Merchants and property owners in downtown Port Coquitlam have a new champion.
And Susanna Walden will likely be a familiar face for many local business people, having previously worked for the New View Society, the Tri-Cities Chamber of Commerce and Retail BC.
Last week, Walden was hired as the executive director of the Downtown Port Coquitlam Business Improvement Association (BIA) to replace Kayla Steele. The Coquitlam resident has the contract for a year and will work a 28-hour week compared with Steele's 40 hours.
Walden told The Tri-City News last Friday she has come in at an ideal time while the city is still on a high from the inaugural PoCo Grand Prix and just before the 12th annual Downtown Port Coquitlam Car Show on Sunday — a gathering that's expected to draw up to 60,000 visitors to the core.
Her first task as executive director will be to survey the 300-plus merchants and owners about the professional cycling race last month. Walden, who volunteered for the event, said she wants to gain feedback to prepare for next year (the city has committed to a total of five years with the BC Superweek organizers).
Besides the outreach, Walden also wants to work with downtown retailers on issues such as crime prevention, hiring and retention, and window beautification. And she's eager to take part in the city's upcoming stakeholder panel to review its downtown policy (the city recently issued an RFP for a consultant to update Downtown Action Plan with the advisory group).
"I want to be a voice for business," she said. "There's a heart and a pulse to this downtown that I don't see anywhere else. It's a true downtown and the potential is fantastic."
BIA president Brad Fenton said Walden is the right fit to lead the group, given her organizational and people skills. "We welcome Susanna and her ability to engage our member businesses and bring new ideas to the Downtown Port Coquitlam BIA," he said.
Walden's appointment comes a month after the Austin Heights BIA in Coquitlam welcomed Lisa Landry as executive director to replace Erin Davidson.
