Eric V. Rowen, Principal Shareholder, Greenberg Traurig LLP
Eric Rowen has served on LAEDC’s board on behalf of member Greenberg Traurig since 2006, as chair of LAEDC’s legal committee and also pro-bono legal counsel for more than a decade, and his service on LAEDC’s board dates back to 1993.  As a board member, Mr. Rowen has traveled with LAEDC to visit other EDCs throughout the nation to glean and catalog successful economic development practices, and better remodel and replicate those strategies for LA County.  In his role leading Greenberg Traurig’s real estate litigation practice, Mr. Rowen brings to the LAEDC an umatched understanding of the opportunities and challenges related to land use, real estate development and housing – one of our region’s most pressing challenges.  His work facilitating land acquisition for the Alameda Corridor rail system has been a game-changer for LA’s logistics industry, increasing cargo throughput and efficiency, while helping to make the San Pedro Ports the “greenest” in the world, a legacy that will be long celebrated.  Greenberg Traurig’s work in the advanced transportation industry cluster also sets a foundation for Mr. Rowen to support this and other fast-emerging industries in the LA basin, as part of the LAEDC’s dual strategy to build both labor demand and supply capacity in the region’s most competitive, concentrated and growing traded industries, such as aerospace, bioscience and digital media entertainment.

Dr. Dianne F. Harrison, President, California State University, Northridge 
Dr. Dianne F. Harrison will be the first academic leader elected to serve as Vice-Chair of LAEDC, at a time when understanding and preparing for the changing face of work is an increasing priority for the organization and its education, government and private sector members, especially with LAEDC’s ideation and launch of the Center for a Competitive Workforce with LA County’s 19 community colleges, the Los Angeles Orange County Regional Consortia, and the LA Area Chamber of Commerce.  As one of the founders of the “CSU5” collaboration of the five Cal State Universities in LA County, Dr. Harrison rallied support for providing funding, alongside many private sector and philanthropic organizations, for the implementation of the LA County Strategic Plan for Economic Development (2016-2020), which became Propel LA, located at the LAEDC.  Dr. Harrison has also been a vocal promoter of the role of innovation in our economy and in talent development, through CSUN investments in technology incubation.  Dr. Harrison is also known for her strong commitment to community and for building strong partnerships with public-, nonprofit- and private- sector organizations, which fits the LAEDC’s collaborative economic development approach. Dr. Harrison began her appointment as president of CSUN in June 2012. Prior to CSUN, Dr. Harrison served as president of California State University, Monterey Bay, and prior to that she worked at Florida State University.