One Region Announces New Leadership and Partnership Ventures

One Region Announces New Leadership and Partnership Ventures

One Region, a joint venture partnership of the Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments (BCDCOG), Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce, and Charleston Regional Development Alliance, has announced new leadership and partnership ventures. The updates were unveiled at the recent One Region Advisory Committee meeting.

Among the new appointments, Col. Marc Greene (retired), former commander of Joint Base Charleston, has been confirmed as the new One Region board chair by the One Region Advisory Committee. Ryan Wilcox, BCDCOG’s regional economic development specialist, now heads the organization as the Managing Director, thanks to an appointment by Joint Venture Partner leadership.

The organization also shared updates regarding major partnerships. The Joseph P. Riley Jr. Center for Livable Communities at the College of Charleston (Riley Center) has been confirmed as Lead Agent for Quality of Place. Equally, the integrated communications agency Chernoff Newman, due to a longstanding partnership with One Region, is presently recognized as a “Strategic Partner.”

One Region’s Ambitious Plans Ahead

One Region is centered on implementing the One Region Roadmap: Opportunities for All – Economic Recovery and Resilience Plan. The roadmap was developed as the region emerged from the COVID-19 pandemic. The initiative focusses on promoting economic recovery and resilience across eight Regional Dynamics grouped into Themes & Action Areas. Equity and Economic Momentum form the overarching themes interwoven throughout strategies and analyses related to each action area in the plan.

The community organizations and entities selected as lead agents for Regional Dynamics are as follows:

• Charleston Metro Chamber – Regional Housing Coalition (Affordability)
• Increasing H.O.P.E. (Economic Momentum)
• PFW Coaching and Consulting (Equity)
• Charleston Southern University – Global Charleston (Global Fluency)
• Tricounty Cradle to Career, Lowcountry Digital Equity Coalition (Infrastructure – Digital Divide)
• BCDCOG (Infrastructure – Transportation & Transit)
• Harbor Entrepreneur Center (Innovation & Entrepreneurship)
• Riley Center at the College of Charleston (Quality of Place).

Kendra Stewart, director of the Riley Center, expressed her excitement about the role her organization will play in enhancing the region’s livability. She emphasized that maintaining and enhancing the region’s livability requires concerted effort transcending individual jurisdictions and sectors.

As the new board chair, Col. Marc Greene underscored his commitment to accelerate the excellent work already underway, and build a prosperous future for the Charleston community in his announcement. As One Region prepares to embark on its goals in various sectors, stakeholders remain eagerly watchful of the outcomes generated by these changes in leadership and partnership.