About the Project

From 2024 to 2026, Gaby Seltzer, a community resilience practitioner serving as an Economic Recovery Corps Fellow, and Bret Sweet, an ecosystem builder serving as Economic Development Program Manager with the City of Antioch, partnered through the Economic Recovery Corps Fellowship to address longstanding economic disparities in East Contra Costa County, California. Historically shaped as a commuter city (also known as a bedroom community), the region offered affordable housing and access to major job centers, yet lacked the local employment base needed for residents to thrive where they live.

Together, Seltzer and Sweet applied an ecosystem-building approach to help shift Antioch’s economic trajectory. By strengthening collaboration among city departments, local businesses, and regional partners, they worked to generate quality jobs, attract investment, and build capacity for continued economic growth. This case study documents the strategies, projects, and outcomes of that effort—serving as a resource for other communities navigating similar challenges.

Antioch, CA - Heart of Innovation

Nestled at the confluence of the San Joaquin and Sacramento Rivers, Antioch sits at the heart of Northern California’s economic engine. Within a short commute lie the region’s key population and innovation centers:

San Francisco for marketing and global connections, Berkeley for research, Palo Alto for venture capital, San Jose for advanced manufacturing, Stockton for ports and logistics, Modesto for agriculture, and Sacramento for public policy.

Together, these cities form a vibrant megaregion powered by Antioch’s skilled and diverse workforce.

Commuter Strain = Community Strain

Yet, despite its advantageous location and rich human capital, approximately 90% of Antioch’s working residents travel outside the city each day for employment. This extensive out-commuting contributes to conditions that collectively limit the city's ability to build a strong, sustainable local economy:

Economic Impacts: Talent drain, reduced spending at local businesses, productivity decreases
Environmental Impacts: greenhouse gas emissions, worsening air quality, noise and light pollution
Community Impacts: Less time at home, low civic engagement, diminished sense of place

Interventions

The fellowship’s work aimed to change that pattern by transitioning Antioch from a commuter city to a connected employment center. The project focused on creating pathways for quality local jobs, expanding business support networks, and unlocking redevelopment opportunities through coordinated systems thinking. Core initiatives included:

Antioch Business Collaborative: Aligning business support organizations to better serve entrepreneurs and employers.
Business Associations: Strengthening connections within commercial districts and shared industry clusters.
Procurement Excellence: Using local government purchasing power to expand opportunities for Antioch-based firms.
Medical Innovation District: Building a bridge between local talent and healthcare industry growth.
Industrial Zones and Brownfield Redevelopment: Preparing sites for employment-generating reuse.
Clean Technology Hub: Equipping city leaders with a roadmap to grow the clean energy and green infrastructure sectors.

Together, these efforts represent a coordinated approach to ecosystem development designed not only to attract outside investment, but also to empower local businesses and residents to drive Antioch’s future economy.

About the Initiatives

Laying the Groundwork in City Hall

For roughly a decade, the City of Antioch operated without a dedicated economic development function. That changed when the City reestablished the department and hired Kwame Reed as Economic Development Director. Under his leadership, Antioch adopted an Economic Development Strategic Plan, secured a department budget, and brought Bret Sweet on as Economic Development Program Manager to help turn that plan into action.

Together, Reed and Sweet designed the fellowship scope and applied to the Economic Recovery Corps program, creating the foundation for the host–fellow partnership that ultimately paired Antioch with Gaby Seltzer and made this body of work possible.

Economic Recovery Corps

The Economic Recovery Corps (ERC) Fellowship, which made this partnership possible, was launched to build capacity in communities disproportionately affected by the COVID‑19 pandemic. Funded by the U.S. Economic Development Administration through the CARES Act and managed by the International Economic Development Council, ERC places mid-career professionals in communities across the country to accelerate inclusive economic revitalization.

Through the fellowship, Antioch gained access to a nationwide network of practitioners, research, and best practices, connecting local innovation to a broader movement toward equitable recovery and regional collaboration. The outcomes of this project reflect both the city’s commitment to inclusive growth and the fellowship’s mission to strengthen community capacity from within.

About the Fellowship

Team

Bret Alexander Sweet is the Economic Development Manager with the City of Pleasant Hill. With two decades of experience, Bret has a track record of designing companies to inspire positive human behavior change. He's founded digital media, social enterprise, and education ventures.

Notably, in 2016, he secured three million dollars through the Chevron eQuip Project Pitch to establish CoBiz Richmond, a downtown business incubator and co-working space that opened in 2019. In 2020, Bret pioneered emergency grants for small businesses in Contra Costa County, earning him the Economic Justice award from the East Bay Leadership Council (EBLC). In 2024, Bret created the Antioch Business Collaborative (ABC) which provided free support for local small businesses and nonprofits, offering one-on-one advising, workshops, and access to capital through a network of small business resource providers.

Born in San Francisco and raised between Berkeley/Oakland and Fair Oaks, Bret graduated from Berkeley High School in 1995. He holds a bachelor's degree in Broadcasting Electronic Communications Arts from San Francisco State University as well as an MBA in Entrepreneurship and Marketing from the University of San Francisco. Bret is also a certified entrepreneurship instructor trainer.

Host

Bret Sweet

bretsweet.com

Gaby Seltzer serves as an Economic Recovery Corps Fellow with the City of Antioch. As one of 65 EDA-funded fellows nationwide, they act as a field catalyst to build and strengthen local efforts alongside the City of Antioch for 2.5 years.

Gaby's professional background is in grassroots food systems, including nonprofit and small business experience in food waste recovery, regenerative meat, and local food access. As Program Manager of a social enterprise called Healthy Corners, they established groundbreaking SNAP Matching and WIC authorization initiatives in the corner stores serving Washington DC’s food apartheid neighborhoods.

Gaby has also provided economic and environmental resilience consulting for a number of organizations. Projects include designing a data portal to drive climate investments to frontline communities at the City of Seattle, and building datasets and learning materials to drive climate adaptation programming at Pacific Gas & Electric Company.

Gaby has an MBA and MPA in Sustainability from Presidio Graduate School, as well as their Certification of Economic Development (CEcD).

Fellow

Gaby Seltzer

gseltzer@economicrecoverycorps.org