Speakers

Chris Aberle
Southeast Representative
EMSI
Moscow, ID

Chris Aberle is the Southeastern Representative for EMSI, an economics firm that provides economic data and analysis to government, industry, and education worldwide. His work has focused on the development and application of labor market information to address various issues in the economic and workforce development fields.

Robert M. Ady, HLM
President
Ady International Company
Mount Prospect, IL

Robert M. Ady, former president of PHH Fantus Consulting, has identified optimal locations for more businesses in the United States than any other person. He helped to define the parameters of facility location into a professional field. The methodology and techniques that he introduced into the site selection process are standards by which companies throughout the world select new locations.

Mr. Ady also assists communities in their economic development efforts including: web site content and design, marketing to site selectors, site certification, board training, and competitive benchmarking.

Bob has received the prestigious Edward DeLuca Award Lifetime Achievement Award which recognizes the individual who consistently has exemplified the highest standards of professional excellence throughout his or her career in the economic development field.

Mr. Ady is frequently quoted in the national media on such topics as global competition, business location trends, future work force availability, and incentive negotiations. Past coverage includes NBC Nightly News, The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and Forbes magazine. He has lectured at special forums including the World Conference on Economic Development, World Utility Development Council, the National Association of State Development Agencies and the International Economic Development Council.

Tony Aggarwal
Founder
Kinetic Cubed Ltd
Spinningfields, Manchester
United Kingdom

Tony career spans 25 years in business. Twenty of those years have been in the international arena, where Tony has been travelling regularly to a wide cross section of markets. Tony has thus been able to appreciate the economic development journey and trajectories of the various markets, particularly Europe, Middle East, Africa and India. In the last year alone, Tony travelled to China, India, Australia, South America, North America and Europe to compare how they are coping with the global economic forces at play

Tony's career includes 8 years in his own start up SME in the clothing sector, before a embarking upon a change of direction, with 4 years in business development with Eaton Corporation of Ohio, where he was involved in JVs and acquisitions in Europe / CIS. After which, Tony has spent the last 12 years in consulting to private and public sector bodies on the impact of globalisation, advising clients on how best to react for economic benefit alongside being involved in the implementation of strategies at a practical level, particularly in the field of trade and investment.

The last six years have been with Kinetic Cubed (www.kinetic3.co.uk) a business development consultancy, specialising in connecting clients to the high growth BRICs markets. Clients include Governments, Investment Promotion and Trade Development Agencies and private companies across Europe and beyond.

Tony holds an MBA from Manchester Business School, Masters in Economic Development from Imperial College London and a Science degree from University College London. Tony is a member of the Council of Manchester University and is a member of the IED in the UK. Tony is also involved with North West of England Chapter of the British American Business Council. Tony lives in Manchester, England with his family.

Charles S. Alvey, CEcD
President & CEO
Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada
Reno, NV

In September of 1998 Chuck Alvey was selected to be President/CEO of EDAWN (Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada) a private not-for-profit corporation and public-private partnership in the region. Since that time EDAWN has grown operating revenues from $700,000 (for 2006 and 2007 it was $3.2 million) and annual economic impact from about $125 million to $402 million per year. EDAWN has completed a very extensive analysis of the Greater Reno-Tahoe market. The result is an additional effort to focus on six key industries and niches within to attract, expand and help start-up companies that are high-yield to and sustainable within the market. The effort includes a strong brand/marketing and national public relations campaign to attract those top companies and related skilled workers. Mr. Alvey received his CEcD in 2003. Prior to EDAWN he spent 31 years in television management, programming and production, the final eight as General Manager of KOLO-TV/ABC in Reno. He has twice been selected by the Nevada Business Journal as one of Nevada's most respected CEO's and has twice been selected Marketer of the Year by the American Marketing Association/Reno Chapter.

Angelos G. Angelou
Principal Executive Officer
AngelouEconomics
Austin, TX

Angelos Angelou is the Founder and Principal Executive Officer of AngelouEconomics, a renowned Economic Development and Site Selection Consultancy based in Austin, Texas. In its thirteen-year history, AngelouEconomics has become the largest independent economic development consulting firm in the US. The firm's areas of expertise include economic development strategic planning, feasibility studies for technology parks, entrepreneurial strategies and technology assessments, economic impact studies, site selection and marketing.

AngelouEconomics has provided economic development consulting services to some of the most prominent regions of the world, including the States of Texas, New Mexico, New York, and North Carolina; Portugal; the Czech Republic; Austria; Brazil; Kehl/Strasbourg, Germany; and Puerto Rico. Corporate clients include high impact companies such as Dell, Oracle, Sulzer Medica, Citgo, M&W Zander, The Cleveland Clinic, AMD, ConocoPhillips, Sematech, Intel, and Heliovolt.

Prior to forming AngelouEconomics, Angelos was Vice President of Economic Development at the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce. During his 11-year career with the chamber, he played a major role in bringing more than 400 corporations employing over 70,000 people to Austin. A highly visible leader in the field of economic development across the US, Angelos is widely regarded as the chief architect in the establishment of Austin as another Silicon Valley.

Ivan Baker, CEcD, AICP
Director of Economic Development
Tinley Park Economic Development
Tinley Park, IL

Mr. Baker has 31 years of experience in economic development, urban planning, site selection consulting, and corporate real estate, coordinating over $2.2 Billion in commercial, industrial, and re-development investments in 9 states that have resulted in over 29,000 new jobs. He is one of only 35 CEcD Certified Economic Developers and AICP Certified Planners in the nation dual-certified by the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) and the American Planning Association.

As Director of Economic Development for Tinley Park, Illinois since 2003, Ivan Baker coordinates all economic development efforts in the fast-growing suburban Chicago community of 60,000 people. During his tenure, Tinley Park has been a award-winning national model for economic development success and financial strength. Recent Tinley Park awards include: “National Winner for Excellence in Economic Development” by the U.S. Department of Commerce, “America's Best Place to Raise Children” award from Bloomberg BusinessWeek; “Municipal Excellence in Economic Development” from the National League of Cities, the “Best Economic Development Website” from the International Economic Development Council (IEDC), and “Top 12 U.S. Cities in Economic Development Leadership and Innovation” from CoreNet Global.

He is an IEDC Board Member and active with International Council of Shopping Centers, Illinois Development Council, CoreNet Global, and Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning. He is adjunct instructor at University of Illinois Chicago and director of the accredited Illinois IEDC Basic Economic Development Course. A native of Kansas, Baker holds a Bachelors of Arts in Communications and Economics from Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas, is a graduate of the University of Colorado Institute for Organization Management, and received advanced economic development training at the University of Oklahoma and Rochester Institute of Technology. He is married, has two children and 4 grand-children, and spends free time as a pianist, square dancer, tandem-biker, and community theatre director.

Gary Ballew, CEcD
Economic Development Manger
City of Richland, WA

Gary has been in the Economic Development business for 15 years, both private and public. He is a Certified Economic Developer through the International Economic Development Council. He is the Manager of the City of Richland's Office of Business and Economic Development. Before working for the City, Gary was the Deputy County Administrator for Benton County overseeing Sustainable Development in the County. Gary received a Master of Science in Environmental Engineering, a Bachelor of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering and a Bachelor of Arts in Hotel and Restaurant Administration, all from Washington State University. He is a former Governor's Executive Fellow for the Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development where he worked with the Tri-Cities community to diminish the impact from Department of Energy cutbacks at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. He is also a former Research Assistant for Battelle Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Washington State Universities Laboratory for Atmospheric Research where he studied natural attenuation of soil and groundwater contaminants. Gary lives in Richland with his wife Karen, his daughter Emma (12), his son Sean (9) and dog Shadow.

Mark Barbash
Consultant
Finance Fund
Columbus, OH

Mark Barbash has over 30 years of economic development experience, having served in the public sector at the local, state and federal levels, and in the private sector focusing on real estate and business development, and development financing. In his career, he has had senior level policy and management responsibilities, served in national association leadership positions, created many new development programs, as well as working "on the ground" helping to move projects forward to completion. Mark serves on the IEDC Board and in 2008, he was designated a "Fellow Member" of IEDC in recognition for career contributions to economic development. In his economic development consulting practice, he serves as the Special Projects Director for the Finance Fund, a non-profit New Markets Tax Credit CDFI lender. He also serves a variety of public and private sector clients in economic development strategies, business financing and development training. Between 2007 and 2011, Mark served as Chief Economic Development Officer for the Ohio Department of Development, where he was responsible strategic initiatives and for day to day management of the Department. This was his second time with the Department, having been Deputy Director for Business Financing in the mid-1980s. For seven years prior to 2007, he was Director of Development for Columbus, Ohio under Mayor Michael B. Coleman. Prior to 2000, Mark was Executive Director of Community Capital Development Corporation (CCDC) (an SBA 504 CDC), Vice President of Miller and Schroeder Financial (an investment banking firm specializing in business and municipal financing), and Vice President for the National Development. His background also includes Congressional experience, having worked for a United States Senator, a member of the House of Representatives and the U.S. Department of Commerce. Mark Barbash served as President of the National Association of Development Companies, the association for SBA CDC lenders. Mark is also a nationally recognized economic development trainer. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is married to Mary Cartter Barbash. They have one daughter, Rachael Elizabeth Barbash.

Thomas W. Bartkoski, CEcD
Director, International Business Development
World Business Chicago
Chicago, IL

As director of international business development, Bartkoski is responsible for attraction of foreign direct investment (FDI), general business development, and international outreach. He assists foreign-based companies with location evaluation and site selection, working closely with the foreign-based business community in Chicago and the local Consular and foreign economic development communities. Bartkoski introduces the area economy and business environment to foreign business and public-private delegations. He has 25 years of private, public and not-for-profit sector experience in the economic development field.

Before joining WBC in 2000, Bartkoski was project manager for a private non-profit economic development group, and previous to that, client services manager for the Grubb & Ellis real estate services firm. He was with Deloitte & Touche Fantus Consulting for several years where he advised national, state, and local governments, utility, and educational institutions on many strategic issues involving economic development. Bartkoski advised organizations on economic development and base closure adjustment strategies, identified target industry opportunities, organized business assistance programs, and performed real estate analyses. At Fantus, he was the expert on proprietary investment targeting software.

Bartkoski consulted for communities, cities and states throughout the U.S., and held positions with Dallas and Wichita Falls, Texas. He also consulted for several major utilities and universities, national governments, and more than 300 software client organizations in North America. Site location clients included large and small foreign and domestic companies.

Milestone economic development projects include winning the planned Superconducting Supercollider project, North Texas, 1988, and The Boeing Company headquarters move to Chicago in 2001. International projects have included the British School of Chicago, Swiss Trade Hub Chicago, Veolia Environnement North America, and establishment in Chicago of foreign trade and investment offices along with numerous private companies. His submittals won Chicago designation as City of the Future for foreign direct investment from fDi magazine, a Financial Times publication, in 2005-2006 and 2007-2008, and runner-up for 2009-10.

Bartkoski received his B.A. in Urban Affairs from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and his master's degree in Urban Planning from the University of Kansas. He is a longtime International Economic Development Council Certified Economic Developer (CEcD), having been one of the youngest ever to qualify for that designation.

Terrie Battuello
Assistant City Manager, Economic Development Manager
City of Bothell, WA

Terrie Battuello – Assistant City Manager/Manager of Economic Development – City of Bothell, WA Terrie Battuello serves as the Administrator for the Washington State BioMedical Device Innovation Partnership Zone in Bothell. Her responsibilities at the City include management oversight for economic development, visitor development, Municipal Court, citywide Information Technology, a sustainability initiative and managing a grant program for Human Services programs for 25 agencies. Another significant role for Terrie at the City includes responsibility to stimulate economic development and attract and retain new businesses to the City. As such, she is responsible for the management of a 25 acre real estate portfolio of downtown property for redevelopment. Terrie serves on the Board of the South Snohomish County Chamber and is co-chair of the Washington and Alaska Alliance of Shopping Center Owners. She is a member of the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) and the Washington Economic Development Association (WEDA). For the first 17 years of Terrie's public career, she worked in various executive functions for the City of Bremerton and Kitsap County, including performing the role of administrator for the Kitsap Public Facilities District which funded elements of the Bremerton waterfront development. She also served as the administrator of a commission working in response to base closure activities (BRAC) and as Kitsap and Bremerton's military liaison to the Navy for 17 years. Terrie has a B.S. in Business Administration and a Masters of Public Administration from the University of Washington Evan's School.

Mark A. Beattie
Principal
Hickey & Associates, LLC
Charlotte, NC

Mr. Beattie is a Principal with Hickey & Associates, LLC, a global site selection and public incentives firmed based in Minneapolis, MN.

Mr. Beattie has over thirty five years of experience working in the corporate sector managing real estate, facilities, purchasing and staff management operations. He has extensive experience in long-range strategic planning for the acquisition, usage and disposition of domestic and international real estate assets, site selection and public incentives management.

He has worked for a number of industrial manufacturing companies including the last 30 years at 3M Company (retired 2009), a US based, multinational company with 800+ locations worldwide and over 60 million square feet of manufacturing, warehouse/distribution, R&D and office space.

Mr. Beattie has been an active member of CoreNet Global and the Industrial Asset Management Council (IAMC). He has served on the Board of Directors for IDRC (now CoreNet), the Executive Board of the Metro East Development Partnership in St. Paul, MN, and the advisory board of the Minnesota Real Estate Journal. He currently serves on the Executive Board of Directors for The Light Factory: Contemporary Museum of Photography and Film in Charlotte, NC.

Jose Beceiro
Director of Clean Energy, Economic Development
Austin Chamber of Commerce
Austin, TX

Jose Beceiro is the Director of Clean Energy at the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce in Austin, TX.

Beceiro's responsibilities include:

-Recruiting clean technology companies to the Austin metro area
-Lobbying for cleantech public policies at the local, state, and federal levels
-Serving as the regional spokesperson on Austin cleantech initiatives

Serving as the coordinator of the Austin Chamber Clean Energy Council
Beceiro works daily with the City of Austin, Austin Energy, UT Austin Clean Energy Incubator, Austin Chamber Clean Energy Council, State of Texas, and the Austin cleantech industry in a collaborative effort focused on building Austin's clean energy ecosystem. Beceiro and the Austin clean energy community are building Austin's reputation as the "Clean Energy Capital of the World."

Beceiro also serves as a founding board member of the Pecan Street Project, Inc. organization. The Pecan Street Project is the nation's most advanced smart grid initiative. As the organization's Treasurer, Beceiro coordinates with PSP board members representing the City of Austin, Austin Energy, Environmental Defense Fund, and UT Austin on executing the PSP mission of designing and deploying a new energy delivery system in Austin, TX.

Prior to joining the Austin Chamber, Beceiro worked as an economic development consultant for Austin-based AngelouEconomics where he developed comprehensive economic development strategies for regional and municipal economic development organizations as well as site selection services for private sector clients.

Beceiro is a graduate of The University of Texas at Austin in economics with concentrations in mathematics, aerospace engineering, and finance.

Ed Bee
President
Taimerica Management Company
Mandeville, LA

Taimerica is a nationally recognized consulting firm headquartered in Mandeville, Louisiana. The firm counsels development groups and businesses worldwide on issues of strategic planning, cluster and technology studies, corporate site selection, organizational design and best practices evaluations, and economic development strategy.

Bee has earned a Distinguished Service Award conferred by the American Economic Development Council in 1994 and the Alumni of the Year Award in 2004 by the Geography Department of Youngstown State University. He has authored ten peer reviewed articles on leading edge economic development topics in globally recognized publications such as Economic Development Quarterly, The Economic Development Journal and Economic Development Review.

Ed is a graduate of the Economic Development Institute at the University of Oklahoma and has held the Certified Economic Developer designation since 1983. His has an MA degree in Economic Geography from the University of Georgia and an undergraduate degree in Geography, Economics and Urban Studies from Youngstown State University.

Ed began his career as a researcher on the Latin America economy at the Federal Reserve Bank in Atlanta and has since led local and regional economic development in Georgia, Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana.

Thomas M. Belk, Jr.
Chairman & CEO
Belk, Inc.
Charlotte, NC

Thomas M. "Tim" Belk Jr. is chairman and chief executive officer of Belk, Inc.

The Charlotte, N.C., native is a graduate of Williams College in Williamstown, Mass., with a Bachelor of Science degree in economics, and received a master's degree in business administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1981.

