The Bronx Economic Development Summit celebrates the Bronx’s inaugural borough-wide Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS).

Since 2019, community, faith, and labor organizations have come together to create a unifying vision for the future of our borough’s economy that brings us together across neighborhoods and advances an economy that is equitable, resilient, and environmentally sustainable.

In 2024, with a planning grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA), the Bronx Economic Development Corporation (BXEDC) andOur Bronx (formerly the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition) partnered to coordinate and finalize this momentous accomplishment for our borough.Join us June 5th and 6th, 2026 at the historic Andrew Freedman Home as we celebrate the Bronx’s assets, leadership, and shared future.

What to Expect
At the Summit, you will have the opportunity to:

  • Explore the core strategies and approaches that guided the Bronx CEDS process;

  • Dig into the economic analysis that shaped the report’s priorities and action steps; and

  • Hear from visionary leaders from across the Bronx as well as from around the country and abroad, advancing bold, community-rooted economic development initiatives.

Why You Should Attend
We are designing the Summit to be welcoming to all. Expect a space to learn, connect, celebrate, be inspired, and think critically and holistically about what it will take to build an economy that truly works for all Bronx residents.

Speakers
We are excited to showcase visionary leaders from across the Bronx, as well as from across the US and abroad, who are advancing work that builds shared wealth, democratic decision-making, and collective ownership.

Friday Program‍ ‍Saturday Program

Program At A Glance

Andrew Freedman Home
1125 Grand Concourse, Bronx NY
Friday June 5th and Saturday June 6th, 2026

Friday June 5th, 2026 

On Friday, we are inviting speakers to share how economic development is being reformed and revived in communities across the country. The sessions will address the intersections of national and local landscapes, and invite local Bronx and New York City participants to be inspired and make connections between the challenges and opportunities in other places and our own place here. Join us for the reception as well to make new friends and catch up with your old ones!

11:30am: Registration Opens

12:30pm:  Welcome Remarks

1pm - 2pm: Lunch and Opening Keynote Speakers

  • Charli Cooksey Executive Director, WEPOWER St. Louis

  • Nneka Onwuzurike, The Community WEB

2:15pm - 3:30pm: Session Block 1

  • Workshop 1: Community Wealth and Real Estate

  • Workshop 2: Broad Based Employee Ownership

  • Workshop 3: “Ownership Lens” Impact Investing

3:30pm - 4pm: Break

4pm - 5:15pm: Session Block 2

  • Workshop 1: Local Government Leadership for Shared Ownership

  • Workshop 2: Anchor Institution Roles and Strategies

5:30pm - 6:15pm: Closing Remarks and Reflections

  • Charli Cooksey Executive Director, WEPOWER St. Louis

  • Nneka Onwuzurike, The Community WEB

  • Sandra Lobo, Our Bronx

6:30pm - 8pm: Networking Reception (Andrew Freedman Home)

Saturday June 6th, 2026

On Saturday, our programming will focus more specifically on our beloved Bronx. Speakers and sessions will contextualize the history and trajectory that brought us to this historic boroughwide process and vision, and connect current economic conditions to pressing challenges and opportunities for the borough and the city overall in the current moment. The sessions will draw on content from the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) draft and invite Bronx community members and practitioners into dialogues about how the CEDS can guide and coordinate our work into the future. And of course, at the end, we’ll celebrate, eat, drink, and dance, and toast to the brighter Bronx future we will build together.

9:30am - 10:30am: Breakfast and Registration

10:30am - 11am: Opening Remarks: Introducing the Bronx CEDS

11am - 12:15pm: Session Block 3

  • Workshop 1: Energy Resilience Initiatives in the Bronx

  • Workshop 2: Housing Affordability and Ownership

  • Workshop 3: Small Business Resilience

12:30pm - 1:30pm: Lunch and Keynote Speaker

1:45pm - 3pm: Session Block 4

  • Workshop 1: Bronx Worker Ownership Strategy Session

  • Workshop 2: Bronx Community and Local Finance

  • Workshop 3: Bronx Manufacturing and Industry

  • Workshop 4: Bronx Brownfield Revitalization

3:30pm - 4:30pm: Closing Reflections and Next Steps

4:30pm - 6:30pm: Celebration and Networking Reception