The second installment in an economic series in Sonoma County will take place Wednesday and look at the challenges faced by and economic impacts of businesses owned by people who identify as Black, indigenous and people of color.

“Economic Perspective: BIPOC Impact” starts at 8 a.m. on Zoom and on Facebook. The event is free and is sponsored by the Sonoma County Economic Development Board, which helps businesses start, grow and relocate to Sonoma County.

Keynoting the event is Marlene Orozco, the lead research analyst for the Stanford Latino Entrepreneur Initiative at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

“This really is an EDB first. It will be the first time we welcome a person of color as our keynote researcher and the first time we really take the opportunity to dive into the challenges that persist for BIPOC-owned businesses,” said Sheba Person-Whitley, executive director for the Sonoma County Economic Development Board.

Those interested in attending the event can register online.

Keith Burbank is currently a fulltime reporter covering Alameda County and Oakland news for Bay City News. He has also worked on the Data Points project for Local News Matters, finding trends and stories about the region through data. In 2019, he was a California Fellow at the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism, producing a series about homeless deaths in Santa Clara County. He worked as a swing shift editor for the newswire for several years as well. Outside of journalism, Keith enjoys computer programming, math, economics and music.