John Jackson is the President of Jessup University and Co-Chair of GSEC’s Competitiveness Council. Learn more about why he values economic development, working with GSEC and living and working in the Greater Sacramento region in the Q&A below.
As a regional leader, why is economic development important to you?
To be frank, I believe that faith, family, and freedom are the key foundational values in life. With freedom comes the opportunity to be disciplined and work hard for the success of you and your family. Now, to your question. Economic development is important to me because it raises the canopy of opportunity for every person in a culture. Part of the glorious American dream is that every person has some form of opportunity to excel, using their unique talents and gifts, and increase value to culture and society. Economic development provides the atmosphere for people, families, and communities to thrive.
What excites you most about being part of GSEC?
Since DAY 1 (and I was in the room on “day 1” with former Mayor Johnson and Barry Broome), GSEC has committed to being a strategic data informed and aggressive organization to foster “win-win” economic development. I love the public-private engagement in GSEC and how the various counties, communities, businesses all can see the “WIN” for the region. Regions are the economic unit of highest and best growth and GSEC has provided the platform for our region to WIN and the successes have been glorious!
What do you like most about living and doing business in the Greater Sacramento region?
I think our region has glorious features…an amazing place to live (beauty, infrastructure, access to varieties of options for recreation) and work (diversity of employment opportunities and ability to participate in established and start-up entities as well as a plethora of non-profit and missional activities). I think our people, our institutions, our geography, and the collective dynamism of this region make it a unique California opportunity for people, families, and businesses. Time for us to SHINE!