end, I came back to Austin more knowledgeable, networked, and with a renewed sense of hope that collective change is possible here. We are all human and value many of the same things, I believe we can make a difference together.