Marin Economic Forum: Did you know? The Marin Economic Forum has met its goals

The MEF Board of Directors recently decided to dissolve the organization effective January 2025. The reason behind the decision was a robust analysis that showed the county and at least 4 other jurisdictions had added staff resources to focus on economic development. When MEF was founded in 2010, there was no staff at the county, or any jurisdiction, with this responsibility and that was perceived as a threat to the economy following the Great Recession of 2008-9.
 
MEF benefitted from incredible support for over 10 years from the County of Marin, jurisdictions, private businesses, non-profit and educational partners, and a host of community partners - - too many to name here. We would like to single out the contributions of Dr. Robert Eyler, who not only served as the Chief Economist, but was involved early in MEF’s founding, serving as the first CEO. 

Over the past 12 years, MEF has conducted several key studies and reports, utilized across the county, on subjects like affordable housing, workforce development, and small business. MEF has also hosted multiple events, including an annual economic conference, “Forecasting the Future”, which was the largest gathering of community leaders focused on the county economy. MEF also produced the first-ever economic strategy for the county which was adopted in 2022. In summary, MEF not only met its own original goals to provide economic expertise and services, but served as a valuable community asset. Our Board of Directors was satisfied that this work can continue through the other resources that are now in place.