ESI is Pleased to Promote Wendy Gabriele!

We are pleased to announce the promotion of Wendy Gabriele to Senior Vice President for Administration & Principal. Wendy has been with the firm since its inception and plays a vital role in keeping the firm running.

Wendy joined the firm in 2012 as an administrative associate. Shortly after joining the company, she was promoted to Office Manager, Secretary/Treasurer and held that position until her promotion to Chief Administrative Officer in 2019. She was invited to become a principal in 2024.

Friars Forever: The Economic and Social Impact of

Providence College Athletics

ESI recently completed an economic impact study for Providence College Athletics! With 19 Division I programs and over 400 student-athletes, we found that Friar Athletics has an annual economic impact of $100.3 million to the state of Rhode Island. Read it here. 

We're thrilled to announce that Principal Lee Huang is speaking on a panel at The Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities (CUMU) Annual Conference October 20-23 in Minneapolis-St. Paul, looking at how the University of Pennsylvania leveraged its impact study to engage the wider community. Get tickets here.

ESI will be moderating a panel on partnerships in workforce development at the Young, Smart, and Local conference November 12-14 in Philadelphia. Register here.

Executive Vice President & Principal Gina Lavery is now serving as the co-chair of the Women's Leadership Initiative of ULI Philadelphia.

Bernie Markstein produced a report on estimates of state unemployment rates in June for the Associated Builders and Contractors. This article also appeared in Contractor magazine. 

Analyst Angel Zhong attended the 2024 ESRI User Conference last month, and learned about different ways to improve efficiency in mapping.

Sylvie Gallier Howard will speak at the National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders' (NALCAB) annual conference in September. 

Now Available

Climate Resilience Index

A Comparative Analysis for Measuring Progress

ESI Center for the Future of Cities recently released its Climate Resilience Index, a systematic, standardized methodology for assessing a city's preparedness to withstand and adaptive capacity to recover from climate-related disasters.

Berkeley, one of the nine cities analyzed, secures the #2 spot in ESI's Climate Resilience Index with an innovative approach to disaster preparation. Learn more about how community resilience centers in Berkely support local communities and improve long-term resilience in the full report.

Read it here.

From the Vault: Features on Innovative Ways to Catalyze Economic Activity

By Moira Connell

Business Development & Marketing Intern Moira Connell curated a selection of past Present Value articles surrounding the theme of catalyzing economic activity. Dive into the vault with this week's blog post.

Read more here.

Piecing Together The Affordable Housing Puzzle in Philadelphia

By Anne Bovaird Nevins and David Langlieb

Senior Advisor Anne Bovaird Nevins and David Langlieb examine Philadelphia's multi-faceted approach to affordable housing in this week's blog post. They highlight key programs like the Land Bank and Turn the Key, which aim to increase affordable homeownership and redevelop vacant properties while supporting Black and Brown developers.

Read more here.

Moving Cities: Paris

By Grace Hanoian

As athletes take center stage and the world watches them compete, we’re taking a look at the city that’s hosting it all, in this Paris edition of Moving Cites.

Read more here.

How ADUs Can Reshape America's Housing Landscape

By Steve Madsen

Steve Madsen explores the growing interest in Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) as a potential solution to address housing shortages across the United States. 

Read more here.

ESI's Summer Reading List

By Moira Connell

In the spirit of summer and vacations, we at ESI have asked our staff to provide recommendations for you to engage your intellect and heart. Whether you’re on a beach, relaxing at home, or even on public transport, we hope you’ll bring a book along. Next time you’re searching for something to read, take a look below at the 21 recommendations from us here at ESI!

Read more here.

Client Spotlight

The Philadelphia Department of Commerce is hosting the Philadelphia Regional Startup World Cup Pitch Competition on September 18. Learn more and register here. ESI is also proud to announce that we are working with the Department of Commerce to support their Most Diverse Tech Hub Initiative.

SEPTA has announced that Bryn Mawr will be the second higher education institution to join its Key Advantage UPass Program.

Researchers at New Jersey Institute of Technology have developed an innovative pre-treatment process to enhance the removal of PFAS, or "forever chemicals," from drinking water. The novel approach, which forms hydrophobic complexes with PFAS molecules, significantly improves the performance of existing filtration systems and offers a cost-effective solution for water treatment facilities to meet new EPA regulations.

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