Northside Business Luncheon: The Blue Line on West Broadway

1101 West Broadway Avenue,Minneapolis MN 55411

17 November, 2022

Description

Join Northside Economic Opportunity Network and West Broadway Business & Area Coalition for their monthly business luncheon every 3rd Thursday of each month! This month's topic is on "The Blue Line on West Broadway" our special panelists, Christine Beckwith and Daniel Soler will present and facilitate conversation around the Blue Line Light Rail Extenstion project. Join us for an interactive workshop to learn about the new route options, enviornmental impacts, and more! Meet the Panelists Christine Beckwith has served as Metro Transit’s Blue Line Extension Project Director since July 2022, a project she also worked on from 2014-2016. Prior to reuniting with the Blue Line team, Chris was the Project Director for the Gold Line. Bus Rapid Transit project serving the east metro of Minneapolis-St. Paul since 2017. Chris worked on three regional LRT Projects in the Twin Cities (Green Line, Green Line Extension/SWLRT and Blue Line/BLRT) in a variety of roles including Project Director and Deputy Program Director. As a Professional Engineer, Chris has worked in all phases of transportation project development from planning through bidding as well as construction, operations and maintenance both with Metro Transit and the Minnesota Department of Transportation spanning nearly 25 years. Chris has a Bachelors Degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Minnesota and an MBA from the University of St. Thomas. In her free time, she and her husband enjoy chasing three busy teenagers which these days involves tennis matches, hockey games, college tours and camping trips. Daniel (Dan) Soler joined Hennepin County in late 2018 to assist with delivering Hennepin County-funded transit projects. In June of this year Dan was appointed by the Hennepin County Board as the newly formed Public Works Transit and Mobility Director to continue partnership with Metro Transit on existing and newly planned transit projects funded by the county, in addition to prioritizing mobility to include addressing challenges for transportation accessibility, especially encountered by seniors and people with disabilities and low income. Dan has a long history of public sector experience including as a traffic engineer for Ramsey County, director of construction at Metro Transit for the Central Corridor LRT project, and the previous director at Metro Transit for the Blue Line Extension LRT project. He is a civil engineer and graduate of the University of Minnesota. Dan has a strong rapport with others and makes a point to genuinely engage all parties at the table, no matter the discussion topic. Dan has three children and is a proud grandpa of five grandchildren. He lives in Mahtomedi and serves on the city’s planning commission. He enjoys fishing, traveling, his beloved Vikings and Wild and spending time with family. Event Details Please RSVP in advance to reserve your seat for the November Northside Business Luncheon! We kindly ask that you arrive by 11:30am to serve your food, network with other attendees and be ready to listen and engage when the program starts at 12pm! CAN'T MAKE IT? No worries! The panel discussion will be streamed and recorded live on our Facebook page and published by the end of the following month on WBC/NEON's Facebook, website, and Youtube channel. Be sure to RSVP to reserve your seat and be added to our email lists to get the latest updates on future Northside Business Luncheons! CATERING: A complimentary meal will be served and prepared by Breaking Bread inside of the ECMN Gathering space: 1101 West Broadway Ave, Minneapolis MN 55411, promptly at 11:30am to allow eveyone to serve and settle in for the presentation and discussion. MORE ABOUT NORTHSIDE BUSINESS LUNCHEONS: Northside Business Luncheons are monthly gatherings for networking and info on select topics with lunch provided from local restaurants and caterers in Minneapolis. Co-hosted by the West Broadway Business & Area Coalition (WBC) and the Northside Economic Opportunity Network (NEON). Next meeting: Thursday, December 15th, 2022