Riverside County's Economic Recovery Task Force: Meet The Members

Toni McAllister
Updated ·3 min read

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — After much discussion, on Friday Riverside County formally announced the launch of an economic recovery task force.

The job at hand for the 17-member group is to provide recommendations to the board of supervisors on restarting the local economy and preparing to rebound from the coronavirus pandemic, according to a county news release.

The task force is expected to be in place for 18 months and will identify both short- and long-term strategies to assist the local economy, the release stated.

The county board of supervisors picked the task force members. Board Chair and Fourth District Supervisor V. Manuel Perez, along with Vice Chair and Second District Supervisor Karen Spiegel, proposed task force. On April 21, the full board approved the concept.

"We need to be prepared as we come out of this," Spiegel said immediately after the vote. "It won't happen overnight ... but our business community is extremely important."

“As we continue to fight against the silent enemy, coronavirus, metrics demonstrate that we can now balance that with turning the corner towards economic opportunity,” said Board Chair V. Manuel Perez, Fourth District Supervisor. “An important part of our efforts is making sure we are workforce ready and business ready once the state moves into the next phase in its roadmap. I envision this local economic recovery team as identifying resources, policies and opportunities that can help the local economy bounce back sooner in the Fourth District and Riverside County as a whole.”

Economic recovery task force members:

  • Riverside Convention and Visitors Bureau/BIA (Chair) Lou Monville

  • Greater Coachella Valley Chamber of Commerce (Vice-Chair) Josh Bonner

  • Coachella Valley Association of Governments Tom Kirk

  • Coachella Valley Economic Partnership Joe Wallace

  • Corona Chamber of Commerce Bobby Spiegel

  • Greater Palm Springs Convention and Visitors Bureau Scott White

  • Greater Riverside Chambers of Commerce Cindy Roth

  • Inland Empire Economic Partnership Paul Granillo

  • Lake Elsinore Chamber of Commerce Kim Cousins

  • Moreno Valley Chamber of Commerce Oscar Valdepena

  • Riverside County Farm Bureau Rachel Johnson

  • Temecula Chamber of Commerce Emily Fallappino

  • Visit Temecula Valley Kimberly Adams

  • Western Riverside Council of Governments Rick Bishop

  • Wildomar/Murrieta Chamber of Commerce Patrick Ellis

  • Wine Growers Association Phil Baily

  • Workforce Development Board Jamil Dada

County staff members from the Economic Development Department and Transportation and Land Management Agency will work alongside the task force to support its objectives, the news release stated.

“We have assembled a fantastic wealth of knowledge and expertise to serve on the Economic Recovery Task Force while ensuring representation across the county,” said Vice Chair Karen Spiegel, Second District Supervisor. “Their combined expertise, innovation and collaboration will be instrumental in developing a comprehensive and methodical approach towards re-opening our business communities and providing the support our region will need to rebound our economy from the devastating impacts of COVID-19. Their hard work and dedication to this effort is greatly appreciated. I’m confident that we will get through this together.”

This article originally appeared on the Lake Elsinore-Wildomar Patch