Mr. Belk serves on the boards of the Carolinas HealthCare System, St. Andrews School, The Orvis Company, and the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce, which he served as chair in 2009.

Additionally, he is a member of the board of directors and a past president (1995-1997) of the Boy Scouts of America – Mecklenburg County Council and an Elder at Myers Park Presbyterian Church in Charlotte.

He is married to Sarah Fortune Belk and they have five children ages 12 – 22. He is the son of the late Thomas M. Belk, longtime president of Belk stores, and the grandson of company founder William Henry Belk.

Howard C. Benson
Chief Executive Officer
National Community Development Services, Inc.
Atlanta, GA

Howard Benson and his firm are currently actively engaged in helping more than 20 local communities or regions emerge successfully from the recession by strengthening their local economic development organizations.

Mr. Benson is CEO and founder of National Community Development Services, Inc. headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. NCDS is a 30-employee firm that pioneered the trend which enabled local communities and regions to develop and fund strategic initiatives that have propelled most of them into the front ranks of successful communities.

2011 marks NCDS' 34th year in business. During that time, the firm has worked with over 550 community organizations in helping them develop a winning strategy, and raised over $1.5 billion to implement their strategic plans. An important aspect of their work is benchmarking their client's performance so supporters can see a valid return on dollars invested.

Before starting NCDS, Howard served for five years as a senior executive of the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce where he directed the very successful Forward Atlanta Program. Prior to that, he was on the staff of the Jacksonville, Florida Chamber in a similar capacity. He began his economic development career in a rural community of 18,000 population in 1967 after graduation from Brevard College. He is also a graduate of the Institute for Organization Management at the University of Georgia and the Advanced Organization Management program at Notre Dame.

Howard is a board member of the International Economic Development Council and he is an advisor to the American Chamber Executives Association.

Bryan M. Borlik
Director, Performance and National Programs
Director, Trade Adjustment Assistance for Firms
Economic Development Administration
US Department of Commerce
Washington, DC

Bryan Borlik serves as the Director of Performance and National Programs at the U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration (EDA). In this role, he leads EDA's efforts to measure the economic impact of its investment portfolio while also overseeing the agency's national research and technical assistance programs.

He also directs the Trade Adjustment Assistance for Firms program, which funds a national network of eleven Trade Adjustment Assistance Centers that help to strengthen the competitiveness of manufacturing and service firms that are facing declines in domestic sales and employment due to increased imports of similar goods or services.

Mr. Borlik has also served at EDA as the Acting Director of Public Affairs, where he led the bureau's efforts to educate stakeholder groups and media outlets on EDA's policies and programs, and as Acting Director of Executive Secretariat, in which he oversaw EDA's correspondence and grant announcement processes.

Before joining the Department of Commerce, Mr. Borlik led the public outreach function at the National Council for Advanced Manufacturing (NACFAM) in Washington, a leading policy think tank on U.S. manufacturing competitiveness issues, and served as Director of Membership at the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) in Alexandria, Virginia.

Mr. Borlik holds a Masters Degree in Public Administration and Policy from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.

The Economic Development Administration's mission is to lead the federal economic development agenda by promoting innovation and competitiveness, preparing American regions for growth and success in the worldwide economy.

Tracey Hyatt Bosman, CEcD
Director, Strategic Consulting Group
Co-Leader, Clean Energy Practice Group
Data Center Practice Group, Grubb & Ellis Company
Chicago, IL

Tracey Hyatt Bosman is Director, Strategic Consulting with Grubb & Ellis. Ms. Bosman specializes in Business Location Services, assisting companies in finding the optimal location for new or expanding operations. Her specialties include incentives negotiation, global strategic business planning, and market analysis. Ms. Bosman works with a wide range of industries, including data centers, manufacturing, back office and contact center operations, and logistics. She is Co-Leader of Grubb & Ellis' national Clean Energy Practice Group and a member of the national Data Center Practice Group.

Ms. Bosman is an experienced economic developer, having worked at both the county and state levels. Immediately prior to joining Grubb & Ellis, she was Vice President of Policy and Operations for Lake Count Partners, an economic development organization in the Chicago area. Ms. Bosman's state-level experience was earned at the South Carolina Department of Commerce, where she worked as Senior Manager of Prospect Activities and as Manager, International Trade Development for North and Latin American markets. In her work as an economic developer, Ms. Bosman worked with world-class companies from all sectors and was intimately involved with their site selection processes, including incentives negotiation, labor market research and business cost analysis.

Ms. Bosman is an active speaker and writer, having most recently spoken at the Area Development Consultants Forum (Chicago, IL), International Economic Development Council Annual Conference (Atlanta, GA), the Mid-America Economic Development Council Competitiveness Conference (Chicago, IL), the Tulsa Area Partnership (Tulsa, OK), the Missouri Economic Development Council Spring Conference (Lake Ozark, MO). She co-authored an article entitled "The Future of Economic Incentives which appears in the February/March 2009 issue of Area Development and her article on clawback provisions in incentive negotiations appeared in the July 2008 edition of Site Selection magazine.

Jennifer Bosser
Assistant Executive Director
Greater Raleigh Commerce - Wake County Economic Development
Raleigh, NC

Jennifer Bosser is the Assistant Executive Director for Wake County Economic Development. She oversees the day to day operations, manages special projects and is the lead for Wake County Economic Development's talent attraction initiative and the recruitment and retention of life sciences companies in Wake County.

Prior to joining Wake County Economic Development, Jennifer served as the Vice President of Executive Engagement and Enterprise Strategy with the North Carolina Technology Association, a statewide trade association serving the technology industry in North Carolina. She moved to North Carolina in 2005, from Washington, DC where she worked in a variety of economic development positions including overseeing the District of Columbia's existing industry retention and outreach program under Mayor Anthony Williams and the Washington, DC Economic Development Partnership.

LaDene H. Bowen, CEcD, FM
Senior Project Manager
University of Northern Iowa
Institute for Decision Making
Cedar Falls, IA

LaDene Bowen's passion is economic development. As Associate Director for the Institute for Decision Making (IDM) at the University of Northern Iowa, an integrated business and community services program, she has consulted hundreds communities in all aspects of economic development in the Midwestern states. She is a listened-to provider of sound technical assistance and professional advice. Her community and economic development careers spans over two decades and includes international and national speaking engagements, authoring of articles, directing the Heartland Economic Development Course, mentoring and teaching at the University of Oklahoma Economic Development Institute (OU/EDI). She was recently named Assistant Dean of OU/EDI. The scope of her professional involvement and leadership reaches from IDM and Iowa communities to the International Economic Development Council, where she currently serves on the Board of Directors. Bowen earned her CEcD (certified economic developer) designation in 1993. In 2005, she was recognized as a fellow (FM) for her outstanding service to the field of economic development.

Prior to joining the University, she was CEO of the Butte, Montana Chamber of Commerce, a nationally recognized can do community. Before joining the Butte Chamber of Commerce, she was with the Montana Tech Foundation as the Assistant Director, specializing in annual fundraising and capital campaigns for the #1 ranked small comprehensive engineering college in the U.S., Montana Tech of the University of Montana.

Robert Bowling, CEcD
Director, Industrial Development
Norfolk Southern Corporation
Atlanta, GA

Bob Bowling has 32 years experience in the Industrial Development Department of Norfolk Southern Corporation and its predecessor. He has been involved in all aspects of economic development including serving as President of the American Railway Development Association, president of the state economic development roundtable, chairman of various state economic development committees and a board member for both local and regional economic development organizations. Over his career, Bob has been deeply involved in over 300 successful plant location projects in 14 states with a client list that includes AK Steel, Cogentrix, Dominion Power, Ford, Louis-Dreyfus, Nestle, Steel Dynamics, and Toyota. He is a Certified Economic Developer with a special interest in site development.

John Bracey
Executive Director
Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs
Lansing, MI

John became Executive Director of the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs in June of 2006, after having served as Director of Programs from 1998.

John was recently elected to the Board of Directors for Arts Midwest, is currently serving his first three-year term as a member of the Board of Directors for the National Assembly of State Arts Agencies, has served on a programmatic task force for the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities, and as a grant reviewer for the states of Pennsylvania, Indiana, Florida and Arkansas as well as the Kresge Foundation. He is also currently a lecturer at the University of Michigan in Flint for the Rackham Graduate School in Arts Administration.

Prior to his tenure at MCACA, Mr. Bracey headed up the Communications and Educational programs for the State of Michigan Liquor Control Commission. In that capacity he worked on statewide as well as national campaigns, including the Detroit Challenge with the California based Recording Artists Against Drunk Driving and the Education Committee of the National Alcohol Beverage Control Association. He also served as legislative contact for the agency and was appointed Ombudsman for the Commission during the privatization of its warehousing operations.

Before his state service, Mr. Bracey spent nine years as a journalist, working as a reporter, news editor and managing editor. Bracey attended the University of Michigan in Flint, earning his degree in Philosophy, concentrating in aesthetics. His graduate work has been in liberal studies concentrating in American Culture and he currently lectures on grant writing at the University of Michigan Flint for the Arts Administration graduate program.

Much earlier, like many good Flint residents, Bracey worked nine years for General Motors, Chevrolet Truck Assembly, in various assembly line positions (which, by the way, explains the degree in Philosophy.)

Carlos A. Bronzatto
Chief Executive Officer
World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies
Chatelaine, Geneva
Switzerland

Ronnie L. Bryant, CEcD, FM, HLM
President & CEO
Charlotte Regional Partnership
Charlotte, NC

As President and CEO of the Charlotte Regional Partnership, Ronnie Bryant promotes the 16-county Charlotte USA region as a premier location for expanding and relocating businesses. With more than 30 years of technical, managerial and economic development expertise, Bryant is nationally known for establishing and implementing successful economic development programs, with a strong emphasis on existing industry expansion and retention, regionalism and marketing. The editors of Site Selection magazine have recognized Bryant for excellence in the field of economic development by naming three organizations he led, those in Pittsburgh, St. Louis and Charlotte, to its list of Top 10 economic development groups in the nation. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ranked him No. 25 on its list of top 50 business leaders, and Charlotte – The City Magazine named Bryant No. 30 in its list of Charlotte's Fifty Most Powerful.

Prior to joining Charlotte Regional Partnership, Bryant was president and chief operating officer of the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance where he marketed the region and collaborated with regional economic development agencies to develop and implement job creation strategies. Before working in Pittsburgh, Bryant was the senior vice president of the Economic Development Division for the St. Louis Regional Chamber & Growth Association where he has been credited with the development of job creation strategies that resulted in more than 117,000 jobs within a five-year period. These professional skills grew from leading the development team at the Shreveport, La., Chamber of Commerce, working as a development consultant, and holding managerial and technical positions at AT&T's Western Electric facility.

Bryant, a certified economic developer (CEcD) since 1991, is a graduate of Louisiana State University in Shreveport and the Economic Development Institute at the University of Oklahoma (OU/EDI) in Norman. While attending OU/EDI, he received the American Economic Development Council's Robert B. Cassell Leadership Award for excellence in leadership and scholarship. He currently serves as the dean, as well as a member of the OU/EDI executive board and faculty. Bryant has lectured internationally and nationally on issues related to economic development marketing, professional development and organizational management, and is currently an adjunct faculty member at UNC Charlotte Belk College of Business.

Jim Bruce
President
BFPC, LLC
Norcross, GA

Jim Bruce is president of BFPC, LLC, a consulting firm for business and industrial site selection, economic development, and general management and economic consulting. He was a consultant for Toyota's first US assembly plants, located in Georgetown, Kentucky, and Princeton, Indiana; the United Airlines maintenance base in Indianapolis; a major pharmaceutical plant in West Greenwich, Rhode Island; a new Navistar International truck plant in Mexico; and many others.

An important part of Jim's consulting work is a "mirror image" of site selection, advising a diverse range of clients, including the Harlem Commonwealth Council in New York, a consortium of Native American tribal governments in the Pacific Northwest, dozens of states, chambers of commerce, and other groups on preparing and promoting their area as a location for the right kind of economic activity for. He has helped develop and implement the Georgia Ready for Accelerated Development Site Program, the state's certified sites initiative.

Jim completed his undergraduate work at Emory University and has a master's degree from Harvard in regional economics. He has taught as an adjunct at Princeton, Carnegie-Mellon, Georgia Institute of Technology, Auburn, and the US Military Academy; and is a frequent speaker at seminars and professional education events.

Christine Bustamante
Tax Managing Director
National Co-Leader, Global Location and Expansion Services
KPMG LLP
Columbus, OH

Christine is the National Co-Leader of the Global Location and Expansion Services (GLES) Practice and a Tax Managing Director in the State and Local Tax Practice of KPMG LLP, based in Columbus, Ohio. Christine has over 17 years of experience at both the state and local level in economic development, including site selection / location analysis, business incentives and credits.

Prior to joining KPMG in January 1999, Christine was the Special Assistant Director at the Ohio Department of Development. She specializes in designing and negotiating tax incentive policies and programs for expanding and relocating companies. Christine has also had experience in many aspects of consulting with communities and public and private entities on economic developmental issues such as site selection, location analysis, targeting and community preparedness.

Eric P. Canada
Partner
Blane, Canada Ltd.
Wheaton, IL

Eric Canada of Blane, Canada Ltd. is a nationally recognized authority on business retention and existing business strategy. Mr. Canada is a psychologist by training, an entrepreneur at heart, and a developer by choice.

Eric Canada has built the largest active laboratory of business retention research in North America. He actively works with well over 150 economic development organizations in 37 states, and 32 large regional development organizations on all aspects of business retention program design, implementation, and problem solving. He manages the only R&E consortium of statewide BR&E program managers including participants from 18 states, and three Canadian provinces.

Mr. Canada received the prestigious Roepke Award for the breakthrough research/article "Locked in the Twilight Zone: Business Retention Fails the Strategic Value Test!" He is also recognized for his signature innovations in business retention including: applying competitive intelligence techniques, predictive retention system, Matrix AnalysisTM, and the Synchronist Business Information System® software.

He is the author of the best selling marketing books, Economic Development: Marketing for Results! and Marketer's Planning Guide. He publishes the Economic Development Marketing Letter, a monthly e-mail newsletter distributed to over 7,000 economic development professionals world-wide.

C. R. "Buzz" Canup, PhD
President
Canup & Associates, Inc.
Simpsonville, SC

Dr. Canup, founder and President of Canup & Associates, Inc., has over thirty-years of business management and consulting experience working with world-class corporations on a global basis. He has provided a broad range of professional services, including: feasibility studies, strategic planning, site location studies, incentives negotiations, property acquisition, permitting and zoning, engineering and construction management, workforce recruitment and development, and project implementation. He has also held executive level positions in college administration, human resource development, personnel management, business development, and marketing. Dr. Canup has experience in both the public and private sectors, and has managed and executed projects both domestically and internationally. He has lived abroad on two separate assignments.

Prior to forming his firm in early 2000, Buzz spent twenty-years with Fluor Corporation in various executive positions. His last position with Fluor was Managing Director, Global Location Strategies, the site selection and economic development consulting arm of the company. He has led major site location studies for major corporations around the world with capital investment values ranging from over $4 billion to less than $5 million. The types of projects have been diversified, and have included manufacturing, headquarters, research and development, and data centers. Dr. Canup also provides economic development consulting to states, regions and communities, and has performed "Reverse Consulting" for multiple projects to assist states and communities in recruiting mega-projects to their locations.

Dr. Canup is frequently invited to make presentations at national and international conferences and workshops, and has addressed over a dozen professional organizations in the past couple of years. Buzz is interviewed and quoted frequently by national and regional news media, and has published several articles in national and international economic development magazines.

Brett Carter
President
Duke Energy North Carolina
Charlotte, NC

Brett Carter is president of Duke Energy North Carolina, serving approximately 1.8 million electric retail customers in the central and western portions of the state. He is responsible for advancing the company's rate and regulatory initiatives and managing state and local regulatory and governmental relations, economic development and community affairs.

Having served as president of Duke Energy Carolinas since 2008, Carter took on a dedicated leadership role for the North Carolina service region in March 2010, as part of Duke Energy's strategy to sharpen its focus on the unique needs, interests and concerns of different states served by the company.

