However, beginning in 1999,  and then again in 2002 and 2004, our forums were expanded to include issues concerning the entire Verde Valley region. Membership in the Academy as well as its Board of Directors began to include residents of all the Verde Valley communities (Sedona, Cottonwood, Camp Verde) and its unincorporated areas.

These expanded forums resulted in a new spirit of cooperation among the Verde Valley's citizens and led to the beginning of a common vision for their future.   Recognizing this shift,the Board unanimously agreed that it was time to formally change not just its name but to also include participants and members from this new expanded demographic.   

In 2004, during the third region-wide forum, it was announced that the Sedona Academy of Public Affairs was being reorganized and transformed into the Verde Valley Forum for Public Affairs.