Sustainability Summit Scheduled Friday

The Cabell Brand Center and the Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission will co-host the Roanoke Valley Regional Sustainability Summit on April 29, 2011 and will bring together leaders from area colleges, local governments and the business community to identify environmental, housing, transportation, and economic sustainability challenges in the region.

The summit will also identify opportunities for synergy, interaction, and collaboration among colleges, local governments and the business community. The Summit will be held Friday, April 29, 2011, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Greenfield Education and Training Center in Daleville.

The summit will include presentations on issues of sustainability from key area leaders and opening remarks from E. Cabell Brand, Chair of the Cabell Brand Center, and Wayne G. Strickland, Executive Director of the Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission.

It will also feature a keynote address from Mariia Zimmerman, the Deputy Director of the Office of Sustainable Housing and Sustainable Communities, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The summit outcome is expected to identify common regional sustainability goals, needs, priorities and strategies. The outcome will be integrated into the forthcoming Roanoke Valley Sustainability Plan that is being developed by a consortium of local governments, nonprofits, and business interests, led by the Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission.

In addition, as the summit follow up, the Cabell Brand Center will coordinate a task force to identify regional opportunities and establish partnerships for collaboration between local governments, area colleges and the business community. For more information on the Summit please visit: http://www.cabellbrandcenter.org/Events.html