More than 300 business, civic, and community leaders are expected to pack a breakfast ballroom at the Westin Carlsbad Resort & Spa on September 10 for a summit billed as a conversation about the state of the city and where it goes from here. The 2026 Carlsbad Regional Community Summit runs from 8 to 10 a.m., with check-in and networking starting at 7 and a breakfast buffet at 7:30, and it puts Mayor Keith Blackburn on stage as keynote speaker alongside a panel spanning clean-tech manufacturing, luxury hospitality, higher education, and city government.
The event, formerly known as the Annual State of the Community, is presented by the Carlsbad Chamber, CA, which describes itself as the voice of business in Carlsbad for more than 95 years. That framing lines up with the chamber's real footprint: it is San Diego County's second-largest business chamber and the 10th largest in California, representing over 1,000 member businesses employing more than 65,000 workers, according to the League of Women Voters of North County San Diego. The chamber, founded in 1923, is led by CEO Bret Schanzenbach.
Why Carlsbad's Numbers Matter Right Now
The summit's timing tracks with a city that is, by one measure, punching above its weight. Carlsbad's total economic output reached an estimated $18.6 billion in 2025, making it the second-largest economy in San Diego County outside the City of San Diego itself, per the City of Carlsbad Economic Development Department. The city counts over 10,500 active businesses across biotech, tech, and tourism. Carlsbad is also home to a cluster of more than 120 life sciences companies employing over 6,500 people, anchored by major employers such as Thermo Fisher Scientific and Ionis Pharmaceuticals, according to Visit Carlsbad.
Moderating the panel discussion, titled Carlsbad: Past, Present & Future!, is Justin Jachura, owner of Señor Grubby's, per the seed event program. Jachura serves as Chair-Elect of the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and was named the chamber's 2025 Chamber Champion, the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce has said. He co-founded Señor Grubby's in Carlsbad back in 2008.
A Solar Car Startup Takes the Stage
One of the panelists, Steve Fambro, is co-CEO of Aptera Motors, the Carlsbad-based solar electric vehicle maker. Just days before the summit was announced, Aptera issued purchase orders in August for body and chassis structural components for its first 40 production vehicles, according to a company release carried by Taiwan News, signaling a shift from validation builds toward commercial manufacturing at its Carlsbad facility.
That move follows a milestone reported by The EV Report: by May, Aptera had driven five validation solar electric vehicles off its 14-station Carlsbad assembly line while holding nearly 50,000 vehicle reservations valued at more than $2 billion. The outlet notes the assembly line is used to run thermal, brake, and safety testing on the vehicles.
Hospitality and Academia Round Out the Panel
Also on the panel is Craig Martin, general manager of Omni La Costa Resort & Spa, a venue that has been busy in its own right. The resort completed a major Gil Hanse redesign of its historic North Course in 2024 and secured rights to host the NCAA Division I Golf Championships through 2028, according to GolfPass. The course originally opened in 1965 and previously hosted PGA Tour events for decades. Hoodline previously reported on that championship run in its piece on how Oceanside twins turned La Costa into home turf.
Rounding out the panel are Dr. Rajnandini Raj Pillai, a professor of management at California State University San Marcos and founding executive director of CSUSM's Center for Leadership Innovation and Mentorship Building, who holds a Ph.D. in organizational behavior and specializes in transformational leadership, per California State University San Marcos; Carlsbad City Council Member Kevin Shin; and Tim Wisley, owner and publisher of Carlsbad Magazine, according to the event program.
A Council Member With Deep Local Roots
Shin was elected to represent District 2 on the Carlsbad City Council in November 2024. A Marine veteran, retired firefighter, and local business owner, he was appointed in January 2025 as Carlsbad's representative to the SANDAG Board of Directors, taking over the seat following his swearing-in, according to North County Pipeline.
Keynote speaker Mayor Keith Blackburn brings his own long résumé to the stage. He was elected mayor of Carlsbad in 2022 after 14 years on the City Council and a 33-year career as an officer with the Carlsbad Police Department, per the same account. Blackburn is seeking re-election in November 2026, a race that could shape how the city balances the kind of commercial growth on display at the summit with concerns over housing, land use, and coastal preservation. Hoodline has previously covered Blackburn weighing in on city planning oversight in its report on the council's approval of 111 new townhomes at Bressi Ranch.
Sponsors and Registration
The summit's gold sponsors include Carlsbad by the Sea, Kaiser Permanente, and The Shoppes at Carlsbad, according to the event program, which listed a fourth sponsor name partially illegible in the materials reviewed. The Shoppes at Carlsbad has featured in other recent Hoodline coverage, including a report on a new dosa restaurant that opened at the mall and a story on the Carlsbad Half Marathon, which starts and finishes at the same venue.
Registration for the September 10 breakfast is open through the chamber's website. Organizers say the event will bring together the mix of government, business, and community voices needed to discuss the state of the Carlsbad community and ideas for planning a successful future, per the chamber's own announcement.
