Today, U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker traveled to Boulder, Colorado, to kick off her nationwide listening tour. Upon her swearing in, Secretary Pritzker announced that she would travel the country to meet with, and hear from, business and community leaders, entrepreneurs, and Commerce Department employees to discuss how public-private partnerships can strengthen the economy and create jobs.

Secretary Pritzker met with Boulder Mayor Matthew Appelbaum to thank him and the city council for their long-standing support of Commerce’s three Boulder laboratories, which are run by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. The two talked about CO-LABS (Colorado Leveraging Assets for Better Science), a consortium of the 24 labs, universities, businesses, local governments, and community leaders organized to establish Colorado as a global leader in research, technology, and their commercialization, as well as other initiatives to fuel economic growth in the region through increased promotion and investment in innovation.

Next, Secretary Pritzer toured Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corp., a company that produces spacecraft instruments and sensors, radio frequency and microwave technologies, and a variety of advanced aerospace technologies and products. In addition to Mayor Appelbaum, she was joined by several Ball Aerospace executives, including president Rob Strain, North America metal packaging president Mike Hranicka, and chief financial officer Scott Morrison.  

Crossposted from MBDA.gov.

Newly appointed Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker visited Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) employees during their staff meeting Monday.

During the visit, Secretary Pritzker talked to MBDA staff about her commitment to supporting the Agency’s mission of helping minority-owned businesses grow and create American jobs.

The secretary, who was familiar with MBDA’s work prior to joining Commerce, commended the agency on their recent annual performance report, and told employees that she looks forward to working with them to further the department’s mission.

During her recent address to the Commerce workforce, Secretary Pritzker emphasized she would work every day – 24/7 – to ensure that everyone in Washington, DC, across the country and around the world knows the great work agencies and employees are doing.

MBDA National Director David Hinson, speaking on behalf of the MBDA team, said that he was thrilled the secretary took time to visit the agency’s employees so early in her tenure, adding that the visit is an example of her commitment to employees, businesses and the nation’s economy.

MBDA is the only federal agency solely dedicated to the growth and global competitiveness of U.S. minority-owned businesses. Our programs and services equip minority-owned firms to create jobs, build scale and capacity, increase revenues and expand regionally, nationally and internationally. Services are provided through a nationwide network of MBDA Business Centers, as well as through MBDA headquarters and a National Federal Procurement Center in Washington, DC.

Since taking office two weeks ago, Secretary Penny Pritzker has made it clear that engaging with the business community is a top priority.  Her commitment to this effort is evidenced by recent calls to top CEOs: Jim McNerney, President and CEO of Boeing, and Ursula Burns, CEO of Xerox Corporation.

Given her extensive experience in the private sector, Secretary Pritzker understands not only the importance of the Department establishing close ties with the business community, but more importantly what can be learned from meeting with local business leaders (both large and small companies).  It is only through these intimate conversations, that one can adequately understand and further address the issues many businesses face.

During her conversations with CEOs, Secretary Pritzker asked what their biggest challenges were and what how she, as Commerce Secretary, could help companies become more competitive both in U.S and abroad.  The Secretary also established an open line of communication, welcoming feedback from CEOs and business leaders to help her develop strategic goals and her agenda over the next few months. 

Secretary Pritzker’s outreach to the business community is just beginning.  This week marks her first trip as part of an overall listening tour. Conversations such as these are part of her overall commitment to being a strong advocate for U.S businesses to help businesses grow and create jobs to strengthen our economy. 

On Tuesday, July 2, Secretary Penny Pritzker joined Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland; Dr. Kathryn Sullivan, Acting Administrator of NOAA; Dr. Louis Uccellini, Assistant Administrator of NOAA’s National Weather Service; and, Bryan Norcross, Senior Executive Director of Weather Content and Presentation, and Senior Hurricane Specialist at The Weather Channel for an event at NOAA’s Center for Weather and Climate Prediction in College Park, MD.

Earlier this year, NOAA’s National Weather Service, which is part of the Department of Commerce, received funding through the Sandy Supplemental bill to invest in supercomputing technologies that will improve weather forecasting and modeling capabilities.   
 
The forecasts that NOAA’s National Weather Service provide to entities like The Weather Channel, Accuweather, and more than 300 other partners around the country not only help to save lives and property, but they help businesses operate and move goods as smoothly as possible through our airports and ports.  In many ways, their work is crucial to keeping our economy moving and growing.