The Power of the Next Step: What We Carried Forward from the 2nd Annual Inclusive Growth Summit
Residents, grassroots leaders, policymakers, entrepreneurs, educators, funders, and civic partners came together for the 2nd Annual Inclusive Growth Summit to answer an urgent question: What is the next step toward more inclusive growth in New Haven, and how will we take that step together? This year’s theme, The Power of the Next Step, captured both the urgency and the hope in the room.
The Summit demonstrated that inclusive growth is more than just a concept. It means an educator staying in the classroom because rent is affordable or non-existent. It means a small business owner having access to the tools and support needed to grow. It means a community shaping the streets, shops, and opportunities that make up everyday life.
Something was also made hopeful and very visible during this year’s Summit: New Haven is not starting from scratch. The ideas are here. The leaders are here. The lived wisdom is here. The creativity, persistence, and care are here. What is needed now is alignment, trust, and the courage to take the next step together.
That kind of progress cannot be achieved by one organization alone. It requires residents, businesses, government, philanthropy, schools, and community organizations to move in the same direction, each bringing what they have: lived experience, local knowledge, relationships, funding, technical expertise, and decision-making power.
Mayor Justin Elicker opened the Summit by speaking about the responsibility to ensure New Haven’s economic progress reaches all residents. Karen DuBois-Walton, President and CEO of The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, lifted up the long-term investment and partnership needed to help the region thrive.
From there, the Summit moved into examples of what action looks like on the ground. Stuart DeCew of the Yale Center for Business and the Environment and Jameson Davis of the Commission on Women, Children, Seniors, Equity and Opportunity described how clean energy training can connect New Haven residents to emerging industries. Alisha Crutchfield, founder and owner of BLOOM, shared how the Center’s NOCAP program helped strengthen the systems her business needs to grow. Their stories showed that inclusive growth becomes real when people can see a path, take a step, and find partners walking beside them.
The On-Ramps to Economic Mobility sessions focused on the everyday barriers that shape whether people can participate fully in the economy. Allyx Schiavone of Friends Center for Children introduced First Home, First Teacher, a rent-free housing program for early childhood educators. By treating housing as part of compensation and pairing it with financial coaching, the program helps educators stay rooted, build stability, and imagine a future that once felt out of reach.
Fereshteh Ganjaavi of Elena’s Light reminded participants that opportunity is rarely blocked by one barrier alone. For refugee and immigrant women, language, health, legal status, transportation, employment, and confidence are often connected. Elena’s Light meets those realities with personalized English classes, health support, legal help, driving-permit preparation, and leadership opportunities. Its upcoming Newcomer Community Resource Center will bring these supports together in one welcoming place.
CitySeed showed a similar belief in removing practical barriers for food entrepreneurs. Through its Food Business Incubator and the new James Street Food Hub, entrepreneurs will have access to training, certification, kitchen space, storage, coaching, peers, and customers. The message was clear: talent already exists in New Haven. Our job is to build the infrastructure that lets that talent thrive.
The Powering Ownership Transitions sessions asked how communities can keep businesses, property, and wealth rooted over time. Adriana Abizadeh-Barbour of Kensington Corridor Trust described a model that takes real estate out of speculation and places it under permanent community control. Residents and local business owners help decide how properties are used and are compensated for their expertise. Ownership, in this model, is not only about assets. It is about voice.
Virginia T. Spell of The Urban League of Southern Connecticut shared lessons from West River, where housing stability begins long before a lease or mortgage application. Residents often need time, trust, and consistent support around credit, budgeting, paperwork, and planning. Project Equity’s Amanda Calder and Common Future’s Roquel Crutcher expanded the conversation to business succession, employee ownership, and community-controlled capital. Together, they pointed toward a future where investment strengthens community goals instead of pulling control away from the people most affected.
The NextGen Ecosystems in Action sessions looked toward the future of work, technology, and regional competitiveness. Dave Madan and Sandra Meetran of The Builder Coalition described a fellowship that helps new real estate entrepreneurs build technical skills and professional networks. Repinned Upholstery and Restoration’s Riana LeJeune shared how a registered apprenticeship can preserve skilled trades, create jobs, and pass knowledge from one generation of craftspeople to the next.
Kobéy Smith of The Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce encouraged small businesses to start with the problem they need to solve before choosing an artificial intelligence tool. Joseph W. Williams Jr. and Dr. Lomax R. Campbell described how Greater New Haven has moved from a scattered support system for entrepreneurs toward more coordinated community investment through efforts like the New Haven Equitable Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Initiative and ProsperCT.
Every session was linked by a common approach, not just one program or solution. Listen carefully. Work with communities, not apart from them. Create supports that fit real needs. Share power. Keep coming back, even after the event is over.
Toward a Shared Destination
The Summit was also designed to grow ideas, spark connections, and prepare for the work ahead. To help us on that journey, the Center launched New Haven’s first Inclusive Growth Roadmap: From Community Conversations to a Shared Destination. Developed with input from more than 300 residents, community leaders and subject-matter experts, the Roadmap combines community perspectives, local data and promising practices into a shared framework for action. It focuses on four interconnected priorities: Affordable Living, Quality Employment Opportunities, Community Wealth Building, and Community Connections and Ownership. The Roadmap is a starting point. It gives us a shared destination, but reaching it will depend on what we choose to build together.
Read the roadmap, give us your feedback, and stay tuned for more ways to participate by signing up for our newsletter or following us on social media.
