Current News Coverage

June 13, 2021 - (Palo Alto Online) - Federal program that helps farmers during the pandemic is changing the local food landscape: ...the average rate of food insecurity was about 17% in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties prepandemic, according to the Silicon Valley Institute for Regional Studies, which authored a report on regional food insecurity. More

June 6, 2021 - (Palo Alto Online) - Around Town: Children's Health Council prepares to search for new leader: Jeremy Weinstein [is] partnering with the Silicon Valley Community Foundation and Joint Venture Silicon Valley to bring faculty-led teams and higher education institutions together for "research-impact partnerships that investigate regional systemic inequities." More

June 4, 2021 - (Detroit Free Press) - Ford stock was cheaper than a sandwich. Now shareholders are gloating. "I love everything coming out of Ford lately. I’m finally hearing them talk like a Silicon Valley company instead of a stodgy old world company," said Russell Hancock, president and CEO of Joint Venture Silicon Valley More

June 4, 2021 - (Philadelphia Citizen) - JOBS, JOBS, JOBS: Silicon Valley was actually birthed by something called Joint Venture Silicon Valley, a type of task force that ushered in uniform permitting and licensing requirements throughout the burgeoning region. More

May 30, 2021 - (San Francisco Chronicle) - Seeing Silicon Valley’ book spotlights people lost in the shadows of the tech capital:  According to the 2021 Silicon Valley Index, the region was down 61,000 jobs compared to the same period last year, and the unemployment rate within the “in-person” economy skyrocketed above 30% during the pandemic. More

May 20, 2021 - (Patch) - Venture Capitalist Bringing Green To Downtown San Jose: Dillabough addressed a roundtable hosted by Joint Venture Silicon Valley about downtown's future... More

May 19, 2021  - (Silicon Valley Business Journal) - Latinx and philanthropic groups combine efforts to back targeted $10M fund: In San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, those who identify as Hispanic or Latino comprise 24.7% of the population, according to the Silicon Valley Institute for Regional Studies. More

May 19, 2021 - (Stanford News) - Stanford supports community projects to address pandemic challenges: In Collaboration With: Silicon Valley Community Foundation, Joint Venture Silicon Valley...Seeking to tackle the drivers of systemic inequity in Silicon Valley...More

May 19, 2021 - (San Jose Spotlight) - Venture capitalist bringing green to downtown San Jose: Gary Dillabough addressed a roundtable hosted by Joint Venture Silicon Valley about downtown’s future, including the developments he and business partner Jeff Arrillaga purchased in the last decade. More

May 18, 2021 - (KPIX-TV) - COVID Reopening: Santa Clara County Latest To Enter Least-Restrictive Yellow Tier: “I’m imagining a world in which vaccination becomes a requirement,” said Russell Hancock, CEO of Joint Venture Silicon Valley. More

May 18, 2021  - (Yahoo News) - Silicon Valley Business Required to Track Employees' Vaccination Status: "It's easy to imagine is because we already have the historical precedent for it," said Russell Hancock, CEO of Joint Venture Silicon Valley. "It is a requirement. Vaccination is a requirement for public schools, other public institutions." More

May 12, 2021 - (San Jose Spotlight) - San Jose mayor, housing advocates talk post-pandemic housing: The affordable housing roundtable included Rachel Massaro, vice president of local think tank Joint Venture Silicon Valley...More

May 8, 2021 - (New York Times) - Seeing the Real Faces of Silicon Valley: During the depths of the pandemic, four in 10 families in the area with children could not be sure that they would have enough to eat on any given day, according to an analysis by the Silicon Valley Institute for Regional Studies. More

May 3, 2021 - (San Jose Spotlight) - San Jose airport grapples with fewer passengers: “Revenues were completely savaged,” said Russell Hancock, president of nonprofit economic think tank Joint Venture Silicon Valley. “But because of enlightened fiscal management, they had emergency funds in place so they could keep the airport operating. More

April 30, 2021 - (Forbes) - The Case For California: Why Stories About The Golden State’s Demise Are Overblown - “In other places, a failed venture can become this badge of shame that shadows you your entire life,” said Russell Hancock, president of Joint Venture Silicon Valley, a Bay area non-profit organization. More

