Economic Outlook Summit

Tarun Chopra, Vice President, Integration Executive, IBM, will present the keynote address: Balancing Ethics and Innovation: How to Harness Generative AI for Business Transformation at the 11^th Annual East Stroudsburg University Economic Outlook Summit on Friday, May 17, 2024 from 7:30 a.m. to noon at Kalahari Resorts and Conventions - Poconos.

Generative AI is revolutionizing the way businesses operate—fundamentally transforming everything from customer care, IT, to finance—giving shrewd adopters a solid leg up on their competition. However, if implemented without proper care, generative AI can open the door to data privacy concerns, legal liabilities, and a whole host of ethical issues. Join Tarun Chopra, Vice President, Integration Executive at IBM as he details how organizations can reinvent their core business processes with new strategies, skills, and policies, without putting their business—or their customers—at risk.

The Summit will also feature presentations on the economic resurgence underway in the Poconos: Carbon, Monroe, Pike and Wayne counties, a region that attracted more than 30 million visitors in 2023 with an economic impact of $4.3 billion.

• 7:30 - Breakfast & Networking
• 8:30 a.m. - Poconos: Year in Review 2023 VIDEO
• 8:40 a.m. - Kenneth Long, President, East Stroudsburg University, Welcome and Opening Remarks
• Video message: Senator John Fetterman
• 8:50 a.m. - Tarun Chopra, Vice President, Integration Executive, IBM, Keynote Speaker
• 9:25 a.m. - Ryotaro Tashiro, Senior Outreach Economist, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, Pocono Economic Scorecard Data Analysis
• 9:55 a.m. - Jennifer Gilburg, Deputy Secretary Technology and Entrepreneurship, PA Department of Community and Economic Development, Governor’s Economic Development Plan for Pennsylvania
• 10:15 a.m. - Break
• 10:30 a.m. - Matt Christopherson, Director, Business and Consumer Research, National Association of Realtors, Washington, D.C., Housing Statistics and Real Estate Market Trends
• 10:50 a.m. - Entrepreneurship in the Poconos VIDEO
• 10:55 a.m. - Entrepreneur Showcase: Meet Pocono Entrepreneurs
  • Facilitators: Patrice Dume, Director, ESU Business Accelerator and Entrepreneurship; George Boudman, Director of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Sturbridge Project
  • Carbon County- Jerry McAward, Owner, Lehighton Outdoor Center
  • Monroe County - Olga Diachuk, COO, Mosqitter
  • Pike County- Chris Morgan, Owner, M&S Septic Services. Morgan Excavation Services, Back Road Brewery and Restaurant
  • Wayne County - Jason Deron, Owner, Fly Leaf Printing
• 11:20 a.m. - Eliot Hamlisch, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, Amtrak
• 11:50 a.m. - Conclusion

Poconos: Four County Region - Carbon, Monroe, Pike and Wayne