Heinz College Alumnus Completes Ford Foundation Fellowship

Release Date: Oct 12, 2009

Heinz College alumnus Steve Wray (MSPPM '89), executive director of the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia, has successfully completed the Fellowship for Regional Sustainable Development, funded by the Ford Foundation.

Wray was one of 54 executives representing diverse communities and personal backgrounds from across North America. There are now more than 90 alumni of the Fellowship program.

"Spurring sustainable development is one of the major issues facing business-led civic organizations as they seek to broaden economic opportunity for the people in their regions,” says Mick Fleming, president of the American Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE). “The Fellowship allowed regional leaders like Steve Wray to deepen their understanding of the policies and practices that foster inclusive long-term growth and enhanced quality of life. Professionals such as Wray are in a unique position to convene, lead, and facilitate regional approaches to economic development and entrepreneurship because they are the connectors among the business community, public sector, and ordinary citizens.”

The Fellowship for Regional Sustainable Development is a unique 12-month program for regional leaders who build communities and economies. It provides hands-on training, peer knowledge exchange, research, and examination of working models covering a wide range of growth and sustainability issues, including: infrastructure, immigration, land use, housing, education, environment, and social inclusion. Drawing on the tools, policies, and practices learned during the Fellowship, each participant crafts a “regional action project” that addresses an opportunity for or barrier to creating sustainable, inclusive prosperity for his or her own region.

Wray chose the Fellowship opportunity to augment World Class Greater Philadelphia, an Economy League initiative in its early phase, for his regional action project. World Class Greater Philadelphia effort is developing a global positioning strategy in order to ensure a prosperous, sustainable, and authentic future for the tri-state region that comprises Greater Philadelphia.

“Input from this cohort of national talent has been and will continue to be important to the success of this initiative,” said Wray. “One of the things I’ve learned is that there’s more we have in common with other metros than is different. Sharing knowledge and best practices is key to the success of any venture that a region undertakes.”

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