April 27, 2021 - (KRON4) - Moving to the Bay Area or leaving? Here’s where people are relocating: According to the 2021 Silicon Valley Index put together by Joint Venture Silicon Valley, 29% remained in the Bay Area, 6% moved to the nearby Monterey area, 6% to the Sacramento area, 8% to San Joaquin Valley, and 14% to Southern California. More

April 22, 2021 - (Mercury News) - Opinion: California must accelerate its climate leadership - Joint Venture board member Dave Pine, Supervisor in San Mateo County, and Russell Hancock, CEO of Joint Venture urge climate action in California. More

April 20, 2021 - (San Jose Spotlight) - Silicon Valley unemployment rate drops during slow recovery: The data analysis comes from Joint Venture Silicon Valley’s Institute for Regional Studies, the nonprofit’s research arm that publishes the Silicon Valley Index annually. More

April 19, 2021 - (Mountain View Voice) - Mountain View names new lead of economic development as businesses reel from COVID-19: [Lang] chaired an initiative by Joint Venture Silicon Valley called the Silicon Valley Economic Development Alliance More

April 18, 2021 - (Patch) - Silicon Valley's Unemployment Rate Declines: The Joint Venture Silicon Valley's Institute for Regional Studies, a San Jose economic research organization, released an analysis Friday on unemployment rates in Silicon Valley. More

April 18, 2021 - (SFGATE) - Sunday Morning News Roundup: The Joint Venture Silicon Valley's Institute for Regional Studies, a San Jose economic research organization, released an analysis Friday on unemployment rates in Silicon Valley. More

April 16, 2021 - (Silicon Valley Business Journal) - Silicon Valley unemployment rate drops to November 2020 levels: The rate fell 0.3 percentage points from February, according to Joint Venture Silicon Valley's Institute for Regional Studies More

April 16, 2021 - (News Break) - Silicon Valley unemployment rate drops to November 2020 levels: Silicon Valley's unemployment rate hit 5.1% in March, its lowest showing since November 2020, according to an analysis conducted by Joint Venture Silicon Valley and the Institute for Regional Studies. More

April 7, 2021 - (Market Watch) - Asian-American business leaders rally against wave of hatred: ‘We don’t deserve to live in fear in our own country’: In 2019, those from Asian countries made up 56.5% of tech workers with bachelor’s degrees in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, according to Joint Venture Silicon Valley’s latest index. More 

April 5, 2021 - (San Jose Spotlight) - Why has building housing in San Jose become increasingly unaffordable? It’s a common refrain in Silicon Valley, where the median monthly rent is more than $3,000, according to the Silicon Valley Institute for Regional Studies. More

April 2, 2021 - (San Jose Inside) - Op-Ed: Our Post-Covid Lives Shouldn’t Go Back to ‘Normal’—They Should Go Back Better - I worked with Joint Venture Silicon Valley to expand infrastructure within our community’s “internet deserts.” More

March 29, 2021 - (Stanford Daily) - Stanford and Silicon Valley: Storied past, uncertain future - “This is a big deal,” said Russell Hancock, president and CEO of Joint Venture, a non-profit Silicon Valley think tank. “Oracle is an iconic company. It’s been synonymous with Silicon Valley for its entire history. More

March 25, 2021 - (San Jose Blog) - Silicon Valley Annual Check-up: Joint Venture CEO Russel Hancock summarizes the key learnings from the 2021 Silicon Valley Index. This year, special attention was paid to the impacts of the Coronavirus on our local economy. More

March 24, 2021 - (Wired) - After a Remote Year, Tech’s Shadow Workforce Barely Hangs On: Doing so has “raised huge philosophical questions,” says Russell Hancock, the president of Joint Venture Silicon Valley, a think tank in the region. More

March 21, 2021 - (Pleasanton Weekly) - 'We were in trouble': Bay Area health officials look back on anniversary of first shelter-in-place order - So we had 20 percent of the positives, but were only submitting 5 percent of the specimens," Cody said during Joint Venture Silicon Valley's State of the Valley event last month. More

March 19, 2021 - (Mountain View Voice) - A weak army fighting an all-out war: On Feb. 24 at Joint Venture's State of the Valley Conference, Cody stated, "We now know much of COVID-19 transmission is aerosol or airborne, a bit of it is droplets, and very little is on surface." More