Carter has also served as senior vice president of customer service and business development for Duke Energy. He was responsible for acquiring and retaining new wholesale customers; providing sales and services to the company's existing large commercial and industrial customers; and generating and cultivating economic development opportunities. In addition, he was responsible for the customer service function.

Carter joined Duke Power in July 2005 as vice president of residential and small business customers. He was also responsible for the marketing strategy and operations of Duke Power's Customer Service Center.

Prior to joining the company, Carter served as vice president of the central services division for Aquila in Kansas City, Mo. He was responsible for Aquila's 1.4 million customers, including oversight of two call centers, information technology, customer account management, customer solutions and Six Sigma special projects.

The Pittsburgh, Pa., native earned a bachelor of science degree in accounting from Clarion University of Pennsylvania and a master of business administration degree, with a concentration in marketing, from the University of Pittsburgh. He also completed the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program. Carter is active in a number of community and professional activities. He is a member of the North Carolina State Ports Authority Board, the North Carolina Economic Development Board and The Executive Leadership Council (Washington, D.C.). He also serves on the board of directors of the Charlotte Regional Partnership, the North Carolina Chamber of Commerce, the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce and Mecklenburg Citizens for Public Education (MeckEd). Carter and his wife, Rebecca, have a daughter and two sons.

Duke Energy, one of the largest power companies in the United States, supplies and delivers electricity to approximately 4 million customers in the Carolinas and the Midwest. The company also distributes natural gas in Ohio and Kentucky. Its commercial power and international businesses operate diverse power generation assets in North America and Latin America, including a growing renewable energy portfolio. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Duke Energy is a Fortune 500 company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DUK.

Stephen Chapple
Director Sustainable Environment
Mornington Peninsula Shire Council
Victoria, Australia

Steve Chapple was appointed Director Sustainable Environment with the Mornington Peninsula Shire Council in February 2011. In this role, Steve leads a complex division, including economic development, tourism, strategic planning, statutory planning and regulatory services.

Prior to this, Steve has held a variety of senior leadership roles. For the past three and a half years he was the Chief Executive Officer at Ararat Rural City Council; Director of Development and Community Services at Baw Baw Shire Council; Economic Development Manager at Frankston City Council and Regional Director Eastern Region for the Department of Education Training and Post Compulsory Education, Victorian State Government.

Throughout his career, Steve has lead or facilitated many major projects, including the $330M Ararat Prison Expansion PPP; $230M RES windfarm development; $120M Bayside Shopping Centre Central Activity District redevelopment; and the $10M Frankston Foreshore re-development. In partnership with State and local governments, Steve has facilitated the development of regional strategic and investment plans, significant planning reviews and planning reports.

Steve has a strong commitment to leadership development, building stronger communities and making a difference.

Steve is currently National Chair of Economic Development Australia (EDA), the not for profit peak professional development organization for economic development professionals.

Steve holds four degrees, including two Masters (eBusiness & Communication).

Tim Chase, CEcD, FM
President & CEO
Wichita Falls Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Wichita Falls, TX

Mr. Chase was named President and CEO of the Wichita Falls Chamber of Commerce and Industry in 2001 after having served as its Vice President of Economic Development since 1998. Included in the Chamber's missions are economic development, workforce development, military affairs and community-wide Marketing for the City of Wichita Falls, Texas, trade area 387,000.

Serving as the Director of the Dixon, Illinois, Industrial Development Association (DIDA) for ten years prior to moving to Texas, Mr. Chase also spent 12 years in retail management and four years in the Navy.

Mr. Chase is the recent past Dean for the University of Oklahoma's Economic Development Institute. He has taught at EDI for 18 years and is a nationally recognized speaker on the topics of economic & community development, strategic planning, infrastructure, sales, and marketing. He is the former chairman of Team Texas, a marketing organization of 55 Texas communities.

An International Economic Development Council (IEDC) member since 1988 and currently serves on the Board of Directors. Mr. Chase was presented with the first Outstanding New Economic Developer award in 1993. He became a Certified Economic Developer (CEcD) in 1994, and for his work in the field of training and education related to economic development, Mr. Chase received his Fellow Member (FM) in May of 2001.

Anya Codack
Chief Executive Officer
Yfactor
Toronto, Ontario
Canada

Anya Codack is an Economic Development Marketing and Technology veteran. She has led the growth and strategic direction of Yfactor since 1997. Yfactor is an award winning content management software firm and consultancy that helps economic developers with marketing strategies, branding and web-based marketing. Anya has over 20 years of experience delivering technology and design solutions and takes the role of lead consultant and strategist in selected projects. She is a member of a number of economic development, design and business associations including IEDC.

Ted Coene
Co-President
Business Facilities
Tinton Falls, NJ

Ted Coene is currently part owner and Co-President of Group C Media Inc., a business and trade periodicals publisher and producer of events in the fields of Corporate Real Estate and Facility Management.

Mr. Coene's responsibilities include overseeing all aspects of operations, finance, and growth of the company. In addition, he specifically oversees the Business Facilities brand which includes the monthly print publication, web offerings and LiveXchange. He was the founder of the events division, selling that founding property, The TFM Show to the largest event producer, Hanley Wood and subsequently launching Group C Media's niche events, Business Facilities LiveXchange and the TFM Forum. Business Facilities LiveXchange, which focuses on corporate relocation and site selection, was honored by Expo magazine as the best new non-traditional launch of 2005. The TFM Forum gives facility executives an opportunity to meet with select vendors in an exclusive environment.

Prior to working at Group C Communications, Mr. Coene worked as an Account Executive at Image Tech printing company in New York City from 1986-1988.

He is a member of numerous associations including SISO, IAEE, IEDC, and the International Who's Who of Professionals.

Mr. Coene received a B.A. from Wake Forest University and attended Business School at Monmouth University.

Dennis G. Coleman, CEcD, FM
President & CEO
St. Louis County Economic Council
St. Louis, MO

Dennis G. (Denny) Coleman is the president & CEO of St. Louis County Economic Council. Prior to his present position, Coleman was director of development for the City of St. Louis, being in charge of the city's neighborhood, housing and economic development efforts. He also has served as vice-president for community development at Mercantile Bank when the bank's community development corporation won national Fair Housing awards and a Private Sector Initiatives Award from the White House. He also was the founding director of the DeSales Housing Corporation, a non-profit, neighborhood-based organization. St. Louis County Economic Council is a not-for-profit economic development organization responsible for creating high quality business and employment opportunities for long-term diversified growth throughout St. Louis County and the St. Louis region. Mr. Coleman has a master's degree in urban and regional planning from the University of Wisconsin and a bachelor's degree in urban geography from St. Louis University. He also has completed the Senior Executives Program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and serves on the national board of directors of the International Economic Development Council.

Timothy Comerford
Senior Vice President, Strategic Consulting
Biggins Lacy Shapiro & Company
Princeton, NJ

Tim leads a specially-designed interdisciplinary division focused on assisting companies, developers, municipalities and real estate advisors with issues that pertain to energy procurement, renewable installation, infrastructure assessments utility relocation, with a special focus on mission critical facilities.

In his former role, Tim was Manager of the PSE&G's Area Development Department and President of the PSEG Area Development LLC and its two subsidiaries: PSEG SiteFinders LLC and PSEG Economic Development Services LLC. Tim was responsible for all aspects of PSE&G's economic development program, which included business attraction, expansion and retention. As President of PSEG Area Development LLC, he led strategic alliances with qualified economic development services providers. Under his leadership, PSE&G's economic development activities have been instrumental in bringing thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in investment into the State of New Jersey.

Tim Comerford is a seasoned professional within the real estate industry and has been deeply involved in national trade organizations and its respective local chapters, having served as trustee, board member, committee leaders for NJ Chapter of CoreNet, NJ Committee of the Regional Plan Association, NJ Chapter of NAIOP, National Utility Economic Development Association, the Northeastern Economic Development Association, and the New Jersey Chapter of NACORE, among others.

Keith Cooke, Jr.
Account Executive
Esri, Inc.
Redlands, CA

Keith Cooke is the Esri State and Local Government Account Executive for Alabama and metro Atlanta, a position he's held since 2004. A 1992 graduate of Auburn University, he has been in the GIS field since 1994 when he started at the Central Alabama Regional Planning Commission in Montgomery. In 1997, he accepted a position as Planner and GIS Manager for the Town of Apex, North Carolina, a rapidly growing suburb of Raleigh. Following that, he worked for six years at an Esri Business Partner, GIS, Inc. in Birmingham where he handled Public Works-focused GIS projects at numerous DoD facilities, including Pearl Harbor and Fleet Activities Yokosuka (CFAY). He then moved his efforts into the state and local government arena, focusing on a suite of GIS applications geared towards community planning, until leaving for Esri in 2004. He has also been active in the American Planning Association over the last decade by conducting more than two dozen hands-on GIS workshops for planners.

Paul J. Corson
Acting Director, Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Economic Development Administration
US Department of Commerce
Washington, DC

Paul J. Corson is the acting director of the U.S. Department of Commerce's Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, where he promotes policies and programs to support high-growth entrepreneurship, the acceleration of technology commercialization, and the development of regional innovation ecosystems. Among his responsibilities, Paul manages Secretary Locke's National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, runs the i6 competitive grants competitions, developed the Taskforce on Space Industry Work Force and Economic Development report to the President, and led Departmental efforts to co-host the Presidential Summit on Entrepreneurship.

Prior to joining the Department, Paul held senior management positions for entrepreneurial firms and start-ups in the United States, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. He holds an MA in International Relations from The George Washington University and a BA in Political Economies from Franklin and Marshall College.

JoAnn Crary, CEcD
President
Saginaw Future Inc.
Saginaw, MI

JoAnn Crary is the President of Saginaw Future, a non-profit economic development organization. She has held that position since 1993 and has been in economic development since the mid 1980's.

Crary completed her undergraduate degree from Ferris State University and has a Masters degree from Central Michigan University. She is a Certified Economic Developer (CEcD), a graduate of the University of Oklahoma's Economic Development Institute and is a certified Economic Development Finance Professional.

Crary is a member of the MEDC Collaborative Development Council and the Incentives Committee. She is currently a member of the Board of the International Economic Development Council and serves as the Vice Chair of External & Member Relations, on the Diversity Task Force, is a member of the Economic Development Research Partners and is on the Audit Committee. She has served on the IEDC Board since 2006.

Crary was given the Wally Bronner Community Spirit Award from the Saginaw County Chapter of American Red Cross in 2010. She was also honored with the inaugural Economic Leadership Award from Junior Achievement of Northeast Michigan in 2010. The Saginaw County Chamber of Commerce gave Crary its inaugural Athena Award in 2005 and in 2001, the Michigan Economic Developers Association named Crary as the MEDA Medalist Award winner. In 1996, she was honored by Governor Engler as the Economic Developer of the Year for outstanding contributions in economic development.

J. Keith Crisco
Secretary
North Carolina Department of Commerce
Raleigh, NC

J. Keith Crisco was appointed Secretary of Commerce by Gov. Bev Perdue in January 2009. He brings 40 years of experience in business and commerce to the position.

For more than 20 years, Crisco served as president and chairman of Asheboro Elastics Corp., a company he formed with partners in 1986. This highly successful company has offices in seven countries, manufacturing facilities in Central America and the United States, and sales around the world. Prior to that, he worked for eight years as the president of Stedman Elastics in Asheboro.

Crisco earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics and physics from Pfeiffer University in Misenheimer and a master's degree in business administration from Harvard University. After graduate school, the Stanly County native worked as assistant to the executive vice president for Burlington Industries. He worked for the company for 10 years, including stints in Chicago and New York City. From 1970-1971 Crisco served as a White House Fellow in Washington, D.C., as assistant to the U.S. Secretary for Commerce during the Nixon administration.

Born and raised on a farm near Aquadale, N.C., Crisco has served on the Asheboro City Council, as chairman of the Pfeiffer University board of trustees, as chairman of the N.C. Center for Public Policy Research and as chairman of the National Elastic Manufacturer's Association. He also served as chairman of Globio, a children's educational Web site based in Portland, Ore., that uses wildlife photos to create a dialogue to connect children around the world.

Crisco also served on Randolph Community College's board for 16 years and as an active member of the UNC School of Public Health Advisory Council. He has been active with the N.C. Community Foundation, Action for Children North Carolina, and various land trust and environmental organizations. His personal interests include country music, genealogy and baseball.

J. Vann Cunningham
Assistant Vice President, Economic Development
Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Company
Fort Worth, TX

Vann Cunningham is Assistant Vice President – Economic Development for BNSF Railway Co. He leads programs that encourage industries to locate or expand facilities on BNSF. He also has responsibility for development of various rail-served industrial, intermodal and transload facilities throughout BNSF's franchise. BNSF, headquartered in Fort Worth, operates on 32,500 route miles of track covering 28 states and two Canadian provinces. In his role, he has written and spoken extensively on the impact of transportation, logistics and the evolving global supply chain on corporate site selection, economic development and real estate development.

Cunningham has over 35 years' corporate site selection and economic development experience including major domestic and international projects in the public and private sectors. His Economic Development career began at the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), where he initially engaged in power plant siting and subsequently, served as Chief of Regional Planning, Manager of Economic and Community Development, and Senior Manager of Industrial Development. At TVA, he worked with major manufacturing companies on corporate siting projects locating in the region.

In 1996, Cunningham joined Lockwood Greene, a global engineering and consulting firm. He was responsible for directing the Economic Development and Corporate Site Selection Consulting practice. Clients included Fortune 1000 and major international firms.

Dariel Y. Curren
Vice President
Development Councellors International
New York, NY

With nearly three decades of experience in public relations and marketing, Dariel Curren has worked with Development Counsellors International for the past 15 years. She has led the company's Economic Development Division since January 2010. Known as the "Leader in Marketing Places," DCI specializes in economic development and tourism marketing and has helped more than 400 cities, regions, states and countries attract business investment and visitors since the firm was founded in New York City in 1960.

Dariel's clients have spanned the world, including destinations from Maine to Miami and New York to New Zealand. She has created award-winning programs that integrate high-profile media exposure with high-impact websites, direct marketing and digital strategies.

Raised on a dairy farm in the Finger Lakes region of New York State, Dariel is a graduate of Brown University.

Julie Curtin
Executive Vice President & Partner
Development Counsellors International (DCI)
New York, NY

Julie is an Executive Vice President and Partner at Development Counsellors International (DCI), an economic development marketing firm based in New York City. Since joining DCI in 1994, Julie has worked with dozens of economic development organizations around the globe to help them position their communities for investment through integrated and creative marketing programs. With clients ranging from Dothan, Alabama to San Diego, California and everywhere in between, Julie's passion for "place marketing" has resulted in award-winning campaigns. Articles about her client communities have appeared in media such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Newsweek and CNN. Julie has designed social media campaigns for communities around the country that have maximized the changing world of traditional media, and leveraged the power of digital and online influencers.

Julie is a frequent speaker and facilitator for economic development marketing and media workshops around the country. In 1998, Julie opened "DCI West" in Denver, and became a DCI Partner in 2002.

Andy Curtis
Director
Global Innovation Partners
Sheffield, England, United Kingdom

Over the last 15 years Andy has led and consulted on numerous business innovation and economic development initiatives in the UK, USA and Canada, working with business, educational institutions, local and national government and economic development organisations.

Specialising in the field of innovation based economic development, technology transfer and commercialisation his recent activities have included the development and delivery of major regional and international initiatives such as angel and VC investment, intellectual property commercialisation, next generation broadband infrastructure, business incubation and acceleration, instigating, building and facilitating partnerships between the private and public sectors and academia.

Andy works extensively with the emerging and convergent technology business sectors as well as existing local, national and international organisations to create economic growth and a recognisable focus on cities and regions as a hub for innovative activity. He works at all levels of economic development covering strategy, tactical sector intervention and support including initiative design and delivery. He also delivers one to one business intervention for rapid growth.

Recent work includes:

In Europe: Economic development strategy and projects for Barcelona, Leeds, Sheffield, Hull, Bradford and Sheffield Hallam Universities, The European Union, East Midlands Development Agency, Yorkshire Forward, Creative Manchester, Science City York, Designed in Devon, iNet South West, The Canadian High Commission, Plymouth Media Partnerships, BBC R&D, ARM UK, 802 Global.

