1 I appreciate my colleague, Tom Barkin, leading this event, and it is a pleasure to also be with Sherrie Brach Armstrong, CEO of the Community Foundation for a greater Richmond; Tim Davey, Timmons Group economic development manager; Shawn Smith, director of workforce development at Goodwill of Central and Coastal Virginia; and Robert Ukrop, chairman and CEO of Ukrop’s Homestyle Foods.
Today’s community listening session is part of a series called “Fed Listens.” The Federal Reserve is undertaking a review to make sure we are carrying out the monetary policy goals assigned to us by the Congress in the most effective way we can.2 In conducting this review, we are reaching out to communities around the country in sessions like this to understand how you are experiencing the economy day to day.