The San Diego Leadership Trust

The San Diego Leadership Trust is an intellectual and venture capital initiative founded on the concept that any effective civic organization relies on strong and reliable resources of venture capital, people and ideas in order to meet its goal of constantly improving its service to the community. The Leadership Trust acts as a brain trust for program design. It identifies and pursues ways to help LEAD fulfill its mission of strengthening leaders to advance the prosperity of the San Diego region.

Is Atomic Energy Ready for Primetime?
Trust Learns About GA’S “Fission Until Fusion”
by Peter James MacCracken, APR

Human progress is dependent on a growing supply of energy. But with the perfect storm of soaring fossil fuel costs, approaching peak oil production and accelerating climate change, the question is HOW to grow it. Suddenly, nuclear energy is the elephant in the room.

On August 5, General Atomics (GA) hosted a special Leadership Trust dinner where Vice Chairman Linden Blue and Ronne Froman, GA’s Senior Vice President for the Energy Group, spoke about GA’s strategy for pursuing “Fission Until Fusion.”

Fission is the existing technology for nuclear energy with the downside of producing radioactive waste. Fusion is the hope for the future. It replicates the function of the sun and burns its own waste, promising environmentally sustainable nuclear energy.

Trust members and special guests including Malin Burhnam, Chairman, Burnham Institute for Medical Research, Stath Karras (94), Executive Managing Director, Cushman & Wakefield of San Diego, and Jim Avery, Senior Vice President - Electric, Sempra Utilities, joined Congressman Brian Bilbray and the LEAD staff in a first-ever public conversation and tour. It was a sterling example of what the Trust is all about – putting cutting-edge information and developments in front of community leaders who can act on it within their business contexts. Blue said world energy demand will more than double by 2040.

The domestic opportunity is to take nuclear from 8% of energy to 62%, by accounting for 80% of electricity, 50% of transportation and 50% of process heat (e.g., for seawater desalination). Those are mind-boggling figures unless we innovate.

Linden provided an exciting overview of innovation in the U.S. and the differences it has made in our lives. Trust members were particularly engaged by that. So what’s the innovation in nuclear?

Short-term, it is in fission. Solar, geothermal and wind energy are promising but cannot yet do the “heavy lifting” needed to meet demand. The innovation is the gas turbine modular helium reactor, which is 50% more efficient than other models, cannot melt down and can destroy nuclear waste.

Long-term, the innovation will be fusion, or “the real solar energy.” It is the Holy Grail because it produces no high-level radioactive waste and depends on a fuel supply (hydrogen) that is unlimited. Although it got a bit technical when Linden discussed inertial vs. magnetic fusion, highly energetic interactions between atoms and so on, the overarching message was clear.

Fusion energy is the long-term goal; either form will happen within this century, although neither soon enough to move directly from fossil fuel to fusion. Therefore, fission is the best interim energy source.

Besides spurring individual leaders to think and act, what can LEAD San Diego do? We are considering a Leader Trends event to bring this important information to a broader audience. Meanwhile, this event was a real benefit of Leadership Trust membership. They heard it first!

The San Diego Leadership Trust is LEAD’s highest level of membership and a civic venture open to graduates and other community members. Exclusive dinner events like this one are held quarterly to foster “ideas and innovation, to launch new initiatives and stimulate progress.”

LEAD San Diego Past Events

The South San Diego-Border Region – A Regional Economic Engine for 2020?
South Bay Leaders Say “It’s Our Time!”
April 15, 2008

Just days before LEAD San Diego Leadership Trust members, board and staff boarded a bus for a ½ day tour of the South San Diego Border Region, the Union-Tribune ran opinion columns debating the economic development of Otay Mesa. Clearly, the future of this border community has attracted the interest and concern of local media, as well as civic leaders.

The first Leadership Trust meeting of 2008, hosted by Steve Willliams, SENTRE Partners and Malin Burnham, The Burnham Foundation, veered from its traditional dinner format by providing a first hand overview of this developing region combined with an opportunity to discuss the regional and economic impact of its future with a panel of experts.

According to Elisa Arias, SANDAG, several major road transportation projects have increased the potential for growth in the entire South Bay –Border Region. South Bay Expressway (SR-125), San Diego’s newest freeway, provides more direct access to the proposed Otay Mesa Port of Entry and State Route 11, thus increasing opportunity for trade and travel by helping reduce congestion and current border delays. According to SANDAG, delays at the border in 2007 were expected to contribute to a loss in output that exceeded $2.9 billion and an employment loss of more than 40,000 jobs.

These routes also make the possibility of a cross border terminal with Rodriguez International airport in Tijuana and redevelopment of Brown Field more viable.