March 19, 2021 - (Mountain View Voice) - Data reveals how the COVID-19 pandemic fueled Silicon Valley's economic divide: The Palo Alto Weekly, The Almanac and Mountain View Voice have woven together data based on Joint Venture Silicon Valley's State of the Valley report into a by-the-numbers graphic. More

March 18, 2021 - (San Jose Inside) - Altered Valley: What a Year of Pandemic Has Done to Our Lives - “This economy is unbelievably strong and resilient, it’s just incredible,” says Russell Hancock, president of research think tank Joint Venture Silicon Valley. More

March 17, 2021 - (Patch) - 'We Were In Trouble': Bay Area Recalls First Stay-Home Order - So we had 20 percent of the positives, but were only submitting 5 percent of the specimens," Cody said during Joint Venture Silicon Valley's State of the Valley event last month. More

March 15, 2021 - (KRON4) - Despite reports of Bay Area exodus, many are staying in California: “The index shows that Silicon Valley is a region that is on the one hand thriving, our tech economy, they turned in a banner year any way that you measure it,” said Russell Hancock, CEO of Joint Venture. More

March 9, 2021 - (Mercury News) - COVID: Here’s why fewer in the Bay Area qualify for stimulus payments - Russell Hancock, chief executive officer of Joint Venture Silicon Valley, a policy analysis organization, said the pandemic has had a very uneven impact on the Bay Area’s different job sectors. More

March 4, 2021 - (KRON4) - Silicon Valley school dropout rate increasing due to COVID-19: study: According to the 2021 Silicon Valley Index, released by nonprofit Joint Venture Silicon Valley’s Institute for Regional Studies, high school graduation rates fell significantly in the 2019-20 school year. More

March 1, 2021 - (San Jose Spotlight) - COVID-19 pushes Santa Clara County dropout rate up: The 2021 Silicon Valley Index, released by nonprofit Joint Venture Silicon Valley’s Institute for Regional Studies, showed this was especially true for homeless youth, English-language learners, Hispanic and low-income students. More

March 1, 2021 - (San Jose Spotlight) - Staedler: Insights from this year’s State of the Valley - Joint Venture Silicon Valley hosted its yearly State of the Valley conference virtually last week that discusses regional issues and the realities that our region has faced from the COVID-19 pandemic and other challenges such as the regional economic drivers. More

February 26, 2021 - (Silicon Valley Business Journal) - Report: Bay Area's venture dominance isn't threatened by rise of other hubs - But PitchBook's report echoes one from Joint Venture Silicon Valley this week that drew similar conclusions. More

February 26, 2021 - (Archyde-Reuters) - In Silicon Valley, market caps are soaring, but inequalities are still more glaring: This year, we have to face it: the pandemic has enriched the rich, while the poor are dying. “, Russell Hancock, director of the Joint Venture Silicon Valley study center, said, opening the organization’s annual conference on Tuesday, February 23. More

February 26, 2021 - (California News Times) - Julián Castro Says Silicon Valley will be a National Model for Addressing Inequality: In a keynote speech at Joint Venture Silicon Valley’s annual State of the Valley event on Wednesday, Castro said, “There are some nasty and difficult issues to address, such as inequality in education and lack of affordable housing opportunities. More

February 25, 2021 - (San Jose Inside) - Dr. Cody on Covid Anniversary: ‘We’re Not Going to Be the Same’: “I remember that about a year ago, we felt quite blind...,” Cody said during Joint Venture Silicon Valley’s annual State of the Valley event Wednesday. More

February 24, 2021 - (Washington Latest) - Conference tackles Silicon Valley's woes post COVID-19, starting with workplace diversity: Each year Joint Venture Silicon Valley, a local nonprofit, hosts the event to discuss the findings of its Silicon Valley Index report: a 100+ page gold mine of data detailing just how the South Bay is fairing in terms of economic growth and success. More

February 24, 2021 - (San Jose Inside) - What’s the Future of South Bay Transit Post-Pandemic? But what comes next will rely largely on the region’s businesses, he said Tuesday during a panel for Joint Venture Silicon Valley’s annual State of the Valley conference. More

February 24, 2021 - (San Jose Spotlight) - 2020 seen as ‘catalytic moment’ for change at Silicon Valley conference: Economic recovery and redesigned workplaces were the hot topics Wednesday for those attending the second day of Joint Venture’s 17th State of the Valley conference, which brought together business and community leaders to imagine the future for Silicon Valley. More

