HUD Participates in Community and Economic Symposium in Atlanta

Sharron Kelley, Sr. Dir. Business and Community Development APD Solutions, HUD SE Regional Administrator Ed Jennings, Jr, Milton Pratt, Jr. Sr. VP of Development. Michaels's Dev. Company, M. von Nkosi, Principal, Liquid Studious and Michael Wilson, VP Real Estate and Finance, Atlanta Housing Authority

(l-r): Archibald Hill, Managing Director of Business Dev. APD Solutions, HUD SE Regional Administrator Ed Jennings, Jr, Sharron Kelley, Sr. Dir. Business and Community Development APD Solutions, Honorable Alphonso Jackson, former HUD Secretary and Vaughn D. Irons, CEO, APD Solutions

Recently HUD Southeast Regional Administrator Edward Jennings, Jr. participated in the 2013 Community & Economic Development Symposium on public/private partnerships in Atlanta that was organized by APD Solutions.

"The goal of the symposium was to bring together community and economic development professionals from around the state to exchange ideas and success stories, to share perspectives and solutions to implementation issues, and to foster cooperation between the diverse Southern communities," said Vaughn Irons, Chief Executive Officer APD Solutions.

Jennings remarked, "These efforts to learn, share and act upon best lessons learned by community leaders and the public and private sector speaks volumes to what can be learned and leveraged to make the economic revitalization of the state more sustainable."

The symposium included plenary sessions, workshops and networking opportunities that focused on; Public/Private partnerships (P3), Banking the un-banked, Strategic Community Investment, Funding Opportunities and New Directions in the New Economy and Impact of Entertainment in the Economic Development. Highlighting the day's activities was the keynote speaker the Honorable Alphonso Jackson, former HUD Secretary.

Business and community leaders, elected officials, board members and others involved in community redevelopment and economic development across the Southeast joined to find synergy in discussing building wealth in their communities and improving quality of life.

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