Dear East Bay EDA Members and Friends:

It is hard to fully assess or comprehend the community and economic impacts of the health pandemic that has gripped our region and world. We know that all of you are doing your best to adapt and comply with federal, state, and local advisories and public health orders while also preparing for longer-term impacts of this crisis. Some of you have already had to make difficult decisions about business operations and workforce, while others are trying to plan for different future scenarios. 

While the impacts from COVID-19 continue to unfold, East Bay EDA will continue to serve as a regional voice and resource to support economic resiliency during these uncertain times. We know that this crisis will disproportionately impact our region’s most vulnerable populations and that the unfolding economic disruption is already hitting small business owners and workers who need to sustain basic needs like food, housing, and healthcare. 

As the Bay Area continues to respond to this public health emergency, the East Bay EDA team remains committed to serving as a resource to all of you. Presently, this includes our team helping to flatten the curve by following established workplace protocols while we organize information, networks, and resources. Operationally, this means communicating frequently with many of you so that we have a better understanding about how things are evolving in real-time across our region and providing forums and venues to share promising practices, resources, and tools that can help all of us. We are organizing some of this information on our website, and if you have additional resources to contribute, please contact us at info@eastbayeda.org.

In the meantime, we know that everyone is dealing with the immediate challenges facing you, your colleagues, your employees, friends, and families. We hope that you all stay healthy and safe during this enormously difficult and unprecedented period. Working together, our resilient community will persevere.

Sincerely,

Stephen Baiter

Executive Director

East Bay EDA