Welcome back to the Sunstone Way.
As you know, I spent 20-some years in municipal government, with a strong emphasis on economic development. I’m pleased to maintain ties with the many friends I made during that time, and doing so through the California Association for Local Economic Development (CALED) is a great way to keep in touch.
CALED has been around for 45 years, and the majority of government and private economic development experts in the state are members. That includes Sunstone.
Always Learning
CALED has lots of education programs to keep skills honed and learn about new approaches. We take advantage – Jayro Sandoval, the economic development manager and managing partner of Sunstone Cities, has completed the CALED Accredited California Economic Developer certification program.
There is an ongoing webinar program that covers a wide range of topics, from state government assistance through GO-Biz to how railroad companies work with communities. It’s free to members, and nonmembers can participate as well for a fee.
Finally, CALED produces a series of programs and summits throughout the year. Those events promote both training and networking among members.
Annual Conference
Last year, we were asked to present a panel at CALED’s Annual Conference. We went to Ontario to talk about “Cluster Development and Private Investment: Tools for Regional Competitiveness.”
That panel allowed us to talk more about one of our core competencies – Public-Private Partnerships (P3). We were able to explain how P3 was a part of the Long Beach Space Beach Initiative, a successful cluster development of aerospace and space-oriented businesses.
We are continuing that partnership this year with CALED at the annual convention in Palm Springs – taking place as we speak, April 15-17. On Wednesday, Jayro Sandoval joined Sunstone partners Dr. Wade Martin and Vivian Shimoyama on a panel about accelerators as a way to grow economies.
Dr. Martin is the director of the Institute for Innovation & Entrepreneurship at California State University, Long Beach, and a founding member of the Long Beach Accelerator. He also has helped Sunstone launch the Sunstone CSU Startup Launch, a California State University system-wide pitch competition.
He’s one of my heroes!
Vivian Shimoyama has been a small business expert for years in Long Beach. She built and directed the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Initiative for the Southern California Region. Vivian started on the original LB Accelerator board, became the president of that board and is now the executive director.
She’s one of my heroes too!
Sunstone will have a presence for all three days at the CALED annual conference. That’s the Sunstone Way.
Another Personal Connection
I might have mentioned once or twice that I received my master’s degree at the University of Southern California. They have amazing business and public administration programs.
A few years ago, we managed to merge our Sunstone P3 economic development emphasis with the USC City/County Management Fellowship (where I am a member) to create the Sunstone Economic Development Challenge @ USC Price. Sponsored by the Sunstone Community Fund, this program pairs USC graduate student teams with cities from around California to develop strategies to promote inclusive business growth.
Next Thursday, April 23, will be the final pitch contest for six student teams working with the cities of Lake Elsinore, Mission Viejo, Riverside, Sutter Creek, West Covina and San Bernardino County. The event is on the USC campus, and the top three teams will win cash prizes.
This is the epitome of P3, and a win, win, win scenario. Students get real world experiences, governments get new ideas and approaches, and private businesses get help to succeed.
There will be more news about this great program after the event next week. I wanted to let you know a bit about it now because it is indeed the Sunstone Way!
Remember, always be a Sunstone!
John Keisler
CEO & Managing Partner
Sunstone
To receive a copy of this blog each week, sign up at the link.
And check out the P3 Builder newsletter here.
Have a comment about this topic, or want to suggest topics for future blogs? Click here.
Sunstone Investment Group, headquartered in Southern California, is the holding company for the Sunstone family of entities, including: Sunstone Investment Management Services, responsible for administrative services; Sunstone Advisors, an SEC-registered investment adviser, which oversees Sunstone Venture Partners LLC, a private capital fund manager; Sunstone Cities, a government economic development consulting firm; and Sunstone Community Fund, a charitable organization that supports entrepreneurship. Sunstone is dedicated to enriching lives through investment, entrepreneurship, and community. Email us at contact@sunstoneinvestment.com.
©Sunstone, 2026