Wichita, Kan. - 9/10/2014 - The Fuel the Fire Speaker Series continues on Sept. 17 at 5 p.m. with Wichita native James Chung, President of Reach Advisors. Chung earned his bachelors and MBA degrees from Harvard University after completing his early education with USD 259 and Wichita Collegiate School. His strategy, research and predictive analytics firm, Reach Advisors, currently works with some of North America’s most innovative organizations involved in community development, tourism, and other industry segments.

This second presentation in a series of three community discussions is designed to engage the Wichita community in conversations revolving around national trends and how to competitively position Wichita for the future. The Wichita Community Foundation, Wichita Downtown Development Corporation, and the Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce have partnered to make this series possible. All sessions are held at The LUX (120 E. 1st St. N.). They are free and open to the public.

Working with cities across the country, Chung says he has seen strong evidence that communities can change their trajectory by deliberately choosing to pull together the right resources and leaders. “I’m looking forward to sharing stories with Wichita’s stakeholders about the communities we’ve seen proactively shaping their future and influence their momentum, rather than settling for status quo. Unfortunately, status quo currently isn’t an ideal place to be for manufacturing-driven Midwestern cities.”

Some of the topics Chung plans to address include:

• Why a city’s success rate in attracting young educated people is a strong predictor of the
area’s future job growth.

• Examples of cities similar to Wichita that have recovered from dramatic shifts in their manufacturing
job base.

• How Wichita's dynamic arts/culture scene has already influenced downtown revitalization.

The Chamber’s Leadership Council is sponsoring Chung’s visit and Co-Chair Charlie Chandler said the community will benefit from the presentation. “Chung knows our community and he’s still attached to it as a special place that provided him with a strong foundation. Our first speaker in this series, Carol Coletta, advised us to capitalize on loyalty from those who still have strong ties to Wichita, but no longer make their home here. Chung has a passion for helping communities leap to the next level and he understands our history. He can provide us with a unique perspective about mobilizing and moving forward.”

For more details, and to RSVP, visit FueltheFireSpeakerSeries.com.