Session 4: Workforce, Workplace, and Innovation Districts

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This panel considers the changes in workforce and workplace in the diminishing Covid era, particularly as to small to medium-sized businesses. These are some of the key issues to be addressed:

• What is the right balance between office and remote work, and how does it vary for different businesses and companies?
• How does a large company like Amazon attract and spawn small and medium-sized companies to create an innovation ecosystem?
• What role do telecommunications and related technology play in this ecosystem, particularly as to talent attraction and retention?

MODERATOR:

Chuck Schilke
Director Emeritus, Georgetown and Johns Hopkins Graduate Real Estate Programs; CEO, Intergreen Real Estate and Environmental Consulting
Chuck Schilke is a real estate, corporate, environmental. and energy lawyer based in Washington DC. He is also a real estate developer, financier, strategist, and educator. He has practiced law in firms mostly in the Washington DC area, but also on Wall Street and in Boston. Read full profile…

PANEL:

Vardahn Chaudhry
Vice President, Smart Cities & Digital Infrastructure at JBG SMITH
Vardahn is a Vice President in the Investments group at JBG SMITH and leads all execution of the National Landing Smart City Initiative. He and the team are focused on deploying a world class digital infrastructure platform across National Landing with the vision of creating a canvas of innovation unlike any other. For the past 8+ years, Vardahn has been focused on bringing technology and innovation to life in urban environments. Read full profile…

Patrick Duffy
Chief Operating Officer, ZEBOX America
Read full profile…
Patrick is Chief Operating Officer at ZEBOX. He helps to define and execute strategy for engaging with the ZEBOX ecosystem including both corporate partners, startups, and other various stakeholders in the community. Prior to joining ZEBOX, Patrick led the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA). One of the largest business consortia focused on leveraging next generation technology to transform supply chain and transportation business processes by leveraging blockchain technology and open-source data standards to streamline data handoffs and supply chain orchestration. Read full profile…

Rob Mandle
Deputy Executive Director, National Landing Business Improvement District
Since 2007, Rob has played a leading role in the successful transformation of the National Landing area into a vibrant downtown community that is attracting residents, new businesses, and a wave of new investment by the private sector. His background in urban planning and economics combined with his passion for placemaking and collaboratively building communities for people, not just buildings, drives his perspective and vision. Read full profile…

Chris Shank
Verizon National Director, Small Business Innovation
Chris has 20+ years of experience as a Verizon Sales and Operations Leader in consumer and business products, enterprise solutions, iOT deployments, project management and customer service. He brings strong financial acumen, cross-unit collaboration and culture development to his leadership roles. Read full profile…