Congressman Jerry McNerney has added a group of local experts to the May 27 Brentwood Economic Summit. The new panelists are Bethallyn Black, urban horticulture program manager at the University of California Cooperative Extension; Ken Hagan, president of Harvest Time; Jeanne Krieg, chief executive officer of Tri Delta Transit; Kathryn Lyddan, executive director of the Brentwood Agricultural Land Trust; and Mark Quinn, San Francisco district director of the Small Business Administration.

The summit, organized jointly with the Brentwood Chamber of Commerce, will gather business, education, transportation and economic-development experts from Brentwood and throughout Contra Costa County to discuss spurring economic growth in Brentwood, including opportunities that exist as well as the challenges to doing so.

The summit will include an opening address from McNerney, then a series of panel discussions on a variety of topics such as transportation, agriculture and economic development. Previously confirmed panelists include Brentwood Mayor Bob Taylor; Dr. Kiran Kamath, dean of occupational education at Los Medanos College; Bruce Kern, executive director of the East Bay Economic Development Alliance; Bob Lanter, executive director of the Workforce Development Board of Contra Costa County; Susan Miller, director of projects for Contra Costa Transportation Authority; Bijan Sartipi, District 4 director of Caltrans; and Erick Stonebarger, Brentwood city councilman and farmer, G&S Farms.

The economic summit will be held Tuesday, May 27 from 8:30 a.m. to noon in the multi-purpose room of the Brentwood Community Center, 730 Third St. For more information, call McNerney's Pleasanton office at 925-737-0727.