CDTech’s Visionary Award is presented to an individual who uplifts Los Angeles through innovation and vision. For our inaugural year, CDTech is proud to present the Visionary Award to CDTech’s founder and continued advocate for community change, Dr. Denise Fairchild during our 20th Anniversary Celebration on May 19th.
Denise Fairchild is the inaugural President of Emerald Cities Collaborative (ECC), a national non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C. with affiliates in major urban centers across the United States. Dr. Fairchild was recruited in 2010 to launch ECC, a coalition of labor, business and community-based organizations organized to accelerate the growth and distributive benefits of the emerging green economy. With operations in 10 metro regions, these local coalitions provide solutions to greening our cities, building resilient local economies and ensuring equity inclusion.
Denise is nationally recognized and respected for her 40-year successful track record and innovative programs in sustainable community development, domestically and internationally.
In 1995 she founded and directed the Community and Economic Development (CED) Department at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College, as well as an affiliated non-profit community development research and technical assistance organization, CDTech. She helped launch the Regional Economic Development Institute (REDI), an initiative of Los Angeles Trade-Technical College to provide inner city residents with career and technical education for high growth/high demand jobs in the L.A. region, with a focus on the green economy. From 1989-1995 she served as executive director of LISC-LA helping to build-out the region’s community development industry creating non-profit housing, jobs and businesses that strengthened and improved the health and environments of L.A.’s low-income, communities of color throughout the U.S.
Please join us on May 19th to celebrate and uplift the amazing work by Dr. Denise Fairchild and the Los Angeles community she advocates for.