February 24, 2021 - (News Break) - 2020 seen as ‘catalytic moment’ for change at Silicon Valley conference: Joint Venture CEO Russell Hancock on Wednesday started the conference with a conversation with San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo and Nicole Taylor, president of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation... More

February 23, 2021 - (Silicon Valley) - Sal Pizzaro: ...the tech economy and housing prices did during the pandemic (good) compared to other parts of the Bay Area economy (bad) — all topics that Joint Venture Silicon Valley CEO Russell Hancock addressed during his opening remarks Tuesday at the region’s 17th annual “town hall” meeting.   More

February 23, 2021 - (San Jose Spotlight) - Conference tackles Silicon Valley’s woes post COVID-19, starting with workplace diversity: Community leaders gathered at Joint Venture’s 17th State of the Valley conference Tuesday to discuss strategies for helping Silicon Valley address inequities. More

February 23, 2021 - (This Week) - The Best of Times. The Worst of Times: I spent some time this week attending the 2021 State of Silicon Valley event produced by Joint Venture Silicon Valley. More

February 20, 2021 - (MarketWatch) - Opinion: Some tech workers are leaving San Francisco. They won’t be missed - And, as the Silicon Valley Index showed last week, their growth has helped to exacerbate inequality throughout the region, which the COVID-19 pandemic only amplified and accelerated. More

February 20, 2021 - (Market Watch) - Big Tech is swallowing the rest of Silicon Valley: “Will Silicon Valley stay Silicon Valley? It depends on your perspective,” Rachel Massaro, director of research at Joint Venture Silicon Valley’s Institute for Regional Studies, told MarketWatch. More

February 19, 2021 - (IPS Journal) - Tech workers are finally taking on Silicon Valley: ‘Google et al. recruited people by promising them that they would be working in a different kind of company – one that is, above all, transparent and pursuing a mission to make the world a better place,’ explains Margaret O’Mara, a historian of Silicon Valley [and Distinguished Fellow at Joint Venture]... More

February 19, 2021 - (Otto Trading) - Silicon Valley is not experiencing a technology exodus and money is flowing at a record rate, for a lucky few. Joint Venture Silicon Valley released its annual Silicon Valley index this week detailing what happened in the region last time. The report showed a record venture capital investment in Bay Area startups, along with booming market capitalization for public technology... More

February 19, 2021 - (Money Times) - No Silicon Valley Exodus After All? But 'Carnage' of the Poor is Expected: "I think we can all calm down," Rachel Massaro, Joint Venture's director of research, explained in a news briefing regarding the index. More

February 19, 2021  - (MarketWatch) - Silicon Valley is not suffering a tech exodus, and money is flowing in at record rate — for a fortunate few: “Today, we must frankly admit that the pandemic has made the rich richer while the poor are dying,” said Russell Hancock, chief executive of Joint Venture Silicon Valley, which published its annual Silicon Valley Index this week... More

February 19, 2021 - (Science Friday) - Reprogramming Labor In Tech: SciFri producer Christie Taylor talks to legal scholar Veena Dubal, and historian Margaret O’Mara [Distinguished Fellow at Joint Venture], about this rise in union activity, and the way tech companies have impacted our lives—not just for their customers, but also for their workers. More

February 18, 2021 - (World Journal - Chinese) - Under the epidemic, Silicon Valley jobs have dropped sharply: …according to a report by Joint Venture Silicon Valley, a think tank headquartered in San Jose, some industries have been hit far more than others while others actually increased jobs, such as the technology industry. More

February 17, 2021 - (Yahoo News) - Data shows Silicon Valley's low-wage workers hit hard by pandemic: Analysis contained in Joint Venture's new "Silicon Valley Index" points out, for example, that unemployment brushed close to 12 percent, worse than during the 2008 recession and the dot-com bust. More

February 17, 2021 - (Silicon Valley) - These two Bay Area cities fall in ‘best performing’ report: Joint Venture Silicon Valley estimated nearly 200,000 Bay Area residents were at risk of not making their rent or mortgage at the end of 2020. More

February 17, 2021 - (ABC) - New data shows Silicon Valley's low-wage workforce hit hard by pandemic: "It was upwards of 30 percent for some segments of our population, particularly those who were earning poverty wages," said Rachel Massaro, research director at Joint Venture Silicon Valley's Institute for Regional Studies. More

