The Wilson Center's Urban Sustainability Laboratory and Mexico Institute, along with the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, are pleased to invite you to the event, "Innovation in Colonias on the Texas-Mexico Border: Building on Border Assets." While public discussion often focuses on the challenges facing low-income communities living on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border, the region’s assets can be leveraged to advance local economic development. A panel of experts will discuss opportunities to promote  development, entrepreneurship and job creation for the colonia populations living along the border. Panelists will discuss how policies for affordable housing, infrastructure, education, workforce development, entrepreneurship, and health can be integrated with efforts to build an inclusive economy and strong community networks and cooperation. On-the-ground innovation in the border region and in the colonias offers important new models for development in underserved communities.

A recent report by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, “Las Colonias in the 21st Century: Progress Along the Texas-Mexico Border”, provides context for the discussion. Texas colonias, home to an estimated 500,000 people, represent one of the largest concentrations of poverty in the U.S. This report offers a comprehensive profile of Texas border colonias, assessing the opportunities, successes, and challenges facing these communities.

Agenda
Welcome
Blair Ruble, Vice President for Programs, and Director, Urban Sustainability Laboratory, Wilson Center

Introductory Remarks:
Congressman Rubén Hinojosa, 15th Congressional District of Texas

Panel Presentations:
Jordana Barton, Senior Advisor, Community Development, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
Alex Hinojosa, Deputy Managing Director, North American Development Bank 
Laura Gómez-Rodríguez, Team Lead-Brownsville, White House Council on Strong Cities, Strong Communities Initiative, Environmental Protection Agency (SC2) 
Jesse Miller, Associate Director, buildingcommunityWORKSHOP, Rio Grande Valley
Moderator: Christopher Wilson, Deputy Director, Mexico Institute, Wilson Center

Event Co-Sponsors: