Events
Overview: Universities are emerging as powerful catalysts for downtowns. This webinar explores innovative strategies for leveraging university assets to drive economic development, foster community engagement and create vibrant urban spaces. Discover how collaborations between universities, businesses and local governments can energize downtowns, attracting talent, stimulating innovation and building resilient communities. Learn practical approaches to harness the unique potential of universities to shape the future of our downtowns.
Learning Objectives:
- Formulate strategies for collaborative partnerships between academic institutions, businesses and municipalities to stimulate economic growth and enhance urban environments.
- Develop methodologies to capitalize on university resources and talent pools to foster innovation and attract diverse populations to downtown areas.
- Construct actionable plans to create resilient and thriving downtown ecosystems by leveraging the unique assets and influence of higher education institutions.
Friday, November 14, 2025 | 12:00pm ET (9:00am PT)
Domain: Economic Development
Pricing: IDA Members: Free | Nonmembers: $40
Advancing Places is an online series aimed at empowering IDA members with the solutions needed to address the most critical urban issues of the day. This session will include a moderated Q&A and will be recorded for member and nonmember use in the future.
Speakers:
- Lori Foster, President & CEO, Downtown Tempe Authority (Tempe, AZ)
- Tim Kocur, Executive Director, The Waterfront BIA (Toronto, ON)
- Rachael Wyant, Director of Research, Downtown Vision, Inc. (Jacksonville, FL)
LPM | 1 – IDA LPM professionals can earn credit hours for this webinar. More information about IDA’s Leadership in Place Management certification program can be found here.
CM | 1 – AICP members can earn Certification Maintenance (CM) credits for this webinar. More information about AICP’s CM program can be found at www.planning.org/cm
Speakers
Lori Foster
President & CEO, Downtown Tempe Authority (AZ)
Lori Foster is the President & CEO for Downtown Tempe Authority and works on a variety of initiatives including stakeholder engagement, sponsorship, transportation, homelessness, municipal and college/town enterprises. A Certified Leader in Place Management as well as a member of the 2018 Emerging Leader Fellowship class, and founding member of Tempe Young Professionals, Lori is an alumna of Texas Tech University and the University of Arizona.
Tim Kocur
Executive Director, The Waterfront BIA (Toronto, ON)Tim joined Toronto’s Waterfront BIA in 2018 and initiated a restructuring and boundary expansion to include a major re-development zone. The organization represents its area on policy issues, makes public realm improvements in collaboration with agencies representing all three levels of government, and highlights the area’s vibrancy with all-season activation and daily promotion. Major programs include industry coalitions to advocate for light-rail transit expansion, an expressway underpass improvement program, and events including the Waterfront Festival and the Smorgasburg Toronto. He was previously with the Toronto Financial District BIA at its founding after working with a steering committee in 2011.
Rachael Wyant
Director of Research, Downtown Vision, Inc. (Jacksonville, FL)Rachael is the Director of Research at Downtown Vision. Prior to her relocation to Jacksonville, Florida, Rachael served in various roles in both government and nonprofit settings. With experience in data, operations management, and project management, Rachael works to benchmark Downtown Jacksonville and translate data into meaningful stories. Rachael graduated from The Ohio State University with her Masters Degree in Public Administration. There, she focused on policy and economics. These efforts culminated in a Graduate capstone project that explored the potential for data collaboratives in local government.
More Information
Registration information: When registering for a webinar, please complete the sign-up as yourself and not your organization. If additional staff would like to attend the same webinar, each individual must register as themselves to receive their unique login link. Questions? Email registration@downtown.org.
By registering for this webinar, you are agreeing to the Non-Discrimination, Anti-Harassment and Complaint Policy and IDA Event Agreement and Code of Conduct.
IDA is committed to making our educational sessions accessible to everyone, regardless of ability, and to reasonably accommodating the assistive needs of our members, attendees and partners. We are actively working to increase the accessibility of our offerings. In so doing, we strive to comply with the available standards and guidelines under the Americans with Disabilities Act and related laws to the greatest extent possible. If you are having trouble accessing an IDA offering, or have a question regarding session accessibility features, please contact IDA at registration@downtown.org for assistance.
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