February 17, 2021 - (San Jose Spotlight) - Report details stunning depth of inequality in Silicon Valley since COVID-19: The 2021 Silicon Valley Index, released by the nonprofit Joint Venture Silicon Valley’s Institute for Regional Studies details how stark inequities in the local economy, health, hunger and digital access are more pronounced than ever before. More

February 16, 2021 - (Silicon Valley Business Journal) - How Silicon Valley became a bigger tale of two economies during the Covid-19 pandemic: "It's strange to talk about how well we're doing, even though we know there's all kinds of pain around us," said Russell Hancock, the CEO of Joint Venture Silicon Valley, the think tank that puts together the Index. More

February 16, 2021 - (Mercury News) -  Silicon Valley suffers huge job losses in 2020, but tech gains jobs: report - “We have a tale of two economies and a tale of two recoveries,” Russell Hancock, president of Joint Venture Silicon Valley, said during a news briefing to discuss the new report. More 

February 16, 2021 - (KQED) - New California Bill Takes Aim at Non-Disclosure Agreements That Block Talk of Harassment: "I don’t think that you will get a lot of pushback anywhere  in Silicon Valley on this type of legislation. That day is past," said Russell Hancock, president and CEO of Joint Venture Silicon Valley, a think tank in San Jose that studies the regional economy. More

February 11, 2021- (New York Times) - Republican Attacks on A.O.C.: Margaret O’Mara [Distinguished Fellow at Joint Venture] advises Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, to look to John D. Rockefeller, who changed his image from “rapacious” oil baron to philanthropic benefactor...More

February 6, 2021 - (Bloomberg) - Silicon Valley Won't Last Forever, and Texas Knows It: As Margaret O’Mara [Distinguished Fellow at Joint Venture] has observed in her entertaining history of the region, a critical convergence of engineering talent, venture capital, educational institutions and government money unleashed waves of innovation...More

February 2, 2021 - (Mercury News) - Julian Castro to headline Joint Venture’s virtual “town hall”: The State of the Valley Conference, the annual “town hall” hosted by Joint Venture Silicon Valley, will be held entirely online later this month because of the COVID-19 pandemic. More

February 1, 2021 - (ZD Net) - Six industries impacted by the combination of 5G and edge computing: "The primary reason for implementing edge computing in 5G is to reduce round-trip data latency between mobile clients, the mobile network core, and cloud computing resources,'' explained David Witkowski, an IEEE senior member, and [executive director of Joint Venture's civic technologies initiative.] More 

January 11, 2021 - (Mercury News) - Happy 50th birthday to the name “Silicon Valley”: ...Joint Venture Silicon Valley CEO Russell Hancock has been preaching that philosophy for more than a decade. More

January 8, 2021 - (Silicon Valley Business Journal) - 2021: IN THE SHADOW OF COVID - Of the $5.6 billion in PPP loans received by 48,000 Valley businesses, the 84% that were small got only 26% of the money, according to analysis by Joint Venture Silicon Valley’s Institute for Regional Studies. According to Rachel Massaro, the institute’s research director, three-quarters of the two counties’ combined investible wealth of $587 billion is held by just 13% of its 1 million households. More

January 5, 2021 - (The Hill) - Google workers make waves with new labor union: “Silicon Valley companies from the very beginning have seen unions as not relevant to what they do ... and have actively opposed unionization,” said Margaret O’Mara, a professor of history at the University of Washington [and distinguished fellow at Joint Venture]... More

January 4, 2021  - (KPIX-CBS News) - Google Workers Vote To Form Company’s First-Ever Union; Will Workers At Other Silicon Valley Tech Giants Follow? "Employees feel they have a role to play in these important management decisions," said Russell Hancock, CEO of Joint Venture.  More

January 2, 2021 - (Mercury News) - Borenstein: The radical shift in Bay Area housing, jobs and transit - “Now we see that it can be done, that the economy continues, that life goes on,” says Russell Hancock, president and CEO of Joint Venture Silicon Valley. More

January 2, 2021 - (Pacifica Tribune) - Borenstein: The radical shift in Bay Area housing, jobs and transit - “Now we see that it can be done, that the economy continues, that life goes on,” says Russell Hancock, president and CEO of Joint Venture Silicon Valley. More