About

The Inland Empire is one of the fastest-growing population and economic centers in the country. Inland Economic Growth & Opportunity (IEGO), a regional cross-sector, bi-county collaborative, is a network of community based organizations, businesses, institutions and stakeholders, committed to growing middle-class jobs and pursuing inclusive economic development to improve the quality of life for all Riverside and San Bernardino County residents. IEGO’s work focuses on building industry clusters in Sustainable Logistics, Cybersecurity, Advanced Manufacturing and Green Technology. Our success draws from the spirit of collaboration and the shared values of equity, innovation and sustainability.

Private and public sector leaders from Riverside and San Bernardino counties have catalyzed an effort to forge a strategic agenda for advancing inclusive growth and opportunity that will benefit residents of both counties and put the region on the path to a more prosperous and secure future. This strategic agenda endeavors to lift thousands out of poverty and broaden local access to opportunity by investing in better pathways to good jobs, improving educational outcomes, inspiring the region’s brightest young people to stay and strengthening civic infrastructure necessary to address emerging opportunities.

IEGO Factsheet

Mission & Values

Coordinating Council

4th Sector Innovations
Amazon
CA Fwd
CA Fwd Young Leaders Council
CA Workforce Development Board
California Baptist University
Cassandra Banks Foundation
Center for Sustainable Energy
Chaffey College
Chino Valley Chamber of Commerce
City of Banning
City of Chino
City of Moreno Valley
City of San Bernardino
Coachella Valley Economic Partnership
Community Action Partnership – Riverside
Converge One
Corona/Norco United Way
County of Riverside
County of San Bernardino Economic Development

CSU San Bernardino
Goodwill of Southern CA
Growing Inland Achievement
IBEW Local 47
Inland Empire Community Foundation
Inland Empire Economic Partnership
Inland Empire Health Plan
La Sierra University
Local Equity
Loma Linda University Health
Luminex Software
Microenterprise Collaborative
Mountain Desert Career Pathways
National Community Renaissance/
Hope Through Housing Foundation Opportunity Riverside
Proficiency Capital, LLC
Raincross Group
Rialto Unified School District
Riverside Chamber
Riverside Community College District

Riverside Workforce Development Board
San Bernardino Community College District
San Bernardino County Transportation Authority
San Bernardino Trades Council
Sigma Beta Xi
Small Business Majority
SoCal Edison
Southern California Gas Co.
UC Riverside
Uplift San Bernardino
Voice Media Ventures
Western Riverside Council of Governments
WB Consulting / NAIOP
UCR Inland Center for Sustainable Development
Young Visionaries
Youth Action Project
Xtelligent
And growing!!!

Steering Committee

Co-Chair Karen Suarez

Uplift San Bernardino

Co-Chair Suzanne Holland

Riverside County Office of Economic Development

Ron Loveridge

UC Riverside

Ryan Niesen

San Bernardino County Office of Economic Development

Debra Mustain

Riverside Community College District

Bill Blankenship

NAIOP

Tomás Gómez-Arias

CSU San Bernardino

Executive Director

Please help us welcome Matthew Mena!

The Inland Economic Growth & Opportunity Initiative, or IEGO, announced the appointment of Matthew Mena as its executive director. Mena is an experienced advocate for the Inland Empire, having served in various roles at GO-Biz and the County of San Bernardino Economic Development Department. He has a talent for finding creative solutions to complex problems in both the public and private sectors. Through his work, he has helped create and retain over 1000 jobs and has collaborated with cities, counties, industry, and community-based organizations to enhance their economic development programs and strategies. As a native of the Inland Empire, Matthew is passionate about contributing to the economic growth of the bi-county region.

Vision

An Inland Empire economy that provides family-sustaining jobs with upward opportunities, enables a high quality of life and supports shared prosperity for all residents and businesses.

Operating Values

Economic capacity

IEGO fosters learning, investments, and collaboration that help the region identify new job and business creation strategies.

Economic opportunity

IEGO believes that access to opportunity is essential, but not sufficient, to close the persistent racial, gender, and economic equity gaps that exist in the Inland Empire. Wealth-building, housing and food security, and other place-based conditions present recurring barriers that must be addressed to close these gaps.

Data-driven decision making

IEGO uses quantitative and qualitative data to identify opportunities, barriers, and sound long-term development strategies that can affect the root cause of economic inequity.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

IEGO attracts, elevates, and invests in businesses, leaders, and institutions that embody the values of diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism to promote economic justice in our region. IEGO views the Inland Empire’s racial and immigrant diversity as one of its greatest strengths and believes that diverse decision-making processes and power-sharing are foundational for closing the equity gaps that exist in the IE.

Innovation

IEGO prioritizes creative social, technical, and economic solutions to our region’s most pressing challenges, ensuring a broad welcome to new ideas that touch the root causes of issues and solve long-term and systemic problems.

Local capacity building

IEGO’s efforts result in the networks, tools, and strategies that give our local institutions, businesses, and residents new abilities to advance economic development and justice.

Place-based investment

IEGO recognizes the investment and wealth disparities within different Inland Empire geographies, and we incorporate community development and the needs of specific communities into IEGO strategies.

Environmental sustainability

IEGO recognizes the fundamental role of natural resources and ecosystems in the long-term viability of the Inland Empire and we embed this understanding into IEGO’s adoption of economic and community development strategies.

Mission

IEGO strives to do economic development differently by

1

Developing asset-based, participatory strategies for generating quality jobs for those with and without college degrees in opportunity sectors that can close historic equity gaps.

2

Securing investments to advance the region’s existing and needed infrastructure to implement cluster-based development strategies.

3

Strengthening the civic capacity and alignment for bi-county and cross-sectoral collaboration to develop shared goals and carry out innovative solutions.

4

Amplifying the key messages of IEGO’s mission and values, partners and strategies through a range of communications tools.

5

Advocating for policies that reduce barriers for economic and racial equity and inclusion that fosters new investments and financial parity for the Inland Empire.