Pig & Fig Café owner Laura Crucet shares her experience starting and maintaining a business. Photo by Kateri Morris

LLA Economic Development 101 panel members from left, LACDC Executive Director Lauren McDaniel, LACDC Interim Assist. ED/Chamber Director Ryn Herrmann, Exit Advantage NM Real Estate Developer and Associate Broker Jyl DeHaven, County CDD Director Paul Andrus, County Economic Development Administrator Dan Ungerleider, and NM Economic Development North Central Regional Representative Peter Mitchell. They discuss commercial real estate, business expansion and job creation, unique obstacles and opportunities in Los Alamos and surrounding areas. Photo by Kateri Morris

By KATERI MORRIS
Leadership Los Alamos

In March, Leadership Los Alamos met for an informative session on Economic Development facilitated by LACDC Executive Director Lauren McDaniel and LACDC Interim Assistant Executive Director/Chamber of Commerce Director Ryn Herrmann.

The day was filled with an array of speakers who gave insight on running successful businesses, the unique challenges and opportunities in the community, the infrastructure necessary to promote economic development and the impact Los Alamos has across the region.

The LLA Class of 2022 and Board of Director Chairs would like to thank the following individuals for their educational contributions to the session:

• Dan Ungerleider, LA County Economic Development Administrator;
• Laura Crucet, Pig + Fig Café Owner;
• Paul Andrus, LA County Community Development Director;
• Jyl DeHaven, Real Estate Developer and Associate Broker, Exit Advantage NM;
• Peter Mitchell, NM Economic Development North Central Regional Representative;
• Deputy Director, Outdoor Recreation Division;
• Kathy Keith, LANL Community Partnerships Office Director;
• Lindsay Mapes, NM Lab-Embedded Entrepreneur Program Director (LEEP);
• Dr. Matt Bergren, UbiQD Chief Product Officer;
• Matthew Schmidt, CEO/President Los Alamos Public Schools Credit Union;
• Ryn Herrmann, Chamber of Commerce Director/LACDC Interim Assist. Exec. Director;
• Lauren McDaniel, LACDC Executive Director;
• Kelly Stewart, Los Alamos County Film Liaison;
• Sobia Sayeda, Senior Planner & Staff Liaison to Historic Preservation Advisory Board;
• Christina McCormick, ProjectY Cowork Community & Marketing Manager;
• Patrick Sullivan, Central Park Square, LLC. General Manager;
• Anthony Flores, Boese Brothers Bar Manager; and
• The Manhattan Project National Historical Park and LA Visitor Center.

Leadership Los Alamos is a non-profit organization whose mission is to identify current and emerging leaders in Los Alamos and surrounding communities, to enhance their leadership skills and deepen their knowledge of the challenges and opportunities facing the community.

Each class learns about a variety of topics like community organizations, cultural and history, youth, education, local government, economic development and environmental issues.

For more information or to sign up for the next class (September 2022 – May 2023), click here.

From left, LACDC Executive Director Lauren McDaniel, LACDC Interim Assist. ED/Chamber Director Ryn Herrmann listen as LANL Community Partnerships Office Director Kathy Keith shared about LANL’s initiatives and opportunities for the workforce and Lindsay Mapes talked about the Lab-Embedded Entrepreneur Program (LEEP) that helps aspiring entrepreneurs transition their product to the marketplace through mentorship, tech support, testing and development. Photo by Kateri Morris

UbiQD Chief Product Officer Dr. Matt Bergren demonstrates the company’s unique energy-generating window panels using quantum dot technology, which harnesses the power of color and light. Photo by Kateri Morris

LACDC Executive Director Lauren McDaniel, meets with the LLA class in her own workspace to discuss the structure and function of the LACDC and the community programs it manages. She emphasizes the importance of teamwork and collaboration. Photo by Kateri Morris

LLA class member Sobia Sayeda, right, asks County Film Liaison Kelly Stewart to share about her experience working with Director Christopher Nolan and crew during the filming of the Oppenheimer movie and other movies filmed in Los Alamos. Photo by Kateri Morris