During my time in the Obama administration at the Department of Commerce, I was impressed with the collaboration between local government, academia, the labs and private industry that defines the Tri Valley.
I became convinced the Tri-Valley is a model for our nation in helping drive innovation and economic growth.
I have a good frame of reference. In my job, I was privileged to travel to more than 30 states. I can say without hesitation that the Tri Valley is one of the best innovation clusters in our nation, rivaling Wichita's aerospace hub and Northeast Ohio's plastics cluster.
That is why I was proud to join the boards of Innovation Tri-Valley and I-Gate when I returned home to the East Bay.
The challenge for the Tri Valley is greater visibility on Sand Hill Road and in San Jose. Just this morning, I was talking to a prominent leader from Pleasanton who observed that we need to do more to collaborate with Silicon Valley. I could not agree more.
I am privileged to work now at Wilson Sonsini, a Silicon Valley based law firm. But, the reality is that not enough Silicon Valley venture capitalists, technologists or intellectual property attorneys know of the extraordinary resources in the Tri Valley. We should do a better job at marketing the strengths of the Tri-Valley. Innovation Tri Valley and I-Gate are doing precisely that.
In fact, Innovation Tri Valley is hosting a forum on July 26th in Pleasanton in which Carl Guardino, president of Silicon Valley Leadership Group will be participating. The details are below.
My hope is that forums like this will increase the dialogue and partnership between the Tri Valley and Silicon Valley. Tri Valley has an extraordinarily educated and skilled workforce, available land, great schools and responsive elected officials -- all assets that should appeal to leaders in Silicon Valley.
In turn, Silicon Valley can provide access to capital and knowledge that can help the Tri Valley's growth. If leaders from both regions come togeher, they can also help shape policies that will strengthen American competitiveness and help us build manufacturing capacity in the Bay Area.
Our nation faces extraordinary competition from China, Brazil and Japan when it comes to innovation. We will only stay ahead by breaking past silos and building strong regional partnerships.
A great place to start is by building the links between Tri Valley and Silicon Valley. If we succeed locally, we can be an example for the country in how to create high paying jobs and an environment for manufacturing to flourish. We can show that California can still lead the way for the country.
I hope many folks will come to the forum on the 26th to share your ideas about such a partnership.
The Fourth Annual Tri-Valley Innovation Forum
http://www.innovationtrivalley.org/events.aspx
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Casa Real at Ruby Hill Winery
410 Vineyard Avenue, Pleasanton