In North America: Economic development initiatives for Central Okanagan Economic Development Commission, Disney Online Studios, WanDisco,

For 10 years he worked within the UK based digital and media industries including studio and production management for the UK television and film industry with Nickelodeon UK (BSkyB, Viacom inc MTV) in London and ITV/ Granada in Manchester and London and also in the music industry as a composer and producer.

Jim Damicis
Senior Vice President
Camoin Associates
Scarborough, ME

Jim Damicis is currently the Senior Vice President of Camoin Associates. Jim joined Camoin Associates in October 2010 as the result of a merger between Camoin Associates and PolicyOne Research. Jim was founder and president of PolicyOne Research. Jim has more than 20 years experience in economic and business development. With PolicyOne, Jim has worked for numerous states, regions, and communities on evaluation and strategy development for their economic development and industry support efforts. Jim currently is responsible for evaluating all of Maine's research and development programs for the Maine Office of Innovation. He was a principal investigator on an "Assessment of Maine's Industry Clusters" in 2008. Jim has also has worked directly for numerous businesses on government relations, securing grants and tax credits, business planning, and market research and analysis. Jim has earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics and Political Science from the University of Connecticut, Storrs, and a Master of Arts in Public Policy and Administration from the Edmund S. Muskie School of Public Service at the University of Southern Maine. Jim is currently a Board Member of the Northeastern Economic Developer's Association, Technology Association of Maine, and Scarborough Economic Development Corporation.

Bryan T. Daniels, CEcD
President & CEO
Blount County Economic Development Board
Maryville, TN

Mr. Daniels was born and raised in Greeneville, Tennessee which is located within the Tennessee Smoky Mountains. He has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Communications and a Master of Science degree in Manufacturing Engineering Technology from East Tennessee State University.

Mr. Daniels began his career with the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development based in Nashville, Tennessee. During his time with the State of Tennessee he was involved in reform of the Appalachian Regional Commission Grant Program and the Industrial Training Service program. Mr. Daniels left the State of Tennessee in 1997 and begun work as a contract Economic Development Planner for the firm of Barge Waggoner, Sumner and Cannon based in Nashville, Tennessee. During this time Bryan worked with several communities within Tennessee and Virginia. His clients were municipalities trying to develop their local economies and seeking state and federal support for their goals.

From 2001 thru 2010, Mr. Daniels accepted the role of Executive Vice President under the Blount Partnership. Bryan managed the Blount County, the cities of Maryville, and Alcoa's Economic Development efforts. Mr. Daniels was directly responsible for the Economic Development offices and staff located in Maryville, Tennessee; Isle of Wight, England; Yokahama, Japan; and Seoul, South Korea. Mr. Daniels managed the operations of the community's 4 industrial parks, 2 science/technology parks, and the Economic Development Programs for Blount County, City of Maryville, and City of Alcoa, Tennessee. Blount County's Economic Development program is one of the largest in the state with over $400 million in assets. The Economic Development Board is one of 4 partner agencies (Chamber, Foundation, Tourism Bureau, and Economic Development Board) with an annual $4.5 million dollar partnership operational budget. During Daniels' term Blount County has recruited over 1.6 Billion dollars of new capital investment from 31 new and expanding companies.

In 2010, Mr. Daniels was named President and CEO of The Blount Partnership. The Partnership is comprised of The Blount County Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Blount County Economic Development Board, the Smoky Mountain Convention and Visitor's Bureau.

Joseph P. Danko, PE
Senior Vice President
Global Director, Sustainable Solutions
CH2M HILL
Philomath, OR

Joseph Danko is CH2M HILL's Global Director of Sustainable Solutions, and brings more than 25 years of experience to his role. He manages sustainable projects around the globe and leads the Sustainability Collaborative Working Group, an enterprisewide, cross-business group team chartered with building CH2M HILL's business through the implementation of sustainable solutions. He has participated in sustainable projects from master planning through design, construction, and operations, including development of environmental management systems, sustainable communities and agriculture, renewable energy applications, climate change assessment, and waste-to-energy systems. Mr. Danko's extensive experience includes creating a Nondestructive Evaluation/Nondestructive Testing company with Bristol Bay Native Corporation in Alaska; providing senior leadership for our total water management business in Alberta, Canada; Project Director of an $800 million infrastructure utilities project and leading an industrial "zero waste" initiative.

CH2M HILL is Headquartered near Denver, Colorado, USA, employee-owned CH2M HILL is a global leader in full-service consulting, design, design-build, operations, and program management for public and private clients. With US$6.3 billion in revenue and more than 23,500 employees worldwide, CH2M HILL delivers innovative, practical, sustainable solutions—helping clients develop and manage infrastructure and facilities that improve efficiency, safety, and quality of life.

Marcel de Haan, MSc
Director, Innovation & Technology, BOM Foreign Investments
Senior Manager Business Development, High Tech Campus Eindhoven
Tilburg, The Netherlands

Since 2005 Marcel de Haan is Director Innovation & Technology of BOM Foreign Investments and Senior Manager Business Development at High Tech Campus Eindhoven in the Netherlands. Besides his general management responsibilities, he is currently engaged in developing High Tech Campus Eindhoven into a World Class Open Innovation Campus and responsible for several Investor, Acquisition and Promotion Programs for foreign high tech companies.

Marcel de Haan has a background in Economic Geography and received his masters degree at the Radboud University in Nijmegen in 1986 (Cum laude). Before he joined BOM en High Tech Campus Eindhoven, Marcel held various positions and was active as a consultant and manager for TNO, Buck Consultants International, BOM (New Business Department) and European Regional Affairs Consultants (ERAC).

Marcel has an extensive knowledge of and experience with regional economic development, international investments promotion and location decision making of companies, knowledge valorization, ecosystem development and R&D Clustering. He has a broad skill set which allows him to thrive and develop in complex environments, especially on the public/private interface. Besides he is an expert in European Structural Funds, especially in (regional) capacity building, program implementation, program management and project pipeline and appraisals.

Marcel wrote and published several articles and papers on the mentioned subjects of regional economic development and program management and has extensive (international) experience in lecturing and training.

Jean DeBellis
Vice President, Operations
Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation
Philadelphia, PA

Jean DeBellis has worked at the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation, the City of Philadelphia's economic development agency, for the past 27 years. Since 1958 PIDC has made over 6,000 loans totaling more than $10 billion in financing through its various loan programs, ranging from tax-exempt financing and CDBG lending to business assistance for defense conversion. Ms. DeBellis has been responsible for the day-to-day operations of managing that portfolio, including not only all servicing processes but also a wide range of reporting to outside entities (EDA, HUD, CDFI Fund, SBA) and to "special requests" for information, including politicians at all levels and the press. Her duties included tracking job creation goals and all funding requirements. In 1986 PIDC designed its software package, Portfol™, to help manage everything PIDC does. Ten years later PIDC was approached by other economic development agencies who wanted the opportunity to use Portfol™ and since that point Ms. DeBellis has trained and worked with more than 200 agencies nationwide to assist them in meeting their portfolio management needs. For the past 11 years Ms. DeBellis has been a member of the Loan Advisory Committee for the Women's Opportunity Resource Center, a microenterprise lender in Philadelphia.

Gene DePrez
Partner
Global Innovation Partners
Sparta, NJ

Founding partner of Global Innovation Partners, a group of highly experienced innovation champions assisting businesses, cities and universities to increase their global competitiveness. Recently chief innovation officer for the UK's first comprehensive economic development company. Previously Co-Global and Americas Leader for IBM's Global Location and Economic Development strategies consulting practice, and associate partner in IBM's Strategy & Change practice and IBM's Global Innovation Team, and at PricewaterhouseCoopers prior to IBM's acquisition of PwC's management consulting practice.

Over 35 years of advising hundreds of the world's leading organizations to transform their business strategies and where to invest and locate their headquarters, research centres, advanced manufacturing and other major business units. Past clients include Citigroup, Novartis, Merck, Becton Dickinson, P&G/Gillette, Hertz Corporation, Shire Pharmaceuticals, Master Card, VISA and UPS.

Directed competitive economic development strategy for numerous states and city - regions throughout North America and the UK. Clients have included Pennsylvania, Texas, Louisiana, Maryland, Indiana, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, New York, and New Jersey, and metro areas of Phoenix, Toledo, Baltimore, Toronto, and Sheffield and Hull in the UK. Led the development of best practice growth models for universities and technology parks, among them the world class Research Triangle Park.

Also served as Vice President of PHH Fantus and as Principal of Fluor Daniel Consulting, and President/CEO of Partnerships DataNet; a Washington DC based national collaborative development initiative formed by the White House with business and association leaders. Earlier was a university director of public affairs and held several marketing communications positions at Eastman Kodak.

Chris deVolder, AIA, LEED AP BD+C
Sustainability Coordinator
360 Architecture
Kansas City, MO

Allen J. Dines
Assistant Director, Office of Corporate Relations
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Madison, WI

Mr. Dines is Assistant Director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Office of Corporate Relations (OCR). The Office of Corporate Relations assists businesses and entrepreneurs in accessing the diverse resources of the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison). As Assistant Director, he works principally with new ventures and private equity. He serves as Program Manager for OCR's entrepreneurship programs including its Wiscontrepreneur program (www.wiscontrepreneur.org) funded in part under the Kauffman Campuses Program of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

Mr. Dines joined the UW-Madison in 2001 bringing with him more than 25 years of experience in industry and entrepreneurial technology businesses. In his initial position at the university he served as Assistant Director for Business Development, within the Graduate School where his major focus was commercialization of university technology through startup business development and entrepreneurship. In 2002, Mr. Dines co-founded the Midwest Research University Network (MRUN), an alliance of major Midwest research institutions dedicated to regional cooperation in the commercialization of university research through new business creation. He currently serves as president of MRUN. Mr. Dines serves on advisory boards of the UW-Madison Entrepreneurship Association, the Global Midwest Alliance, and MERLIN Mentors. He is co-director of the Brinks Innovation Competition which focuses on promoting visibility of high potential Cleantech companies in association with the Midwest Cleantech Conference.

Mr. Dines has been involved in three startup ventures, all in the biotechnology sector, two of which he co-founded. All three companies were acquired by leaders in their respective markets. Prior to these ventures, Mr. Dines was an Associate and Staff Manager with Booz, Allen & Hamilton, Inc. in Bethesda, MD.

Mr. Dines holds degrees from the University of Michigan including a B.S in Psychology, a Master of Business Administration, and a Master of Regional Planning in Natural Resources. In 2004, Mr. Dines was named a Wisconsin Idea Fellow by the UW-System President.

Sara J. Dunnigan, CEcD
Senior Vice President
Existing Business Services and Talent Development
Greater Richmond Partnership, Inc.
Richmond, VA

Sara is the senior vice president of Existing Business Services/Talent Development. She manages and supports the GRP business retention and expansion program, Business First Greater Richmond, which supports the success and growth of businesses in the region. Business First has more than 100 team members that interact with business owners to respond to various challenges and opportunities.

The Partnership's Talent Development and Promotion program is also managed by Sara, which includes the RichmondJobNet website and Twitter account: @richmondjobnet.

"Seeing a business and people achieve their goals and having been a part of that process (is gratifying). Understanding the opportunities that it creates for region is very rewarding," she said. Sara thinks "big picture" and challenges herself to be innovative and find creative ways for impactful solutions. “Our mission is important. The Partnership is in a position to make a big impact.”

Sara began working for the Partnership when her husband's company relocated their family from Dayton, Ohio, in the summer of 2006. Prior to her move, Sara was the Development Director for the Montgomery County Transportation and Improvement District in Ohio. Working with communities to collaborate on issues of regional importance was among the valuable experience she gained while working there.

Sara graduated from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio and received her B.A. in business. She was also named Top 40 Under 40 by Dayton Business Journal.

Nick A. Egelanian
President
SiteWorks
Annapolis, MD

Nick Egelanian, President and Founder of SiteWorks, works at the forefront of mixed-use and lifestyle center development, providing services ranging from market and site selection to development consulting and leasing. Mr. Egelanian has working knowledge of retail in virtually all major markets in the United States and has led or participated in market research, consulting, and leasing projects throughout the country. Mr. Egelanian, in partnership with Bayer Properties, identified and participated in development of The Summit Sierra, in Reno, NV, and The Summit Front Range, in Ft. Collins, CO, and provided similar services in connection with proposed specialty retail projects in Petaluma, CA; Lehigh Valley, PA; and E. Fishkill, NY. Mr Egelanian has a BS from the University of Maryland and a JD from the George Washington School of Law.

Previously, Mr. Egelanian served as Vice President of Real Estate and New Store Development for FAO Schwartz Inc./Zany Brainy and Crown Books. At SiteWorks he has led expansion programs for numerous national retailers, including Stuart Weitzman Shoes, Balducci's, Gourmet Market, and Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spas among others.

William J. Ehrie, CEcD
President
Abilene Industrial Foundation, Inc.
Abilene, TX

Mr. Bill Ehrie was born in New York City, New York. He received his Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Industrial Management from Manhattan College, Riverdale, New York, in 1966, and his Master of Science degree in Systems Management from the University of Southern California in 1975. He is a graduate of Air Force Squadron Officers School, Air Command & Staff College, and the Air War College.

Bill's military career began with his commission through the Reserve Officer Training Corps in June 1966. He earned his pilot wings at Moody Air Force Base in Valdosta, Georgia. Subsequent assignments followed throughout the United States, Europe, and the Pacific. He flew B-52s, FB111s, and B-1s.

He served as a Flying Squadron Commander and Maintenance Squadron Commander as well as the Wing Commander in charge of Dyess AFB in Abilene, TX. He retired after 25 years of service at the rank of full Colonel in August 1991.

Bill worked in the Office of Development at McMurry University in Abilene, Texas for one year after retirement.

On September 1, 1992, he assumed the position he currently holds as President of the Abilene Industrial Foundation. He is a Certified Economic Developer (CEcD)

He has served on the Boards of United Way as Chairman, Salvation Army, and Hope Haven.

Mr. Ehrie was appointed by Governor Rick Perry to serve as Chairman of the Texas Military Preparedness Commission in 2003. He held this position until 2010.

Matthew K. Enstice
President & CEO
Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus
Buffalo, NY

Matt is President & CEO of the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, Inc. He has been with the BNMC since its creation in 2001, when he assumed a leadership position. At the time, Matt was a consultant with Niagara Consulting Group, a Western New York firm with a focus on urban planning and healthcare. Before that, through his position with Niagara Falls Redevelopment LLC, Matt managed the Fixed Base Operations at the Niagara Falls International Airport, and oversaw the Niagara Falls Civic and Convention Center.

Prior to returning home to Buffalo in 1998, Matt worked in the entertainment industry, first in Los Angeles and then in New York City. He was a production assistant for Broadway Pictures, working on the movie Lassie, and a production coordinator with Saturday Night Live.

Matt holds a B.A. in English from Hobart College and a Master of Business Administration from Canisius College. He is currently active as a board and founding member of the South Buffalo Charter School, and serves on the boards of the Buffalo Renaissance Foundation, Amherst Chamber of Commerce and Elmwood Franklin School.

Neil Everson, EcD
Director, Economic Development & Real Estate
Planning & Economic Development Department
City of Hamilton
Hamilton, Ontario
Canada

Neil is the Director of Economic Development & Real Estate for the City of Hamilton, Ontario (Pop. 500,000) a position he has held since 2000. He joined the Region of Hamilton-Wentworth in 1988 and prior to this worked for the Provincial Ministry of Industry & Trade and the Bank of Montreal.

Neil holds a Masters degree in Economics and undergraduate degrees in Business Administration and Urban Geography. He is a graduate of the University of Waterloo's Certified Economic Developer program and received his certification in 1991.

Neil is a Past President of the Economic Development Association of Canada (EDAC) and continues to chair a national committee. In 2006, he received the Economic Development Association of Canada's President's Award for his contribution to the profession and the national association. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Washington D.C. based International Economic Development Association.

In 2000, Neil was seconded by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities to lead a team conducting a review of the economic development operations in the City of Ostrava, Czech Republic. And in July 2005, Neil participated with the University of Waterloo in a Canadian International Development Agency Project in Dahlian, China.

Neil is married to Peggy, who operates her own small business. They have two sons - Mark 19 and Bill 17. Neil sits on the boards of seven local charitable and not-for-profit organizations along with representing the City of Hamilton on several Provincial/Federal task forces.

