Lawmakers representing different political parties and states gathered at the LA Athletic Club last week for a first-of-its-kind leadership development and policy exchange forum on the topic of energy innovation.

These elected officials are participants in the Leadership Alliance for a More Perfect Union (LAMP), a project of the Rainey Center. This LAMP event featured three days of engaging dialogue between state policymakers and a diverse group of experts from a wide variety of disciplines, including industry, government, and academia. During the forum, participants collaborated to share insights, provide feedback, analyze solutions and offer legislators a firsthand look at clean-tech startups, energy innovation, and conservation.

The event included a visit to the USC Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy which advances post-partisanship and collaboration for leaders from both main political parties to "work together to find the best ideas and solutions to benefit the people they serve." This event was highlighted in a recent episode of the Political Climate podcast with Julia Pyper.

Attendees also visited the La Kretz Innovation Campus, a hub for incubating clean tech startups and transforming markets. Participants were not only given a tour of the facility, but they were able to engage with the energy innovators and see new technology up close. The focus of the visit was on how markets and regulatory relief can spur the energy innovation economy in the lawmaker's home cities and states.

The Rainey Center's LAMP program provides policy education and leadership development support for state policymakers. Sign up for updates from LAMP here.