Seattle’s Kate Joncas to Keynote 2019 State of Downtown
(January 2, 2019) — Former Seattle deputy mayor Kate Joncas will keynote the 21st annual State of Downtown breakfast presented by Kaiser Permanente on Tuesday, January 22, 2019. One of the most anticipated events of the year produced by Downtown Sacramento Partnership, the annual celebration of Sacramento’s thriving urban core highlights the projects and amenities recently completed, developments under construction and previews revitalization initiatives and projects.
“The lessons we can learn from Seattle’s exponential growth are invaluable,” said Michael Ault, executive director of Downtown Sacramento Partnership. “We’re excited to welcome Kate to explore the ideas and initiatives that will give our downtown a strategic advantage be the envy of other cities.”
As Owner/Principal of PlaceStrategic since 2018, Joncas provides strategic planning, downtown development and public/private partnership strategies to clients who need to solve complicated urban development problems. Prior, she served as Deputy Mayor for four years to Seattle Mayor Ed Murray where she managed city operations, led complex intergovernmental projects including Seattle’s waterfront redevelopment and Convention Center expansion, and developed a nationally recognized government performance initiative. Previously, Joncas led one of the most successful revitalization projects in the country as the President & CEO of the Downtown Seattle Association for two decades. Before helping to form the Downtown Seattle Association, she helped dozens of communities – including Sacramento – to design and implement successful downtown revitalization strategies at the National Main Street Center.
Said Joncas, “I am thrilled to be returning to Sacramento. This is an up and coming cool city! Sacramento has an incredible opportunity to capitalize on its growth while remaining a great place to live and I look forward to sharing some of the lessons we learned as Seattle evolved.”
Produced by Downtown Sacramento Partnership, State of Downtown attracts an audience of more than 800 business professionals and community leaders. State of Downtown will feature an address by Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg and keynote by Kate Joncas, as well as a very special JVance Stewart Award for Community Service presentation in memoriam of board member Ali Youssefi who passed away in 2018. The program will be held at the Hyatt Regency, located at 1209 L Street in Sacramento, on January 22 at 8 a.m. Tickets range from $40 (gallery seating) to $100 (includes breakfast) and are available at DowntownSac.org/SOD2019.
The program is presented by Kaiser Permanente and sponsored by the Sacramento Kings, Stantec, Sutter Health, CBRE, Downtown Commons, Golden 1 Credit Union, JLL, MarketOne Builders, Sacramento Regional Transit, Position Interactive, Sactown Magazine, Comstock’s Magazine and more.
Contact: Emilie Cameron / [email protected]
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About Downtown Sacramento Partnership
Downtown Sacramento Partnership is a nonprofit, property-based improvement district (PBID) that serves as the collective voice for the 194 property owners and more than 5,000 businesses located within the 66-block mixed-use, urban center of Downtown Sacramento. Driven by the mission to build value downtown, the organization champions those who work, live, visit and do business here. For more information, visit www.downtownsac.org + godowntownsac.com and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.