Stamford’s David Kooris Elected to Statewide Industry Board

Stamford resident David Kooris, President of Stamford Downtown, has been elected to the Board of Directors of the Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau (CTCSB). Kooris’ three-year term started on July 1, 2021. The Middletown, Conn.-based CTCSB is the State of Connecticut’s only statewide sales and marketing organization for meetings, conventions, and sports events.

“David Kooris has cultivated many partnerships with legislative, municipal, business and community leaders across the state, and he will be a great asset to the Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau as we sell our state to meeting planners and sports promoters across the U.S.,” explains Thomas Madden, Chair of the Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau and Director of Economic Development for the City of Stamford.

In addition to leading Stamford Downtown, the largest business improvement district in Connecticut, Kooris is Chair of the Connecticut Port Authority and is a graduate-level lecturer at Yale University’s School of Environment. Prior to January 2020, he served as Deputy Commissioner of the State of Connecticut’s Department of Economic and Community Development. Prior to that position, Kooris was the Connecticut Department of Housing’s Director of Resilience, and the City of Bridgeport’s Director of the Office of Planning and Economic Development. He began his career at the Regional Plan Association where he held several positions, culminating as Vice President and Connecticut Director.

As an independent consultant, Kooris has worked on high-speed rail-oriented development, sustainable communities, and urban revitalization projects in Canada, Mexico, Morocco, Peru, Spain, South Korea, Taiwan, and Turkey. A former elected official in Stamford, he held positions on the Board of Finance and Board of Representatives. Kooris holds a Master’s degree in City and Regional Planning and a Masters certificate in Urban Design from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Bachelor’s degree in Geography and Anthropology from McGill University in Montreal.

Two other new Board members also were elected to the Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau at the organization’s annual meeting in June. They are Heather Solomon, President and Founder of Solomon & Associates Event Management (S&A) in Glastonbury, Conn., and Jason Soucy, the Director of Business Development for the annual PGA TOUR Travelers Championship.

“The composition of our Board of Directors reflects many of the professions and businesses involved with our nation’s meetings, sports and hospitality industries,” adds Robert Murdock, President of the Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau. “David Kooris, Heather Solomon and Jason Soucy each bring specialized expertise and perspective to the organization as we work to attract new and retain existing business for our state.”

For more information about the Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau, visit www.CTmeetings.org or call 860-728-6789.