Maurice D. Ewing, CEcD
President & CEO
Union County Partnership for Progress
Monroe, NC

Mr. Ewing graduated from Appalachian State University in Economics and Business Administration and has completed advanced studies at UNC Chapel Hill, East Carolina University and the University of Oklahoma where he completed the Economic Development Institute. He has two careers in Banking. He spent 13 years at the Charlotte Chamber where he was responsible for New Business Recruiting in Mecklenburg County. He spent 10 years as President and CEO of Cabarrus Economic Development in near-by Cabarrus County. He has been in his current position since 2004.

During his 30+ years in economic and business development he has been involved in over 400 business locations and expansions representing more than 7,000 jobs. He created the first International Development Program at the Charlotte Chamber, and was the first local economic development professional in North Carolina to adopt a regional strategy for client location.

His personal interests include horse sports, Southern Appalachian heritage, gardening, mountain hiking, old home restoration, Sherlock Holmes Mysteries and the life and work of Walt Disney.

Robert Fine
Executive Director
Economic Development Commission for the Central Okanagan
Kelowna, BC
Canada

Robert Fine was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. After completing a degree in Urban Economics from the University of Toronto and Masters work at York University, Robert brought innovative programming to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario including GASAMO, a $35 million public gas-purchasing program under deregulation. He moved to British Columbia in 1989 where he worked for the Sea to Sky Economic Development Corporation until 1996. His many accomplishments included assisting in the development of Whistler which was named the number one ski resort in North America. In 1998, Mr. Fine was awarded “Economic Developer of the Year” by the Economic Development Association of British Columbia and the Bank of Montreal. He was honoured with an honourary fellow from Okanagan College and was named the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce's Business Leader Award winner for 2009.

Mr. Fine is currently the Director for the Economic Development Commission for the Central Okanagan Regional District located in Kelowna, British Columbia. He is Past President of the Economic Developers Association of Canada and sits as one of two Canadian representatives on the International Economic Development Council, based in Washington, DC. He is a member of the Provincial Small Business Roundtable, a director with Accelerate Okanagan, board member with the John Howard Society and has recently joined the Board of the Canadian Cancer Society, BC – Yukon. He writes a twice monthly column in the Kelowna Daily Courier, The Fine Print. In his spare time he sings the Great American Songbook, and has performed in Japan, the Caribbean, Germany and across Canada and the US. His 5th CD, a live recording with a 15 piece big band raised $20,000 for the BC Cancer Foundation.

Charles FitzGibbon
Vice President, Business Development
Journal Communications, Inc.
Franklin, TN

As vice president of business development, Charles FitzGibbon is responsible for developing new client relationships across the country for Journal Communications. Over the past five years, Charles has worked with hundreds of chambers of commerce and EDCs on successful promotional programs. He has completed IEDC coursework for basic economic development training, and marketing for business recruitement and attraction. Charles previously worked in the retail industry, where he sold sporting goods and outdoor products to big-box retailers like Walmart, Menards and Best Buy. He is a graduate of J. Mack Robinson School of Business at Georgia State University.

Richard C.D. Fleming
President & CEO
St. Louis Regional Chamber & Growth Association
St. Louis, MO

For over 30 years, Dick Fleming has been a civic entrepreneur, engaged in private sector and civic initiatives to revitalize center cities and metropolitan communities in Atlanta, Denver and, since August 1994, St. Louis. In July 1994, he was recruited to St. Louis as President and Chief Executive Officer of the St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association (RCGA), the bi-state region's chamber of commerce and economic development organization, where he currently serves. He oversees a staff of 50 and an annual operating budget of over $12 million.

The RCGA was named by the Industrial Asset Management Council in Site Selection Magazine as one of the 10 best economic development organizations in the nation in 2006 and again in 2007. Additionally, the St. Louis regional brand has been awarded the Public Relations Society of America's top award for 2007.

Nationally, Mr. Fleming serves as Chairman of Partners for Livable Communities; President of the Board of Trustees of Climate Prosperity, Inc. (the recently-established national nonprofit created by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, focused on linking economic development and climate change); a founding member and as current chairman of the Alliance for Regional Stewardship; the Past Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE) --- the national association of 1,200 chambers of commerce; a member of the Metropolitan Leadership Network; a Citistates Associate; a long-time active executive council member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI); the Past Chairman of the International Downtown Association; and is a Partner in the Brookings Institute's "Blueprint for American Prosperity".

Locally, he serves on the board or committees of: World Agricultural Congress (founding Board member); Chancellor's Council at the University of Missouri at St. Louis (UMSL); Center for Emerging Technologies; CORTEX; Arts & Education Council (vice chairman); Coalition for Plant and Life Sciences (founding member); Leadership Council Southwestern Illinois; St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association; St. Louis Sports Commission; United Way of Greater St. Louis; the Urban League; and Downtown Now! (Founding co-chair); and Partnership for Downtown St. Louis.

Thomas M. Flynn, CEcD
Director
Department of Economic Development, Loudoun County
Leesburg, VA

Louis J. Foreman
Chief Executive Officer
Enventys
Charlotte, NC

Louis Foreman is founder and CEO of Enventys, an integrated product design and engineering firm. He is also CEO of Edison Nation. Louis is the creator and Executive Producer of the Emmy® Award winning PBS TV show, Everyday Edisons. The show is in its fourth season and appears nationally on PBS. In 2007, Louis became the publisher of Inventors Digest, a 25 year old publication devoted to the topic of American Innovation. In 2009, his first book, The Independent Inventor's Handbook, was published by Workman Publishing.

A prolific inventor, he is the inventor of 10 registered US Patents, and his firm is responsible for the development and filing of well over 400 more. In 2010, he was elected to the boards of the Intellectual Property Owners Education Foundation (IPO) and The United Inventors Association (UIA). In 2008, Louis was appointed by United States Secretary of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez to serve for a three year term on the nine-person Patent Public Advisory Committee of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. In 2011, he was appointed by Secretary Gary Locke to serve an additional three year term. The Committee was created by Congress in 1999 to advise the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office on matters relating to the policies, goals, performance, budget, and user fees of the patent operation.

Honorable Anthony R. Foxx
Mayor
City of Charlotte, NC

The Honorable Anthony R. Foxx is the Mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina. He took the oath of office on December 7, 2009, becoming the city's 48th and youngest mayor.

Mayor Foxx's political career began in 2005 with his election to the Charlotte City Council as a two-term, at large representative. During his four years of service as a councilman, he chaired the Transportation Committee and was a member of the Economic Development and Planning Committee. He was council's representative to the Charlotte Mecklenburg Development Corporation and the Mecklenburg-Union Metropolitan Planning Organization.

Since 2009, Foxx has served as Deputy General Counsel at DesignLine Corporation. He previously served as an attorney at Hunton & Williams law firm, as a law clerk for the United States Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, a trial attorney for the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice, and as staff counsel to the United States House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary.

A native of Charlotte, Foxx received his bachelor's degree in history from Davidson College and earned his law degree from New York University School of Law as a Root-Tilden Scholar. He and his wife, Samara, have two children, Hillary and Zachary.

Mayor Foxx has articulated three goals for his tenure: (1) strengthening and diversifying the area economy; (2) improving quality of life; and (3) building stronger relationships between Charlotte, Raleigh and Washington.

Stephen G. Fulford
Chairman, Jefferson County Commission
Chairman, North Florida Broadband Authority
Tallahassee, FL

Stephen Fulford is Chairman of the Jefferson County Commission and Chairman of the North Florida Broadband Authority. He is a full time owner/operator of a successful farming operation. Recognized statewide for his expertise in farming, Fulford is the 2010 recipient of the Florida Farm Bureau Young Farmer and Rancher Achievement Award.

As a third-generation farmer, Stephen successfully combines the best practices passed through his family with state-of-the-art technology to efficiently and effectively manage resources and production.

Elected to the Jefferson County Commission in 2008, Fulford now spends time working to improve economic opportunity for his community and the region. He is on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of North Florida Economic Development Partnership and the Board of Directors for the Jefferson County Farm Bureau.

He has a Bachelor's of Science in Agricultural Management, and a Master's in Agronomy, both from the University of Florida.

When he's not busy farming or working in local government he enjoys spending time with his wife of 13 years, Tracie, and their three young children, Esther, 8; Gannett, 5, and Thomas, 18 months.

Sara Garcés
Chief Executive Officer
Red F Marketing
Charlotte, NC

Sara became CEO of RED F in 2005 after purchasing the business with her partner. Working with the world's best companies and helping them to re-define the future of marketing is RED F's long term goal. RED F has been ranked in the 500/5000 fastest growing companies in America by INC. magazine for the last five list publications. RED F has become one of the largest local marketing agencies as ranked by the Charlotte Business Journal. And in recognition of the innovative working culture, RED F was honored with the "Best Places to Work" award in 2010. To bring her passion for entrepreneurship to life, in late 2010, Sara Co-Founded Packard Place to advance the cause of entrepreneurship, innovation and community in Charlotte. The building will also serve as the world headquarters for RED F and its sister companies.

Sara holds a M.A. in Industrial Relations from the University of Minnesota and a B.A. in International Relations from Michigan State University. Prior to joining RED F, Sara she began her entrepreneurial career by starting a real estate company, RED CEDAR Properties. She has held senior positions at Lucent Technologies, Colgate-Palmolive, Carlson-Wagonlit, Dow Chemical and Hallmark Cards.

Sara active in the community and serves as Co-Chair for the Grameen America – Charlotte Advisory Board which is working to bring micro-finance to Charlotte. She is a founding member of the Business Innovation and Growth Council, a member of the Latin American Chamber of Commerce of Charlotte, and serves on both the Charlotte Chamber and the Queen City Forward Boards. Most recently, Sara was awarded the 2011 Woman Business Owner of the Year and is a past recipient of the 2008 NAWBO Charlotte "Rising Star" Award. She was also recognized by the Charlotte Business Journal as a 2008 Women in Business Achievement Award winner. She was named to Charlotte's 2010 "40 Under 40" and was a finalist for the 2008 National Latina Entrepreneur of the Year sponsored by Hispanic magazine. Sara is bi-lingual, bi-cultural and of Colombian descent. She is passionate about children's initiatives and started the Garces-Roselli Foundation in 1996 that focus' on Leadership Development for young people. Sara is also the proud mother of two sets of twins.

Jay A. Garner, CEcD, CCE, FM, HLM
President
Garner Economics, LLC
Atlanta, GA

Jay A. Garner, CEcD, CCE is the president and founder of Garner Economics, LLC, an economic development and site location consulting firm headquartered in Atlanta, Ga. Jay is a leader and innovator in the economic development profession, having served for more than 30 years as both an award-winning economic development and Chamber of Commerce CEO, and as a consultant to the profession. His firm assists clients throughout the U.S., Asia and Europe on a wide variety of projects, offering innovative, yet real-world solutions to achieve success. Jay often lectures and provides counsel on creating and implementing proactive global business development strategies and tactics. His firm is also a leader in providing assistance to corporate clients in their site selection process, such as Anchor Glass, Academy Sports, Hatfield Quality Meats, Stork Food Systems, Future Pipe Industries and others. His firm is the exclusive provider of site location services for Primus Builders—a global leader in architecture, engineering and construction management specializing in food processing manufacturing, and their worldwide clients. He is a founding member and a director for the Site Selectors Guild, a prestigious group of the top site consultants globally.

Jay is a graduate of West Virginia University with Bachelor of Arts and Master of Public Administration degrees. He is also a graduate of both the Economic Development Course at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Economic Development Institute at the University of Oklahoma, where he is an instructor in international prospecting. Jay has led over 25 trade and business development missions on four continents leading to the creation of thousands of jobs and several billion dollars in capital investment. He is a Certified Economic Developer (CEcD), a Fellow Member and an Honorary Life Member, the three highest professional designations awarded to those in the economic development profession by the International Economic Development Council. He is also a Certified Chamber Executive (CCE), a professional designation awarded to Chamber professionals by the American Chamber of Commerce Executives Association.

In 2009, the readers of Southern Business & Development magazine named Garner Economics as one of the best consulting firms in the U.S. As a practitioner, Jay was selected as one of ten outstanding leaders in economic development in the United States by Site Selection magazine while leading the economic development program in Mobile, Ala. The same publication also recognized him for running one of the ten best development organizations in the U.S. for six consecutive years. The mayor and city council of Mobile declared July 29, 1994 as "Jay Garner Day" in the city for his nine years of exemplary service as chief economic development officer for the city/county. As CEO of the Asheville, N.C. Chamber of Commerce, the organization became the first Chamber in the U.S. to win a Quality Award by the North Carolina Quality Foundation based on the national Malcolm Baldrige criteria. He was honored in both 2002 and 2003 by his alma mater, West Virginia University with Distinguished Alumnus Awards within the Department of Political Science and College of Arts and Sciences.

Susan L. Gates
National Director
America's Edge
Washington, DC

Susan L. Gates is a former business litigator who has extensive experience working in support of proven investments in children. Ms. Gates practiced for 18 years as a business litigation partner with Hall & Estill, a law firm of over 120 attorneys and headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, with offices in Oklahoma City, Northwest Arkansas, and Washington, D.C. Ms. Gates represented many business clients, from small businesses to Fortune 500 and other publicly-traded companies, throughout the country, specializing in complex litigation involving corporate and commercial issues, intellectual property, taxation, and environmental matters at both the federal and state level. In 2004, Ms. Gates left the law firm to serve as the General Counsel of a national children's advocacy organization located in Washington, D.C. As a member of that organization's executive office, she was responsible for organization-wide activities designed to create, strengthen and implement policies and programs to improve the lives of children in America. Ms. Gates became National Director of America's Edge in 2009. She has a J.D. degree with honors from the University of Tulsa, and a B.A. degree with honors from Oklahoma State University.

Cyndi H. Gaudet, PhD
Professor, Director
Department of Economic and Workforce Development
University of Southern Mississippi
Long Beach, MS

As Director of the USM Jack and Patti Phillips Workplace Learning and Performance Institute (WLPI), Cyndi managed more than $5M in projects in the last decade integrating Phillips ROI Methodology as the accountability framework. In her role as professor in the Department of Economic and Workforce Development, she designed and taught more than 20 different courses, and developed the Master of Science in Workforce Training and Development Program, and the Human Capital Development Ph.D. program – a program that academically prepares senior learning leaders to strategically lead and manage talent in organizations. Cyndi was among the first to pilot and implement online learning, recognized by her peers at USM with the 2009 Distinguished Professor of e-Learning award. As a scholar-practitioner, Cyndi is recognized as a regional and national expert in helping public and private sector organizations implement a systematic approach for developing human capital. Her award-winning research efforts garnered:

• $5M in external funding,
• 100 presentations at regional, national and international conferences
• 60 publications in leading human resource development journals, professional magazines, books, and conference proceedings
• 2005 Outstanding Faculty Research Award in USM's College of Science and Technology
• Awards from NASA, the Southern Growth Policies Board, and the American Society for Training and Development -- New Orleans
• Recognition as a top five finalist for the U.S. Department of Labor's 2005 Recognition of Excellence Award, Educating America's 21st Century Workforce

Gaudet has more than ten years experience working with the Phillips ROI Methodology. She holds ROI Certification from the ROI Institute, a B.S. and M.Ed. from Southern Miss and a Ph.D. in Human Resource Education and Workforce Development from Louisiana State University.

Dan Gerlach
President
The Golden LEAF Foundation
Rocky Mount, NC

Dan Gerlach is president of the Golden LEAF Foundation, which utilizes one-half of North Carolina's share of tobacco settlement funds to assist the state's tobacco-dependent, economically distressed, and rural communities. Since its inception, the Foundation has awarded 1,071 grants totaling more than $497 million to 501(c)(3) nonprofits and governmental entities. After working as a budget analyst for the New York State Assembly for 5 years, Gerlach spent 14 years as the director of the NC Budget and Tax Center and the Senior Fiscal Advisor for Gov. Easley. He currently serves on Gov. Perdue's Budget Reform and Accountability Commission, the NC Network of Grantmakers Board of Directors and his church finance council as Chair. Dan holds a M.P.A. in state and local public finance from the Maxwell School of Syracuse University and bachelor's degrees in economics and English from the University of Notre Dame. He has served as an adjunct instructor of public administration at UNC-Chapel Hill and NCSU.

