Access DC Begins!

Welcome to the L.A. Area Chamber’s 2022 Access DC! We’re incredibly excited to be back in person at our nation’s capital for our annual trip. Our delegation, of over 100 business, civic, and community leaders are ready to engage with policy makers, network, and participate in relevant discussions.

Our event began with Chamber President and CEO Maria S. Salinas, our Board chair, Mark Louchheim, and Amazon’s Head of Public Policy Cameron Onumah to share our vision and the importance of the L.A. region to our national economy. This is why this event is so important, and our elected and government leaders recognize that fact. The Chamber is proud to provide a space to advocate for our region’s business community at the federal level.

We have an action-packed event, which began Tuesday morning, with official programming that highlighted the importance of regional public agencies advocating to the Federal government on the region's behalf.

We are grateful for the participation of our public agencies with LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho, LA Metro CEO Stephanie Wiggins, and President and CEO of the Inland Empire Economic Partnership, Paul Granillo.

Fireside Chat with Senator Alex Padilla

L.A. Area Chamber President and CEO Maria S. Salinas sat down with U.S. Senator Alex Padilla to discuss his agenda for the region and the work he is doing to advocate for California.

Small Business and Economic Recovery

Small businesses are the backbone of our nation’s economy. We were honored to have President and CEO of the Greater L.A. African American Chamber of Commerce, Angela Gibson, introduce United States Small Business Administrator Isabella Guzman, who shared important information about programs and legislation which will benefit small businesses, nonprofits, and the regional economy.

State of Infrastructure: Energy and Water

The United States has not had significant investment in its infrastructure in decades. Brissa Sotelo-Vargas of Valero Energy moderated a discussion on the critical infrastructure needed to advance our energy goals. The discussion was led by Aimee Witteman from the U.S. Department of Energy and Allison Hull from Sempra.

Mayor Eric Garcetti moderated a panel on maintaining our water supply with Joe Sheehy, Chief of Staff for Grace Napolitano, Marty Adams from the L.A. Department of Water and Power, and Adel Hagekhalil from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. Special thanks to Whitney O’Neill from Charter Communications who introduced the discussion.

Updates from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Ashlee Rich Stephenson, Senior Political Strategist, Political Affairs and Federation Relations for the U.S. Chamber, is providing updates on the business community from a national perspective.

DEI In Tech and Entertainment

Congressmember Joaquin Castro provided a candid conversation about diversity, equity, and inclusion in the entertainment and tech industries. He also spoke about the initiatives that Congress is working on to engage more professionals to enter into those sectors.

International Trade Visibility

Patti MacJennett from the L.A. Tourism and Convention Board, moderated an engaging discussion on maximizing and increasing international trade for the L.A. region with the U.S. Department of State’s Special Representative for Commercial and business Affairs, Dilawar Syed, Karl Rios from the Department of State, and Daniel Watson, the Assistant U.S. Trade Representative.

Housing Panel

Founding Executive Officer for BizFed, Tracy Hernandez, led an informative discussion on the critical issues surrounding housing and homelessness with panelists, Adrianne Todman, Deputy Secretary for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and Blair Smith, Senior Director, Center for Financial Markets, Milken Institute.

Political Forecast

Dan Lippman, reporter for Politico, is providing his expert opinion on the political landscape for 2022 with national midterm elections and both Los Angeles City and County elections on the horizon.