Special guest County Supervisor Greg Cox encouraged those leaders present to increase their cross border terminal advocacy efforts with the Federal Government right away as the window of opportunity to capitalize on inroads made on this issue with the current administration is slowing closing.

Adding to the area’s development is the growth of an energy cluster including the new 590 mega-watt Calpine plant. Alexandra Mier-Teran, Otay Mesa Chamber of Commerce explained that “San Diego is running out of land. This new highway connection is instrumental in Otay’s growth in manufacturing, energy, jobs, homes and overall economic development. The potential is outstanding.”>

SANDAG’s Marney Cox was upbeat about the ability to get infrastructure in place ahead of development. “Unlike what happened in North County, where we had to respond AFTER the development was in place, we are working with community leaders to monitor the growth in the South Bay and make the necessary preparations to creative an environment that will be successful.”

The panel, moderated by Kenn Morris, President/CEO of Crossborder Group, Inc., also included Cindy Gompper-Graves, CEO, South County Economic Development Council. She urged the attendees to consider what North County was like fifteen years ago. The difference, she noted, is that “our infrastructure is poised for expansion.”

Otay Mesa now has the roads and must finalize the road map that will result in smart, responsible growth for this rapidly expanding and vital region. Engaging civic leaders to address and understand the impact of these types of issues and projects is the core of the Leadership Trust. To find out more about the South San Diego Border Region, we suggest the following resources:
www.sandag.org
www.crossborderbusiness.com
www.sandiegosouth.com
www.otaymesa.org

What Now For San Diego's Airport?
Trust Hears About Planned Improvements, New Routes

After last November’s resounding defeat of Proposition A, the near-universal question is, “Now what for San Diego’s airport?” That led to a two-part presentation to the Leadership Trust at a special dinner hosted by the San Diego County Airport Authority on October 16.

Trust members and a few special guests, including CCDC President and CEO Nancy Graham and Port of San Diego COO Christine Anderson, heard about the Authority’s master plan for the existing airport, its efforts to attract new nonstop air service and why these are not inherently conflicting efforts.

Airport Authority President & CEO Thella F. Bowens stated that San Diego’s airport will remain right where it is – limited by a small area (661 acres), constraints on all sides, one runway and a departure curfew. Within those limits, what seems a mission impossible is to extend the life and maximize its efficiency of the airport.

The Authority has just released the draft EIR for phase 1 of the master plan for San Diego International Airport at Lindbergh Field. That calls for adding 10 new jet gates, double-decking the roadway in front of Terminal 2 to separate arrival and departure traffic, building a parking structure and making various airfield improvements.

What will follow these short-term improvements is uncertain, although some principles for future development have been approved by the Authority Board, including use of both sides of the airport, whose land mass is divided down the middle by the runway and taxiways, incorporation of transit and improved access, and improvements to cargo and general aviation facilities, among other elements.

In parallel with the physical plant improvements, the Authority is actively pursuing new nonstop air service, both domestic and international. Authority Manager Hampton Brown highlighted the business and economic benefits of nonstop service. These include new visitors who stay longer and spend more, attracting and retaining high-value business such as high tech and lower air fares as competition increases. As the largest market without nonstop service to Europe, San Diego is missing out.

One participant asked why we would try to add more service to a constrained airport. The short answer was “highest and best use.” Adding one or two international flights a day has little impact on operational limits. The benefits from one larger aircraft (such as the soon-to-be-introduced Boeing 787 Dreamliner) far outweigh those of several smaller aircraft (e.g., commuter flights to LAX).

As always, the dinner conversation evolved to what can the Leadership Trust and LEAD San Diego do? One idea is learning more about, and writing in support of the master plan EIR so much needed improvements can proceed. For information and to provide comment, go to the dedicated Website at www.sanplan.com. Another idea is participating in the visioning process for future improvements beyond Phase 1. A third idea is helping find audiences to hear the air service presentation to understand its value to our entire region.

San Diego’s airport is everyone’s concern. It is incumbent on civic leaders and involved citizens to understand the issues and to remain in productive dialogue. This dinner was one step in achieving that.

Written By: Peter James MacCracken, APR

Gregory Knoll, head of the Legal Aid Society of San Diego and Dr. Robert K. Ross, CEO of the California Endowment, join Leadership Trust Co-Chair Molly Cartmill as they listen to LEAD Board Chairman Stephen B. Williams, who welcomed guests to a conversation on San Diego’s healthcare crises at the Leadership Trust meeting, taking place on February 22, 2007.

Leadership Trust Grapples With Healthcare Crisis

What can LEAD San Diego do about the healthcare crisis? What can anyone do for that matter?