Sven Gerzer
Director
State of West Virginia, USA - European Office
Munich, Germany

Sven Gerzer has nine successful years of business development for the U.S. State of West Virginia in Europe and two years of program building at the University of South Carolina. He joined the West Virginia European Office in September of 2002 and served as Marketing Manager and Deputy Director until March 2005 when he resumed the position of Director. West Virginia conducts marketing and business development in Europe to create jobs and economic growth by drawing FDI to the state by offering business consulting and transactional services, as well as incentives. Sven manages and directs West Virginia's objectives and relations in Europe, manages a small team of employees and works with a project management team in the United States to meet investor objectives. Services include client and project management, business location consulting, negotiation of financial incentives and transaction agreements, human resource development and recruiting, arranging professional services for investors, and interfacing between the European investor and the state and local governments. Sven has a Bachelor and a Master degree in International Studies from the University of South Carolina in Columbia, is married and a native of Munich, Germany.

Gerald L. Gordon, PhD, FM, HLM
President & CEO
Fairfax County Economic Development Authority
Vienna, VA

Dr. Gordon is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Economic Development Authority in Fairfax County, Virginia, one of the largest office space markets in the United States. He has been with the FCEDA since late 1983. In that time, office space in the county grew from 32 million square feet to more than 115 million square feet and jobs in the county grew from 243,000 to more than 600,000. As a result, the real estate tax rate has decreased from $1.47 to $1.07.

Dr. Gordon has also worked for Arlington County, Virginia and the United States Department of Labor. Dr. Gordon was instrumental in creating the Emerging Business Forum and bringing the 1998 World Congress on Information Technology to Fairfax County. In 2005, the FCEDA was named by Site Selection Magazine as one of the Top Ten Economic Development organizations in North America. In 2007, Time magazine called Fairfax County "one of the great economic success stories of our time."

Dr. Gordon has taught at the Catholic University of America, the University of Maryland, George Mason University, and Virginia Commonwealth University. He has consulted with numerous city and state governments throughout the United States and around the world, as well as the governments of the Republic of Poland, the island of Vieques in Puerto Rico, and the Federated States of Micronesia. He has also served as a consultant to various government agencies, the United States Navy, businesses, non-profit organizations, associations, colleges and universities, and the United Nations.

Dr. Gordon holds a Bachelor's Degree from The Citadel, a Master's Degree from George Washington University, and a Doctorate in International Economics from the Catholic University of America. He is the author of eleven books and numerous articles on strategic planning, economic development, leadership styles, and other management topics. Dr. Gordon is the 2003 recipient of the prestigious Israel Freedom Award of the Israel Bonds organization. In 2006, Dr. Gordon became the first American to address the All-Parliamentary Exports Group in the British House of Commons. In 2007, Dr. Gordon was accepted for inclusion on the roster of Fulbright Senior Scholars. In 2007, Dr. Gordon was named a Fellow of the International Economic Development Council, and in 2010, he received the James Rees Award from the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce.

Robyn Hamilton
Director of Business Relations
Democratic National Convention Charlotte Host Committee
Charlotte in 2012
Charlotte, NC

Robyn Hamilton has dedicated over 20 years advocating for inclusiveness and shared prosperity for all communities. Her current role is with the 2012 Democratic National Convention Host Committee, as the Director of Business Relations. In her previous role, she served as the President & CEO of the Carolinas Minority Supplier Development Council, Inc. (Carolinas MSDC) for five years. During her tenure, Ms. Hamilton's aggressive vision led the Carolinas MSDC to experience tremendous success in making sure that minority businesses were accessing opportunities. Just in the last year the organization's corporate membership reported over 47% growth in their minority supplier base. She led the Council to see an increase in minority business certifications, and more importantly an increase of more than $413 million in annual sales in 2010. Her most noted accomplishment was providing leadership to the Charlotte business community around making Charlotte “the most inclusive business community.” Ms. Hamilton shaped the Minority Economic Development Initiative for the Charlotte Chamber to begin an intentional, inclusive and sustainable program that moved the community toward building mutually beneficial business relationships with minority firms and major buying entities. Prior to her current position, she served the small and minority business community as a Business Development Specialist with the U.S. Department of Commerce, Deputy Director of the South Dekalb Business Incubator, Program Manager of the Georgia Minority Supplier Development Council, and the Marketing Director of the Atlanta Minority Business Development Center.

Ms. Hamilton obtained her B.A. in Human Resource Management from Saint Leo University and a MBA from McColl School of Business, Queens University where she was a distinguished Leadership Charlotte fellow. She extended her education at the Tuck School of Business, at Dartmouth College in Building Adaptive Small, MBE and Native American Businesses. In addition to her education, she also served in the U.S. Army as a Military Analyst and the U.S. Air Force as a Social Actions Specialist. She has a list of committees and involvement in the community throughout her career that reflects her willingness to make sure those who have been historically left out, our now included.

Lynn Martin Haskin, PhD
Director of External Affairs
Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations
Philadelphia, PA

Lynn Martin Haskin, Ph.D., is Director of Communications at the Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations. PACDC is comprised of 80 organizations including 45 Community Development Corporations (CDCs) in neighborhoods throughout the City of Philadelphia. PACDC advocates for policy and delivers member services to advance neighborhood economic development, affordable housing, and comprehensive planning. Previously, Dr. Haskin was Vice President and did economic development marketing at Development Counsellors International. Prior to that, she was Associate Director at Greater Philadelphia First where she did regional economic development and marketing for 12 years. Before joining GPF on a sabbatical that led to a career change, Dr. Haskin was Director of Academic Affairs at Penn State University – Delaware County Campus. Prior to that she taught journalism and was the first woman tenured in Penn State's School of Journalism. While there, she was recruited by the president of Temple University to serve for one year as Special Assistant to the Provost for Academic Planning and Organization. Earlier in her career, she was a reporter and editor for daily and weekly newspapers in Greater Philadelphia.

Dr. Haskin is active in numerous professional and civic associations. At IEDC, she currently serves on the Governance Committee of the International Economic Development Council and chairs the Performance Oversight and Monitoring Committee. She is Co-Chair of IEDC 2013 Annual Conference in Philadelphia. She was Philadelphia Chair of the 2001 (CUED) Annual Conference in Philadelphia, raising $289,000, and she served on the 1995 CUED Annual Conference committee in Philadelphia. Also for IEDC, she served on the External Member Relations Committee, co-chaired the Regional Marketing Committee, taught numerous marketing and business attraction courses, served on the Awards Judging Committee for more than a decade, recruited communities to host IEDC conferences, attracted sponsors to support IEDC, and hosted meetings at her home to build support for IEDC.

In her community, she is immediate past chair of the Old City (business improvement) District and serves on its Marketing and Strategic Planning Committees. She is past chair of Historic East Market, Inc., (HEMS) an economic development and historic preservation organization she co-founded when she was president of the Old City Civic Association (1989-1992). While leading HEMS, she completed a $6 million PennDOT streetscape project; raised $160,000 to maintain the improvements (now in Old city District's 501c3); and leveraged more than $20 million in additional private and public investment. Dr. Haskin also serves on the Board of Directors of the Arden Theatre and was chair during the theater's expansion into a renovated marine supply store in Old City. She is a Board member of Astral Artists, and she is a member and former officer of the Forum of Executive Women.

She has a doctorate in communications from Temple University and certification as an economic development financial professional from the National Development Council. She also has an M.S. in communications and a B.S. in journalism from Temple University. She and her husband, Don, live in a mixed use project two blocks from the Liberty Bell.

Charles Austin Hayes, CEcD
President & CEO
Research Triangle Park Regional Partnership
RDU Airport, NC

Charles A. Hayes is president and CEO of the Research Triangle Regional Partnership (RTRP), the public-private partnership that leads economic development for the 13-county Research Triangle Region of North Carolina.

He is active in numerous professional organizations including the University of North Carolina Board of Governors, N.C. Partnership for Economic Development, N.C. Economic Developers Association (past president), International Economic Development Council, RTI Board of Directors, Kennan Fellow Advisory Board, and UNC Center for International Understanding

He is a frequent speaker on strategies for promoting economic growth and prosperity in a knowledge-based economy.

• Hugh Shelton Leadership Conference
• National Governors Association
• IBM Leadership Event

During his tenure, RTRP has been widely recognized as an exemplary economic-development organization. It has received the following awards/recognitions:

• International Economic Development Council's regional collaboration award
• U.S. Economic Development Administration's National Award for Excellence in Economic Development Regional Competitiveness Strategic Planning
• Council for Entrepreneurial Development's Outstanding Service to Entrepreneurs Award
• Goodmon Award for Exemplary Regional Leadership by an Organization and an Exemplary Regional Partnership.

Hayes received bachelors and masters degrees from East Carolina University and economic development certifications from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the International Economic Development Council. Hayes served in the US Army, a Vietnam Veteran. Hayes is married with 3 children and 2 grandchildren and teaches Sunday school at the St. Luke Methodist church in Sanford NC.

Jeff Hendry
Executive Director, Florida Institute of Government
North Florida Broadband Authority
Tallahassee, FL

Jeff Hendry, Director for the John Scott Dailey Florida Institute of Government, FSU

Jeff is currently the Director for the John Scott Dailey Florida Institute of Government at Florida State University (FSU), a research, training, and technical assistance center. He has been with the Institute for more than 20 years and was appointed in July 2005 as only the second Executive Director ever to lead the Institute.

In this capacity, he also serves as the Executive Director for the North Florida Economic Development Partnership (NFEDP), the Northwest Florida and Suwannee River Leagues of Cities. The NFEDP recently led the grant development effort that produced a $30.1 million Broadband Infrastructure grant award from the NTIA of the U.S. Department of Commerce. The grant will serve the 14-county North Florida Rural Area of Critical Economic Concern (RACEC) in North Central Florida.

He received his undergraduate degree in Political Science in 1985, and Master's in Public Administration (1990) from Florida Atlantic University. He is married to his wife Tim, and they are blessed with two beautiful children Danielle, 13; and Josh, 11.

Doug Henton
Chairman & CEO
Collaborative Economics, Inc.
San Mateo, CA

With over 30 years of experience, Doug Henton was project manager for the start-up of the Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network, an innovative, results-oriented regional economic development alliance. Doug directed the strategic planning process involving more than 1,200 corporate, community, and public-sector leaders. He was a senior advisor for the Silicon Valley 2010: A Regional Framework for Growing Together. He continues to serve as Joint Venture's economist, and is the architect of Joint Venture's annual Index of Silicon Valley.

Doug is a consultant to the California Economic Strategy Panel, California's first state economic strategy process linked to industry clusters and regions. He was a consultant to Next 10 for the development of the Green Innovation Index, Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, Chicago Metropolis 2020, the Potomac Conference and Arizona Partnership for a New Economy. Doug is currently a board member of the Climate Prosperity Project.

Doug founded Collaborative Economics in July 1993 after a decade as assistant director of SRI International's Center for Economic Competitiveness. With colleagues Kim Walesh and John Melville, Doug has written a book, Grassroots Leaders for the New Economy: How Civic Entrepreneurs Are Building Prosperous Communities, published by Jossey-Bass in March 1997. Their second book Civic Revolutionaries: Igniting the Passion for Change in America's Communities published by Jossey-Bass in October 2003.

Gregory G. Hilton
Project Manager
Sagacious Partners
Columbia, SC

Gregory Hilton is a project manager with Sagacious Partners, LLC where he manages project and program activities for major initiatives such as EngenuitySC, The Columbia Talent Magnet Project, The South Carolina Council on Competitiveness, and the USC-Columbia Fuel Cell Collaborative. From talent attraction/retention, to technology-based economic development, Greg brings dynamic vision for the future and a strong background in results oriented project management.

He is a Liberty Scholars Fellow, and graduate of the nationally ranked International MBA program at the University of South Carolina. Greg has lived and worked in various countries in Latin America, and brings a wealth of knowledge in global commerce and development consulting. He speaks Spanish fluently, and has a working knowledge of French. Born in Ohio, and raised in North Carolina, Greg pursued undergraduate studies at the University of North Carolina, La Universidad San Francisco de Quito, ITESM-Guadalajara, and La Universidad de Buenos Aires. He graduated Cum Laude with a B.A. in Latin American studies and a B.S. in Environmental Science.

Greg's background in economic development and business consulting with a host of local and international private and non-profit development organizations brings a strong focus in international business, capacity building, research, and collaboration and project management. Greg's professional areas of interest lie in technology commercialization, global business development, alternative energy, clean technology, knowledge-based economic development, and SME capacity building.

Greg is an active community development volunteer, having served as a board member for USC's Young Alumni Council, the 2009-2010 co-chair for Columbia Opportunity Resource (COR), and is an active volunteer with Harvest Hope Food Bank, Habitat for Humanity, and various other groups.

Don A. Holbrook, CEcD, FM
Partner
The Vercitas Group
Las Vegas, NV

Don Holbrook is a private practitioner involved in site selection for private sector investment projects and economic development consulting nationally as one of the fields most influential and recognized subject matter experts. His site selection practice specializes in public backed business attraction inducements and incentives within the tourism destination location entertainment industry. The establishment of public private partnerships in such projects is critical to their success. Don has specialized in creating customized incentive policies that reduce the over-all cost of the project to the clients with favorable ROI to both the private and public sector partners that takes into account market based realities, economic risk & reward justifications and economic impact models that support investor solicitation packages to the private debt and equities capital markets worldwide.

Holbrook is recognized as an early pioneer of site location and community profiling technology in web based infrastructure. He assisted in establishing the data standards utilized today as the industry standard through his role at the International Economic Development Council, IEDC. He is regarded as one of the experts in the field of technology based site selection and creative financing for public investments in attracting business catalyst private sector projects. He is the developer of the patent pending dynamic site location database model now currently licensed to the industry with the IEDC.

He has authored two books, his first the "Little Black Book of Economic Development, 2007" and his most recent book, "Who Moved My Smoke Stack. 2008" He is a highly published and quoted subject matter expert and is a frequent keynote speaker on the "Art of the Deal Today" and "Globalization" for economic development groups, chambers of commerce and corporations internationally and within the North American markets. He is a highly sought after expert within the media industry for his over-all knowledge of economic development practices and private sector investment acumen. He has been a guest and interviewed by national news sources such as; Fox News, NBC News, Washington Post, New York Times, Wall Street Journal and USA Today along with numerous local news media.

Donald E. Jakeway
President & CEO
Brooks Development Authority
San Antonio, TX

Mr. Donald E. Jakeway is the President and CEO of the Brooks Development Authority (BDA) in San Antonio, Texas. As the President and CEO of the BDA, he leads one of the most unique public/private economic development projects in the United States. Through an unprecedented partnership between the City of San Antonio and the United States Air Force, the former Brooks Air Force Base is being re-developed into a world-class research and technology center.

Don previously served as Director of the Ohio Department of Development (ODOD). Under his tenure, the ODOD was named one of the "top ten development agencies in the world" for two straight years by Site Selection Magazine. He subsequently served as President and CEO of Northwest Ohio's Regional Growth Partnership (RGP) and Regional Technology Alliance (RTA), non-profit corporations dedicated to fostering economic development and enhancing technology opportunities in the region.

Mr. Jakeway also led the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), a $100 million public/private partnership, established as a one-stop economic development agency for the state of Michigan.

Barry Johnson
Executive Director
SelectUSA
US Department of Commerce
Washington, DC

Barry Johnson serves as the Executive Director of SelectUSA within the U.S. Department of Commerce. Established in June 2011 by Executive Order of the President, SelectUSA is a government-wide initiative to encourage, facilitate and accelerate business investment by both domestic and foreign firms in the United States. The initiative is housed within the Office of the Secretary of Commerce and reports to the President quarterly.

As Executive Director, Johnson manages the promotion of the United States as the world's premier business investment destination, guiding the strategy and implementation of SelectUSA to facilitate business investment in the United States to create jobs, spur economic growth, and promote American competitiveness. He also chairs, with the Director of the White House National Economic Council, the SelectUSA Interagency Investment Working Group to coordinate existing resources across the federal government to promote business investment and address federal regulatory barriers. SelectUSA partners with state, regional and local economic development organizations engaged in the escalating global competition for business investment.

Prior to leading SelectUSA, Johnson was Senior Advisor and Director of Strategic Initiatives at the department's Economic Development Administration, where he focused on regional innovation policy and development of 21st century communities where innovation, business investment, and job creation can flourish.

