Back in October, the state announced the Uplift Central Coast Coalition, led by REACH, Monterey Bay Economic Partnership and the Economic Development Collaborative, had been awarded a $5 million grant from California’s Community Economic Resilience Fund (CERF). The grant will fund a 2-year planning process to create an inclusive economic development plan for the six Central Coast regions. While we are eagerly preparing to kick off this important work, we are waiting for the state to finalize contracts and release funding before we officially begin. Nonetheless, we’ve been laying a strong foundation to hit the ground running once we get the official greenlight from the state.

A major step is the hiring of a project director: Quinn Brady. Brady was selected from a pool of qualified candidates after a thorough process involving in-person interviews with the Uplift hiring panel that included the CEOs of REACH, EDC, and MBEP.

Brady rose to the top of the candidate pool with her strong background in community engagement, advocacy and project management, and her experience in strategic communication and partnerships. She has a clear passion for uplifting disinvested communities, fostering belonging, and promoting climate equity.

We are thrilled to have Brady step into this new role.

“This project brings together so many aspects of my professional experience and personal passions — coalition building, equity and inclusion, climate action, and raising voices that have long been left out — and puts them to work in impactful new ways,” Brady said. “I’m so excited for the opportunity to unite our six-county region in bringing new perspectives to the economic planning table in a deliberately inclusive and sustainable way.”