A Feb. 22 Leadership Trust dinner discussion sponsored by the California Endowment brought together Chairman of the County Board of Supervisors Ron Roberts; Robert K. Ross, M.D., CEO of the Endowment and former head of the County’s Health and Human Services Agency; Gregory E. Knoll, head of the Legal Aid Society of San Diego and a diverse group of business, healthcare and even labor leaders.

The San Diego Leadership Trust is LEAD’s highest level of membership and a civic venture open to graduates and other community members. Exclusive dinner events like this one are held quarterly to foster “ideas and innovation to launch new initiatives and stimulate progress.” Healthcare is an enormously complex issue that is very well suited to discussion in this venue.

Ross likened the current healthcare situation to a play in football where, “Three things can happen and two of them are bad,” and said that California and San Diego are “canaries in the coal mine” as far as success or failure of reform efforts are concerned.

Knoll predicted that nothing would happen until we view healthcare – and providing it to all – as a moral value. Today, he noted, this nation spends the highest proportion of its GDP to insure the lowest percentage of population in the world. “We’re failing the test, folks,” he stated.

People need to see it as good for business, good for the economy and good for their personal interests to fix the situation. “Everyone must be at the table,” he said. Only when various interests stop blaming each other and together seek tough solutions will there be any hope at all.

Local labor leader Jerry Butkiewicz concurred, noting that “The best deal makes everybody unhappy.”

A notable conclusion – if business and labor can agree, it will provide a powerful model for the state and even the nation.

What can LEAD do?

1. Push legislation now on flaws such as unfunded mandates.
2. Extend this dialogue to all 1,500 LEAD graduates.
3. Recruit task force participants to bring everyone to the table.

Clearly, the cost of failure is unacceptable.

Written By: Peter James MacCracken, APR

The Leadership Trust enjoys an evening with Mayor Jerry Sanders…

On Tuesday evening, October 26, 2006, Don Felsinger, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Sempra Energy, hosted The San Diego Leadership Trust. The Trust, LEAD’s premier membership, enjoyed cocktails, dinner and an intimate conversation with San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders.

The Leadership Trust acts as a brain trust for program design. It identifies and pursues ways to help LEAD fulfill its mission of strengthening leaders to advance the prosperity of the San Diego region. Leadership Trust, Co-Chairs Molly Cartmill and Stath Karras, invited Mayor Sanders to share his perspective on his first year in office and provide a glimpse of what’s ahead.

A major challenge in year one was the transition to the strong mayor form of government. While emphasizing that there are still challenges ahead, the implementation of the 121 recommendations from the Kroll report will be a priority in the upcoming year, as these are some of the first steps in resolving the City’s financial crisis. Along with that, reconciliation of the City budget and completing the audits for 2003, 2004, and 2005, will allow the City back into the financial markets.

Also on the docket, the Mayor reported that the passing of Propositions B and C in next week’s election is critical to the progress of the City, and in looking further ahead, the modernization of the City’s computer system, currently running on a 1977 mainframe computer, is needed.

Attendees included Laurie Black, President, LJ Black Consulting Group, Gordon Boerner, Senior Vice President, San Diego National Bank, Malin Burnham, Chairman of the Board, Burnham Real Estate Services, Harry Carter, Senior Counsel, Higgs, Fletcher & Mack, Molly Cartmill, Director, Corporate Community Relations & Corporate Events, Sempra Energy, Kurt Chilcott, President & CEO, CDC Small Business Finance, Donald Felsinger, Chairman &CEO, Sempra Energy, Lawrence Fitch President & CEO San Diego Workforce Partnership, Inc., Margaret Fitch, Director of Benefits, QUALCOMM, Incorporated, Judy Forrester, Interim Executive Director, LEAD San Diego, Inc., Kristy Gregg, Vice President, Marketing, San Diego National Bank, Stath Karras, President and CEO, Burnham Real Estate Services, Robert Kelly, President, CEO, San Diego Foundation, Suzanne LaTour, First Vice President – Investments, Citigroup - Smith Barney, Andrew Poat, Vice President Public Policy, San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation, Jerry Sanders, Mayor, City of San Diego, Richard Vortmann, President & CEO, The San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, Steve Williams, President, SENTRE Partners, and Chairman, LEAD Board of Directors and Hank Zapisek, Registered Principal, Financial Network Investment Corporation.

The Trust plans to meet quarterly, and will dedicate its time and energy to issues of regional concern. Some of the topics they will explore include:

* Public and Civic Trust
* Governance and Accountability
* Civic Journalism
* Globalization and Its Impact on our Region
* Region-Building
* Cross-border Realities

Want the breaking news from San Diego City Hall e-mailed directly to you as it happens? Sign up for Mayor Jerry Sanders’ e-mail alerts now. Click this link www.sandiego.gov/mayor and enter your e-mail address in the box that says “sign up for e-updates.” Hear it from Mayor Sanders before you hear it on the news!

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