With over 20 years of business experience as an entrepreneur and corporate executive with a focus on public-private partnerships, Johnson has led several Obama administration regional innovation initiatives that leverage resources from across federal agencies. He has collaborated with the White House, other federal agencies and regional leaders to implement innovative regional solutions to improve competiveness and foster economic growth.

Johnson serves as one of the U.S. Government's delegates to the Paris-based OECD, where he is a Vice Chairman on the Territorial Development Policy Committee and member of the Investment Committee.

Before his appointment to the Obama administration, Johnson has held an extensive background in starting innovative new businesses within media giants such as the Walt Disney Company, Bertelsmann, and Sony Music Corporation and was formerly founding President of MSBET, a joint venture between Microsoft Corporation and BET Holdings.

David H. Jones
President & CEO
Peak 10, Inc.
Charlotte, NC

David co-founded Peak 10 in March of 2000 and has led the company to a top market position as the leading independent data center operator and managed services provider in the United States. As the company's President and CEO, David has assembled a talented management team which has worked together to build the industry's strongest balance sheet and income statement, as well as a solid forecast for long-term growth and continued profitability. Peak 10 was named to Inc. magazine's 500 fastest-growing private companies for two consecutive years.

David was the 2009 chairman of the N.C. Technology Association board of directors and serves on the Executive Committee. David currently serves on the advisory board for the College of Computing and Informatics at the UNC-Charlotte and previously served on the executive committee and board of directors for the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce and as chairman of the Business Innovation and Growth (BIG) Council. David has received numerous professional distinctions including Business Person of the Year for 2010 presented by the Charlotte Business Journal, Entrepreneur of the Year Award presented by the Charlotte Chamber and Trailblazer Award presented by the Metrolina Entrepreneurial Council.

Rick Jones
Director, US Public Sector Strategies
Cisco Systems
Crownsville, MD

Rick Jones is Director of Strategic Relations in Cisco's U.S. Public Sector Strategic Relations Operation, which focuses on building strategic relationships and related activities for Federal, State and Local governments in the US. The primary focus for this role is to articulate and promote the economic development, quality of life and connected government benefits of Cisco's global Smart+Connected Communities initiative to public sector elected and appointed leaders.

Since joining Cisco in 2007, Mr Jones has held several positions within Cisco's Development and Sales organizations in both Federal and State/Local public sector markets. His most recent postion was as the Director of Public Sector Strategies, managing Cisco's external public sector consultants/lobbyists and strategic association relationships. His existing role includes establishing and maintaining executive relations with with US public sector executives and elected officials across government, strategic associations, influencers who shape policy and business decision makers.

Prior to joining Cisco, Mr Jones worked for for Intel Corporation for over 24 years in a variety of sales, marketing, government affairs and business development and emerging market positions, primarily focused on executive level Public Sector customers in Federal, State/Local and global markets. He was responsible for articulating Intel's technology leadership and directions to public sector leaders and alliances with all major technology suppliers – computer OEM's, OS vendors, independent software vendors and emerging technology inovators.

Prior to Intel Corporation, Mr Jones worked in a wide variety of IT management roles in defense, financial services, manufucturing and distribution.

Mr Jones holds a BS in Computer Science from Miami University in Oxford, OH. He currently resides in Annapolis, MD.

Peter Kageyama
Founder & Producer
The Creative Cities Summit
Southport, CT

Peter Kageyama is the co-founder and producer of the Creative Cities Summit, an interdisciplinary event that brings together citizens and practitioners around the big idea of the city. Peter is the former President of Creative Tampa Bay, a grassroots community change organization. He has spoken all over the world about bottom up community development and the amazing people that are making change happen.

David Edward Kalinchuk
Economic Development Manager
Rocky View County
Calgary, Alberta, Canada

David Kalinchuk is the Economic Development Manager for Rocky View County, just outside of the City of Calgary, in southern Alberta, Canada.

In addition to a Bachelor of Education from Brandon University (Manitoba), Dave's formal education includes a Certificate in Economic Development from the University of Waterloo (Ontario) and a certificate in Economic Development from the University of Oklahoma. Dave has also completed the Community Economic Development certificate program from Simon Fraser University (British Columbia).

Since 1997, Dave has been delivering lectures on Economic Development, through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), at universities, business schools and international conferences throughout Central and Eastern Europe. The most recent lectures were given at universities in Kiev and Western Ukraine in 2010.

Dave has just finished writing a book on the “Economic Development of the Individual”, to be printed and launched in 2012.

In Dave's extra time, he enjoys cooking Middle Eastern, Mediterranean and East Indian foods as well as producing (painting) and collecting art. As a culinary horticulturalist, he considers gardening one of life's essential activities. Dave and his wife Olga have a daughter, Sofia, and live in Calgary.

Stan M. Kaplan
Director of the Office of Electricity, Renewables, and Uranium Statistics
US Energy Information Administration
Washington, DC

Stan has worked in the energy and environmental areas, focusing on power generation and fuels, since 1978. Prior to rejoining EIA as Director of the Office of Electricity, Renewables, and Uranium Statistics he was a Specialist in Energy and Environmental Policy with the Congressional Research Service. Immediately before joining CRS, Stan was a team leader managing electric power survey data collection and analysis at the EIA.

Stan has otherwise worked for energy consulting firms and for regulatory agencies, including the Texas Public Utility Commission, and served as manager of fuel supply for Austin Energy, the municipal utility serving Austin, Texas.

Betsy Keeler
Deputy Director
District of Columbia Government
Office of Economic Development Finance
Washington, DC

Betsy Keeler joined the District's Economic Development Finance division in March of 2005. The Economic Development Finance division, within the Office of the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), provides sophisticated analysis of fiscal, economic, financial, and/or administrative impacts of proposed projects to the Chief Financial Officer, Mayor, Deputy Mayor for Economic Development, and Council so that they can appropriately assess economic development initiatives and ensure maximum economic benefit to the city.

Ms Keeler has been involved with examining the financing of many of the major economic development projects in the District, including the new baseball stadium and the DC USA retail center in Columbia Heights. She served as a liaison to the Anacostia Waterfront Corporation and has advised the Deputy Mayor's office on projects along the waterfront including Southeast Federal Center (The Yards), Capper Carrollsburg, and the Southwest Waterfront. Ms. Keeler provides analysis and recommendations to the CFO and Deputy Mayor on a variety of tax increment financing and payment-in-lieu-of-taxes financing proposals.

Prior to joining the District, Ms Keeler worked at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. There she worked in a variety of positions including FHA's Multifamily Low-Income Housing Preservation division, the Office of GSE Oversight, and the Office of Policy Development and Research. She has a Masters of Public Policy from Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government and a BA from Tufts University.

Wayne Kelly
Research Manager
Rural Development Institute
Brandon University
Brandon, MB
Canada

Paul J. Kleijne
Partner
ARCUSplus - Transatlantic Business Development
The Hague, Netherlands

Paul Kleijne is an international business development expert with ARCUSplus, with many years of experience advising national and regional development agencies in Europe and North America developing strategic, marketing & acquisition and retention management plans. Moreover, his firm is also able to assist agencies setting-up investment attraction and lead generating activities in foreign markets.

From 1997 through 2005 he held various positions at the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA) in Chicago. He was appointed Area Director and later on Marketing Director at the agency's Midwest office, mandated to target and attract North American companies to locate overseas expansion in the Netherlands. He developed an extensive network with North American and European corporations, governmental and intermediary organizations. Back in the Netherlands Paul co-founded ARCUSplus and worked for prominent clients such as the NFIA, City of Amsterdam, the Province of Utrecht, Leiden Bio Science Park, the State of Texas, the State of North-Carolina, Western Massachusetts.

Paul holds a Bachelor's Degree in Engineering, a Master's Degree in Business and Real Estate Law, and has completed additional courses in Business Administration (Nyenrode Univerity), Business Marketing Strategy and Communications Strategy (Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management), and Financial Analysis (University of Chicago).

Wade Kloos
Account Executive
Esri
Broomfield, CO

Wade Kloos has over 20 years experience working for and with state and local governments. His municipal government experience includes working in community development, advance planning, environmental review, CDBG administration and geographic information systems (GIS) capacities. Wade has also worked in the market research field performing economic/market feasibility studies for real estate development. In his role as municipal GIS coordinator, Wade applied geospatial solutions to improve staff and public access to city information, provided analysis to better interpret organizational data and presented timely information to city decision-makers. For the past 10 years as an Account Executive for Esri, (Esri is the world leader in GIS software), Wade has helped transform the way organizations collect, analyze, manage and use information so that they maximize return on investment and make better, more informed decisions. Wade specializes in Esri's economic development solutions and frequently presents on the use of Esri's solutions for economic development/gardening.

Christopher Knight
Senior Account Manager for USA
fDi Intelligence
London, England

Chris Knight heads the fDi Benchmark division of fDi Intelligence -- in addition to serving as a business development executive focusing on the US and UK markets -- and is an expert in the benchmarking of locations. He has been working on benchmarking projects for more than four years and has worked with some of the largest economic development organisations globally to help them promote themselves to foreign investors and assess their competitiveness for investment.

Chris develops bimonthly rankings for various sectors using inhouse data which are published in fDi Magazine; the most recent of these were rankings identifying the best locations globally for attracting renewable energy FDI projects. As well as benchmarking, Chris works on a variety of different reports comparing market and sectoral performance in terms of FDI.

fDi Intelligence is a specialist division from the Financial Times Ltd established to provide industry leading insight into globalization with a portfolio of world-class products, services and business tools that allow both companies and economic development organizations alike to make informed decisions regarding foreign direct investment and investment attraction. The fDi Intelligence portfolio includes fDi Atlas, fDi Benchmark, fDi Markets, fDi Magazine and fDi Reports.

Michael W. Krajovic
President
Fay-Penn Economic Development Council
Uniontown, PA

Mike Krajovic is president and CEO of the Fay-Penn Economic Development Council, a non-profit organization located in Uniontown, PA. Under his leadership, the organization and its affiliates grew from a start-up in 1992 to having over $55 million in assets. With over 25 years of experience in community and economic development, Mike has helped attract over $1 billion in new investment in the Pittsburgh region. As a social entrepreneur, he is a champion for improving public education[Michael W. Krajovic] , monetary policy and other aspects of society including belief systems, tourism, the environment, economics, land use, agriculture[Michael W. Krajovic] and local economy initiatives. He is an expert in strategic visioning and planning with the ability to creatively analyze and breakdown complex issues into implementable strategies. He has served on numerous boards throughout the region and the state.

Mike is a Certified Economic Development professional and an engineering degree from Bucknell University, a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Pittsburgh, a Masters in Social Artistry from the Graduate Theological Foundation in Southbend, Indiana and has attended additional education and training courses at Harvard and Carnegie Mellon Universities.

Robin Roberts Krieger, FM, HLM
Executive Vice President
Greater Oklahoma City Chamber
Oklahoma City, OK

Robin Roberts Krieger is Executive Vice President of Economic Development for the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber, and leads the 10-county region in international and domestic business recruitment, and Oklahoma City in expansion and retention, research and strategy development. She oversees contracts with the City of Oklahoma City and Oklahoma County to provide their economic development services. She recently played a key role in the acquisition of the idled GM facility by the County, which has been leased to the US Air Force and Tinker AFB.

Roberts Krieger is a native of Oregon, and has over 15 years of public service in the economic development and public policy arena. Prior to assuming the position in Oklahoma City, she served as a Regional Coordinator for the Oregon Governor's Office, focusing on developing cooperation between local, community and state government on economic development projects. Areas of focus included Transportation, Land Use, Housing, and Environmental Issues. She spearheaded an effort to expand Fort Clatsop National Park during her tenure.

Previously she served as Director of Economic Development for the Portland Development Commission, where she oversaw Economic Development activities as well as two urban renewal areas, including light rail development to the Portland International Airport. Prior, she was Executive Director of Economic Development for Central Oregon, and International and Product Development Manager for the Oregon Tourism Commission, part of the Oregon Economic and Community Development Department. She spent several years in the private sector before entering public service.

Roberts Krieger holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education from Oregon State University (Go Beavers!) and a Master's of Science in Educational Administration from Portland State University. She has completed OU/EDI, and was a scholarship recipient for the Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government.

She is Past Chair of The International Economic Development Council, the first woman and first Oklahoma to hold this position. She serves on the Board of the Industrial Asset Management Council (IAMC), as well as the Governor's Economic Development Marketing Team. Krieger is a member of the US Air Force Chief of Staff's Civic Leader Program. She recently joined the Advisory Committee for SMART (Single Mothers Academic Resource Team), an effort to help further the educational attainment of single mothers in Oklahoma; and The ACM@UCO (Academy for Contemporary Music at the University of Central Oklahoma) Business Development Center Advisory Board. She serves on the Advisory Board for Leadership Oklahoma.

Roberts Krieger is the co-author of "Community Wisdom", a humorous look at economic and community development, and has written numerous articles and is a frequently requested speaker on economic development topics.

Paul L. Krutko, FM
President & CEO
Ann Arbor SPARK
Ann Arbor, MI

Paul Krutko is Ann Arbor SPARK's president and CEO. In this role, he leads the organization's efforts to expand the regional economy through business attraction, retention and acceleration.

Paul has more than 31 years of economic and business development expertise. Before joining Ann Arbor SPARK, he led San Jose, California's economic development efforts, where he served as chief development officer. He has also worked in economic development for the cities of Cleveland and Jacksonville. In addition to his economic development leadership for San Jose and other cities, Paul founded Peloton Development, a consultancy devoted to advising businesses and municipal, regional, state, and national governments on economic development and climate prosperity strategies and on creating high performing economic development leaders and teams.

Paul is secretary/treasurer of the International Economic Development Council. He co-chairs the organization's Economic Development Research Partners subsidiary. He was selected as a Fellow Member of IEDC in 2009. He earned a bachelor of urban planning and design degree from the University of Cincinnati, College of Design, Architecture and Art.

Ronald C. Kysiak, HLM
Manitowoc, WI

Ronald C. Kysiak headed a non-profit, private economic development corporation, Evanston Inventure, Inc. from 1984 until 2010. Evanston Inventure, Inc. is supported by the city's largest employers and institutions, including city government, hospitals, banks, large land and building owners, and Northwestern University. Initiated and implemented long-term economic development strategies and programs. Effected change through forging partnerships among and between government, university and the private sector

From 1986 until 2005 Mr. Kysiak was Executive VP and CEO of the Northwestern University/Evanston Research Park, a 20-acre mixed use, urban research park located just north of Chicago.

Prior to Northwestern University/Evanston Research Park, Mr. Kysiak served as Deputy Development Administrator, Director of Economic Development for the City of New Haven, Connecticut, and Director of Economic Development for the City of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Mr. Kysiak Planned and started the New Haven Science Park at Yale. He is also the past president of both the Council for Urban Economic Development and the Association of University Research Parks. Recipient of the DeLuca Lifetime Achievement Award from IEDC and the Career Achievement Award from AURP.

Mr. Kysiak is currently a consultant in the US and overseas on technology-based economic development including research parks, incubators, seed capital formation and investing, technology commercialization and strategic planning for the creation of new knowledge communities.

Ray Laughter
Vice Chancellor for External Affairs
Lone Star College System
The Woodlands, TX

Ray Laughter serves as Vice Chancellor for External Affairs for the Lone Star College System, one of the largest and most progressive community colleges in the nation with over 80,000 students on six comprehensive campuses. He is responsible for marketing and communications, government affairs, grants and resource development, the Lone Star College Foundation, and community and economic development partnerships and programs. These economic development programs are unique for a higher education institution and include the coordination of the regional North Houston Economic Development Alliance, the Center for Business and Economic Development, the regional Small Business Development Center, the Community Development Institute.

He has served on numerous boards and committees related to economic and community development

International Economic Development Council Higher Education Advisory Committee and 2012 Conference Host Committee
Texas Economic Development Council Board of Directors
Southern Economic Development Council – Chair Community Development/Leadership Committee
Community Development Council Board of Trustees
Gulf Coast Workforce Development Board
Greater Houston Partnership Economic Development Committee
The Woodlands Economic Development Partnership Board of Directors
Magnolia Economic Development Partnership Board of Directors

Prior to joining the college he served as Chief Administrative Officer for an international helicopter manufacturer and President of the Business Services Assistance Corporation.

