This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. Cities just like people are always evolving. Chattanooga has a 30 year history of re-invention and looking ahead but What's Next? and What do we see on the horizon? In the 1980s, we asked these questions out of crises. Today we do so in anticipation of the next big thing. Who are we poised to become as a city? Will we be a better Chattanooga for Chattanoogans, or a copy of someone else’s vision? Citizen engagement has played a major role in Chattanooga’s renaissance and why we are unique today. What’s next in the life of our city depends on you and it depends on me.

River City Company President and CEO, Kim White lives and breathes downtown Chattanooga. In fact, you could say that she is downtown’s biggest ambassador. Not only does she talk the talk about how fantastic this city is, she walks the walk (literally)...working, living and playing in the heart of the city.

Whether it's her morning walk with her truffle dog, Bella, to Bluff View or an end of the day dinner at one of her favorite downtown restaurants with her husband of 25 years, Joe Dan, there's no doubt that this is her home. A Chattanooga native who moved away for over 20 years, Kim will tell you she is amazed at how far her city has come since she left in the early '80s. What's even more amazing is the fact that for the past 5 years, she has gotten to put her passion into practice leading an organization responsible for so many of the positive changes in downtown Chattanooga.

For 30 years, River City Company has played an integral role in the revitalization of downtown Chattanooga. Through partnerships with local government and the private and philanthropic sectors, the organization works to attract, expand and support efforts to advance downtown. They live their tag line, "Working to Keep Downtown Working."

Before coming to River City Company in 2009, Kim served as president and CEO of the Corker Group as well as Luken Holdings, managing and leasing over 2 million square feet of real estate. Prior to returning to Chattanooga, she had a successful 16-year career with Fortune 500 Company, ALLTEL Communications, which took her to numerous cities throughout the South. Today, she comes to work every day excited about what’s next for the city in partnership with so many others in the community. With the city’s future growth, Kim hopes Chattanooga's local flavor and originality will continue to be unique and draw people to our city.

Kim loves her alma mater, UTC, where she says she honed her leadership skills as an active, engaged student on campus. She graduated with a degree in art, which she credits in helping her think outside the box. She is a constant cheerleader for the University. In addition to being a past President of the UTC Alumni Board, she serves the University as Real Estate Chair for the UC Foundation and the UT Foundation and is a member of the Chancellor's Roundtable. She is a board member of the Enterprise Center, Chamber of Commerce and an active member of the downtown Rotary and Signal Mountain Presbyterian Church. In addition, she co-chairs the Mayor's Downtown Taskforce in the Chattanooga Forward initiative.

Throughout her career in Chattanooga, she has served on numerous other boards, including the Erlanger Hospital Authority and chaired a variety of charity fundraisers. Her community work, in addition to her career path, has helped shape her vision on how best to move our city forward.


About TEDx, x = independently organized event In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.* (*Subject to certain rules and regulations)