FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 07-10-18 Contact: Victoria O’ 469-951-1576 [email protected]

CEO of Alliance and Board Director of Opportunity Austin Join Capital City Innovation’s Board of Trustees

AUSTIN, — Dewitt Peart, president and CEO of the Downtown Austin Alliance, and Kerry Hall, a board member with Opportunity Austin and president of the Austin Region - Texas Capital Bank, have been elected to the board of trustees for Capital City Innovation.

Capital City Innovation is coordinating the emergence of an innovation district in downtown Austin. It is creating collaborative opportunities that leverage the launch of the new Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin, and its partnerships with Seton Healthcare and Central Health.

Capital City Innovation’s focus on inclusive economic growth directly supports the vision of health for all shared by Dell Medical School and its partners. Opportunity Austin and the Downtown Austin Alliance have both recently identified an innovation district in Austin as a priority for attracting investment and employment for the area, and providing the community benefit of a healthier, more inclusive, increasingly prosperous community.

“The Downtown Austin Alliance is honored to play a part in Capital City Innovation and the groundbreaking work, technologies and opportunities that will take shape in this area,” Peart said. “Capital City Innovation will help to shape the Alliance’s vision for downtown, grow our economy and put Austin on the map for pioneering the future of healthcare, technology and business, to name a few.”

“Our vision is that an innovation district will leverage Austin’s capabilities in digital technologies, the social safety net, and health. It will diversify and strengthen our economy and social fabric,” said new board member Kerry Hall.

Capital City Innovation is a nonprofit that began in September 2017 when it hired its first executive director, Christopher Laing. Laing previously helped build the innovation ecosystem at the University City Science Center in Philadelphia, the nation’s first and largest urban-member innovation zone. Since it launched, Capital City Innovation has convened a regional network of health and bioscience business incubators supporting more than 30 companies. It has partnered in events and programming that have engaged more than 900 people, including a recent Workforce Development Accelerator with Impact Hub Austin and Capital Area Workforce Solutions. Physical development of the Innovation District is being planned with partners, starting with Central Health’s Brackenridge campus.

“Capital City Innovation is thrilled to have the dedicated leadership of Opportunity Austin and the Downtown Austin Alliance,” said Christopher Laing, Capital City Innovation executive director. “Our vision for the innovation district is one where economic growth is aligned with the public benefit that serves the needs of Austin residents and harnesses the talent of the region.”

Hall and Peart join Capital City Innovation board members Greg Hartman, president of Academic & External Affairs at Seton Healthcare Network/Ascension Texas; Stephanie McDonald, Central Health chief of staff; and Clay Johnston, dean of the Dell Medical School. Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt and City of Austin Mayor Steve Adler serve as ex officio members.

About Capital City Innovation Capital City Innovation is the 501(c)(3) non-profit organization facilitating the emergence of Austin's Innovation District. It was founded by Central Health, Seton Health, and the University of Texas at Austin to support and encourage collaborative innovation among academic institutions, health enterprises, companies, startups and entrepreneurs, developers, government, and creative individuals by combining creative placemaking with programming in the Austin region. It is where Austin collaborates to create new models of health and economic growth for all. For more information on Capital City Innovation, please visit capitalcityinnovation.org.

About the Downtown Austin Alliance The Downtown Austin Alliance works with key downtown stakeholders—property owners, residents, business owners, community organizations and government officials—to advance our collective vision for the future of downtown Austin. The Downtown Alliance is engaged in dozens of projects and issues that contribute to the safety, cleanliness, and appeal of downtown Austin to residents, employees, and visitors. As a full-time advocate for downtown, the Downtown Alliance is actively engaged in planning decisions that impact the area. We also advance downtown's vision through direct services supporting safety and cleanliness. For more information on the Downtown Austin Alliance, please visit downtownaustin.com.

About Opportunity Austin Opportunity Austin is the Central Texas region’s community and economic strategy designed to support job creation, employability and economic advancement for all. The cornerstones of the strategy are an inclusive and innovative economy; an educated, credentialed and career ready workforce; and affordable and accessible communities.