A Blueprint for Economic Resiliency and Reinvention in the Greater Charlottesville Region
The Project Rebound Blueprint report, released on June 25, 2020, pulls together initial input from more than 300 local participants. It maps out action steps toward economic recovery in our area, and it's meant as a starting point for conversation and collaboration.
The need to rebuild consumer, business and workforce confidence was an important theme of local conversations. Participants identified health & safety concerns, an uncertain business environment, and confusion over guidelines as some of the confidence barriers to economic recovery.
To build a truly inclusive recovery, this conversation needs to expand beyond the initial group of participants from the business community.
Can you help?
Project Rebound will convene further conversations to help determine next steps, foster collaboration, and bring attention to solutions already underway. We hope you'll join us!
Request a Project Rebound Briefing
Want to go deeper? Request a briefing for your organization's staff, board and stakeholders. We'll meet on Zoom to walk you through the Blueprint findings and answer questions.
Just as importantly, we'll learn about your current work and explore how it fits into the regional economic recovery. As we connect and coordinate responses to the needs identified by Project Rebound, we'll look for ways to boost your efforts. Please contact the Chamber at 434.295.3141 or connect@cvillechamber.com to schedule a briefing.
Why Project Rebound?
“If you learn to use it right – the adversity – it will buy you a ticket to a place you could not have gone any other way.”
– UVA Men's Basketball Coach Tony Bennett, after winning the NCAA national championship, April 2019
What is it for?
Project Rebound is engaging business leaders to share insights, identify challenges, and build actionable strategies to restore the local economy in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.
What's the goal?
Identify best practices and responses with proven success; solutions for known challenges and pain points; and future opportunities across multiple economic sectors.
Develop a blueprint for restoring local business operations and building economic resiliency in the wake of COVID-19.
Foster ongoing collaboration to move forward with promising solutions.
How does it work?
Seven industry-specific teams convened throughout May 2020 to identify and help craft solutions that can assist businesses in Charlottesville and Albemarle County to emerge from Virginia's stay-at-home order and adapt their operations to current conditions.
On June 25, 2020, Project Rebound released a Blueprint for economic recovery, built on the thoughtful input of more than 300 local stakeholders. The report was developed by U.S. tax, audit and advisory firm KPMG, with support from a GO Virginia Economic Recovery and Resilience Grant (ERR).
Who participates?
The entire business community: business owners and managers, employees, subject matter experts, civic leaders, economic development professionals.
Reopening Resources
We're developing resources in response to community input. Please click here to see all Reopening Resources.
Project Rebound News
Follow and tag #ProjectRebound on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn
Get email updates: click here to sign up
Who is Leading Project Rebound?
Team Leads
Click here for complete Team rosters.
Reviving Small Businesses
Co-Leads:
Yolunda Harrell, New Hill Development Corp.
Rebecca Haydock, Central Virginia SBDC
Protecting the Arts and Creative Economy
Co-Leads:
Chris Eure, The Paramount Theater
Justin Reid, Virginia Humanities
Restarting the Hospitality & Tourism Engine
Co-Leads:
Courtney Cacatian, Charlottesville Albemarle Convention & Visitors Bureau
Russ Cronberg, The Boar's Head Resort
Assessing Key Industry Clusters
Co-Leads:
Helen Cauthen, Central Virginia Partnership for Economic Development
Chris Engel, City of Charlottesville Office of Economic Development
Subgroup Co-Leads for IT, Financial, Defense:
Adrian Felts, Signature Science
Rod Gentry, Albemarle County Economic Development Authority
Subgroup Co-Leads for Biotechnology, Manufacturing, Food & Beverage Manufacturing:
Nikki Hastings, CvilleBioHub
Hunter Smith, Champion Hospitality Group
Leveraging Strengths of Anchor Institutions
Co-Leads:
Jonathan Davis, Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital
Frank Friedman, Piedmont Virginia Community College
Preparing Vital Infrastructure
Co-Leads:
Chip Boyles, Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission
Doug Walker, Albemarle County
Rebuilding Nonprofit & Community Organizations
Co-Leads:
Charlene Green, Piedmont Housing Alliance
Ryan Jacoby, Center for Nonprofit Excellence
Project Partners
Partners from across the Charlottesville community are joining forces to strengthen the local economy in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis and beyond. Project Rebound is led by the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce with support from the City of Charlottesville, Albemarle County, and the University of Virginia.
Steering Team:
Elizabeth Cromwell, Chamber President & CEO
Chris Engel, City of Charlottesville Director of Economic Development
Roger Johnson, Albemarle County Economic Development Director
Pace Lochte, UVA Assistant Vice President for Economic Development
Denise Herndon, UVA Program Director for Economic Development
Project Manager:
Andrea Copeland-Whitsett, Chamber Director of Member Education Services
Communications:
Rachael Hobbs, UVA Office of Economic Development Project Associate
Ann Marie Hohenberger, Chamber Marketing & Communications
Special thanks to Bunmi Adeeko Collins of StickyNote Creative for Project Rebound graphic design.