Samuel VK Lee
Senior Manager
Deloitte Tax LLP
Chicago, IL

Samuel Lee is a Senior Manager practicing in our Chicago office. Sam focuses on Credits & Incentives engagements providing project feasibility services; expansions and relocations services; business incentive negotiations; and, all phases of program implementation, compliance and maintenance services. With over 25 years of experience in the field, his expertise and experience in providing business solutions have consistently served to benefit domestic and international companies and corporations.

Sam received his Bachelor of Science from Cal Poly and his Masters in Public Administration from Northern Illinois University. Before joining Deloitte Tax LLP, Sam served as a Senior Manager with KPMG LLP and with Ernst & Young LLP. He also served with the PHH Fantus Company. He was inducted into Lambda Alpha, presented before various economic development associations and contributed articles to various business publications.

Mary Kay Leonard
President & CEO
The Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC)
Boston, MA

Mary Kay Leonard is the President and CEO of the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC). She is responsible for managing ICIC's strategic direction and increasing ICIC's impact on inner city economic development across the U.S. She also directs ICIC's efforts to engage new corporate and foundation partners, expand recognition and education programs for inner city businesses and leverage the underutilized assets of America's urban communities to maintain the country's competitiveness internationally.

Prior to joining ICIC, Mary Kay served as the Senior Vice President for The Community Builders (TCB), one of the nation's leading developers for low-income housing areas. Under her leadership, TCB successfully launched a program to double the earned income level of residents living in affordable and mixed income housing. Previously, Mary Kay was the Interim CEO and Chief Operating Officer of United Way of Massachusetts Bay (UWMB), and later the Vice President of Investor Relations for the United Way system where she was responsible for raising more than $1 billion in annual revenue.

Before her tenure with the United Way system, Mary Kay was the Senior Vice President for Work/Family Directions (WFD), a privately held company that designed and delivered work/life and employee assistance programs for Fortune 500 companies. She was instrumental in growing WFD from $20 million in annual revenue to $70 million before its sale to Ceridan. From 1985 to 1990, Mary Kay served as the Commissioner for the Massachusetts Office for Children and is credited with doubling the agency's budget during her tenure.

Mary Kay is a graduate of Colgate University with a degree in Urban Studies and holds a J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law. She has completed senior executive programs at Yale School of Management, Harvard Kennedy School, and Harvard Business School.

Andrew T. Levine
President/Chief Creative Officer
Development Counsellors International
New York, NY

Andy Levine is President of Development Counsellors International (DCI), a firm that specializes in all phases of economic development and travel marketing. The DCI team has worked with a broad range of cities/regions (Charlotte, Kalamazoo, San Diego, Denver) states (North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Utah, North Dakota) and countries (Colombia, Dubai, South Africa and Scotland).

Since 1960, the firm has worked with more than 400 economic development and tourism organizations. Areas of expertise include editorial placement/media relations, prospect development/qualification, marketing blueprints, perception studies, special events, crisis communication and community branding.

The Johnny Cash tune, "I've Been Everywhere, Man" could be Andy's theme song – and he has the frequent flyer miles to prove it.

David Levine
Cofounder, Executive Director
American Sustainable Business Council
Washington, DC

David is the co-founder and executive director of the American Sustainable Business Council. ASBC is a growing coalition of business networks and businesses committed to advancing a new vision, framework and policies that support a vibrant, equitable and sustainable economy. The Council brings together the business perspective, experience and political will and strength to stimulate our economy, benefit our communities, and preserve our environment. Today, the organizations that have joined in this partnership represent over 100,000 businesses and more than 200,000 entrepreneurs, owners, executives, investors and business professionals. www.asbcouncil.org

David has directed of Sustainable Economies at the Environmental Health Fund , where his work catalyzes interest in green chemistry and the development of innovative sustainable materials, products, processes and businesses. He is a founding partner of Green Harvest Technologies, a business working on producing sustainable biobased consumer products.

He has worked as a social entrepreneur for over 30 years focusing on the development of whole systems solutions for a more sustainable society through building strategic partnerships and broad stakeholders initiatives. Previously, he was the Founding Director of Continuing Education & Public Programs at The Graduate Center, City University of New York. From 1984-1997, David was Founder and executive director of the Learning Alliance, an independent popular education organization.

Susan Liberty
Vice President, Infrastructure & Economic Development
McGuireWoods Consulting
McLean, VA

Susan Liberty has extensive economic development and legislative experience. Prior to joining McGuireWoods Consulting, she was the Director of Policy and Business Development at the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority where she assisted major corporations with their relocation and business expansion requirements. In addition to concentrating on local business retention she led the business expansion team that has successfully marketed Fairfax County in Silicon Valley. She also has experience providing the full range of relocation and business expansion services to international companies. Previously, she was the Chief of Staff for Thomas M. Davis, III during his term as Chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. Prior to that, she served as Deputy Chief of Staff tof Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman John F. (Jack) Herrity. Susan has campaign experience at the national, state and local level. Additionally, she is involved in fundraising efforts for several major charities serving her community.

Susan is a member of the infrastructure and economic development team specializing in incentive negotiations for corporations as well as representing clients' interests on a variety of issues with state and local officials. Additionally, Susan represents clients on a number of public-private partnership initiatives and she is part of several teams pursuing projects using this innovative procurement method for transportation and other infrastructure needs. She also works closely with clients using her contacts with state and local officials to bring about a successful outcome on land use and zoning issues throughout Virginia.

Rick Little
Director, Real Estate
Weyerhaeuser Company
Real Estate Services
Federal Way, WA

Rick has been an employee of Weyerhaeuser Company since 1983. He started with the company as a environmental paralegal, spent two years as Manager of Information Systems for the Law Department and for the last twenty years has been a part of the Real Estate Services group, serving as Director since 2002. The charter of the RES team is to provide support to the company's non-timberland operating businesses including site selection, contract negotiation, lease administration and the disposition of surplus assets. Weyerhaeuser Company occupies more than 20 million square feet in 300+ sites worldwide. Rick also manages the Land Title group responsible for the administration and maintenance of all permanent real property records, including the six million acres of privately held timberlands.

Weyerhaeuser Company, one of the world's largest forest products companies, was incorporated in 1900. In 2010, sales were $6.8 billion. It has offices or operations in 10 countries, with customers worldwide. Weyerhaeuser is principally engaged in the growing and harvesting of timber, the manufacture, distribution and sale of wood products and cellulose fiber; and real estate construction and development.

Mert Livingstone
Vice President, Workplace Solutions
Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceuticals Group
Raritan, NJ

Mert Livingstone is Vice President, Workplace Solutions for Johnson & Johnson. Mert provides leadership for global strategic portfolio planning and has direct operational responsibilities for J&J's North American portfolio of sites.

Mert has 25 years of leadership experience in corporate real estate and facilities management within the pharmaceutical industry, including Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Pharmacia, Monsanto and G. D. Searle.

Mert is a member of the board of directors for IAMC (Industrial Asset Management Council), currently serving as Vice Chairperson. He is also a member of CoreNet Global, currently serving on the faculty for CoreNet's SLCR curriculum.

Mert holds a B.S. in Business from Roosevelt University (Chicago, Ill) and an MBA from Lake Forest Graduate School of Management (Lake Forest, Ill).

Ben Loftsgaarden
Principal
Greyhill Advisors
Austin, TX

Ben Loftsgaarden is a Principal at Greyhill where he leads engagements for clients in comprehensive economic development planning, cluster and target industry analysis, economic impact analysis, and land use planning. He specializes in project management, strategy development, facilitating public input and improving economic development organizational effectiveness.

Prior to his economic development work, Mr. Loftsgaarden was a consultant engineer in the energy industry where he managed exploration projects and field tested new innovations for large energy companies. Leveraging this background, Mr. Loftsgaarden has been instrumental in developing a focus on the impact the energy industry can have on community development and oversees the strategic consulting initiatives the firm conducts in this area.

Mr. Loftsgaarden has been a frequent speaker at economic development and site selection conferences. He offers insight on energy topics, strategies for cluster growth and the best practices of effective economic development organizations. He has provided interviews to National Public Radio, the Economist, the Austin American Statesman and a variety of regional print, television and radio news organizations throughout the U.S.

Mr. Loftsgaarden holds a B.S. in Bioengineering from The University of Pennsylvania and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from The University of Texas at Austin.

Ted Lyman
Managing Director
IHS Global Insight
Oakland, CA

Ted Lyman is Managing Director of IHS Consulting's Economic Strategy Solutions unit. Prior to joining IHS, Ted worked at Stanford Research Institute (now SRI International) for 20 years. With colleagues, he moved to DRI/McGraw Hill in 1992 and the group subsequently moved to ICF Consulting in 1996. He retired from ICF Consulting in 2000.

Ted has more than 30 years of consulting experience, nearly all focused on assisting government and private sector leaders with policies and action initiatives aimed at enhancing economic development. His global experience has brought Mr. Lyman acclaim as one of the world's experts in the development and implementation of strategies for enhancing regional economic competitiveness. The World Bank has recognized Mr. Lyman as one of the world's relatively few experts in the area of economic competitiveness. In July 2002, he was inaugurated as a Fellow in the World Academy of Arts and Sciences in recognition of his contributions to civil societies around the world.

He holds a graduate degree in Public Policy and Public Administration and has completed Executive Management work at Stanford University. His background includes authoring books, lecturing at leading universities and work with the World Bank Institute on new approaches to regional development.

Bill MacRae
Vice President of Marketing & Online Publisher
Business Facilities
Tinton Falls, NJ

Bill MacRae is a veteran interactive marketer and currently serves as the Vice President of Marketing and Online Publisher for Group C Media Inc., a business and trade periodicals publisher and producer of events in the fields of Corporate Real Estate and Facility Management.

At Group C Media, Bill leads his marketing and web development teams in building and managing quality, high-performing and cost-effective interactive programs for economic development organizations.

Prior to working at Group C Media, Inc., Bill worked as the Director of Marketing for Technology Marketing Corporation in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Bill holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing from Franklin Pierce University in Rindge, New Hampshire.

Daniel Malachuk
Executive Consultant
Former Worldwide Managing Consultant of Arthur Andersen's Global Business Strategy
New Canaan, CT

Daniel Malachuk works with business and government leaders on business deployment and global direct investment. As a consulting partner in Arthur Andersen's Global Corporate Finance Group, he was the worldwide leader of the firm's Global Business Location practice. He now serves as an advisor to several firms and places.

His clients have included some of the world's most dynamic enterprises, including Procter & Gamble, General Motors, Philip Morris, Deutsche Bank, GE Capital, Citibank, Goldman Sachs, New York Life, Caltex, Total, Level 3, and the NCAA. He has also advised young technology companies.

Dan has worked with more than 25 cities, states and countries on their economic development programs -- from Siberia to Bahrain, Montreal to Malaysia. Most recently, he has continued to serve as a consultant to the government of Puerto Rico and as an advisor to a Middle East financial institution.

Dan received his undergraduate degree in English Literature from Hamilton College and a Masters Degree in Finance from the George Washington University School of Business.

Dan served as an officer in the US Navy in the Pentagon and in Vietnam and later took leave from his consulting career to serve as Director of White House Operations.

Robert J. Marcusse
President & CEO
Kansas City Area Development Council
Kansas City, MO

Bob Marcusse joined the Kansas City Area Development Council (KCADC) in 1991 as president and chief executive officer. During his tenure, KCADC along with its state and local partners have attracted companies that have created over 30,000 new jobs and $4.0 billion in capital investment to the 18-county, bi-state Kansas City region.

Bob has an extensive background in domestic and international corporate attraction, business growth and retention, and regional marketing. He has spearheaded major growth initiatives in the region such as the Kansas City Area Life Sciences Institute, KC Animal Health Corridor and KC SmartPort and the Trade Data Exchange.

Bob's community involvement extends well beyond his role at KCADC. Bob serves on the Executive Committees of KC SmartPort and Missouri BIO. He is a member of the University of Kansas Edwards Campus Advisory Board, Rockhurst University School of Business Advisory Board and University of Missouri Economic Development Cabinet. He is immediate past Chairman of the University of Kansas Medical Center Research Institute.

Bob has also held leadership positions with the Columbus (OH) Area Chamber of Commerce, the Economic Development Council for the Peoria area, Battle Creek (MI) Unlimited, and the Inland Port Authority of South Central Michigan and Foreign Trade Zone #43.

Bob graduated from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with a Bachelor of Science degree. He received his Master of Science from Purdue University.

Deborah M. Markely, PhD
Managing Director and Director of Research
RUPRI Center for Rural Entrepreneurship
Chapel Hill, NC

Deborah M. Markley is Managing Director and Director of Research for the Rural Policy Research Institute's Center for Rural Entrepreneurship, a national research and policy center. Her focus within the Center is practice-driven research and evaluation of best models for entrepreneurship development in rural places.

Prior to her work with the Center, she was the Chair of the Rural Policy Research Institute's Equity Capital Initiative and completed a national study of nontraditional venture capital institutions. Her research has also included case studies of entrepreneurial support organizations, evaluation of state industrial extension programs, and consideration of the impacts of changing banking markets on small business finance. She has extensive experience conducting field-based survey research projects and has conducted focus groups and interviews with rural bankers, entrepreneurs, business service providers, venture capitalists, small manufacturers, and others. Her research has been presented in academic journals, as well as to national public policy organizations and Congressional committees.

Dr. Markley received her PhD. in agricultural economics from Virginia Tech in 1984 and has held faculty and research positions at the University of Tennessee, the University of Massachusetts, and Purdue University.

Barry I. Matherly, CEcD
Executive Director
Lincoln Economic Development Association
Lincolnton, NC

Barry Matherly is a certified economic developer with over 17 years of leadership experience at the city, county, non-profit and university levels.

Currently, Barry is the executive director of the Lincoln Economic Development Association, a private, non-profit corporation charged with facilitating industrial and office development in Lincolnton and Lincoln County, NC. Previously, he was the Director of Economic Development for the communities of Goochland and Pulaski, Virginia and the Special Projects Manager at the Economic Development Assistance Center at Virginia Tech University.

Mr. Matherly has a bachelor's degree from James Madison University and a master's degree from Virginia Tech University. He is also a graduate of the Economic Development Institute at the University of Oklahoma and a recipient of the Robert B. Cassell Leadership Award.

Barry serves on the Governance Committee of the International Economic Development Council Board and is the Chair of its Planning and Business Development Committee. He is also a member of the Economic Development Research Partners group.

Barry Matherly was named one of the 40 Leaders Under 40 (2002) by the Charlotte Business Journal, recognized as a North Carolina Main Street Champion and is a Senior Fellow of the American Leadership Forum.

Bill McMeekin
Content Director, Business Publications
Journal Communications, Inc.
Franklin, TN

Bill McMeekin is director of content/business at Journal Communications in Franklin, TN. He joined the custom media publishing company in January 2008 and oversees content development and direction for JCI's economic development and business publishing programs. JCI's work in that segment includes the statewide economic development publications for Kentucky, New Jersey, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas, as well as several regional economic development organizations across the country. He has more than 20 years' experience in business journalism as a reporter, editor and publisher, including as editor of award-winning business publications in Buffalo, N.Y., and Columbus, Ohio, and publisher of a business newspaper in Nashville. He has a degree in mass communications from St. Bonaventure University in New York state.

Jeffrey S. Merrifield
Senior Vice President
Shaw Power Group
Houston, TX

Jeffrey S. Merrifield joined The Shaw Group in August 2007 as senior vice president of Shaw's Power Group.

As a member of the Power Group's executive team, Mr. Merrifield is focused on enhancing the group's external relationships, including business development, marketing and communications, government and regulatory affairs, customer relations and strategic planning. Mr. Merrifield has been particularly involved in supporting the group's nuclearrelated efforts.

Mr. Merrifield served two terms (1998 to 2007) as a U.S. Senate-confirmed commissioner of the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Appointed by President Clinton and reappointed by President Bush, Mr. Merrifield served as one of five individuals overseeing this independent Commission that regulates the safety and security of the 104 operating nuclear power plants in the United States.

During his tenure, Mr. Merrifield led a number of high-level U.S. government delegations that included meetings in 30 of the 31 countries that operate nuclear power plants, including Japan, and visits to more than half of the world's 440 operating nuclear units. He also served as acting NRC chairman during the August 2003 blackout when nine nuclear reactors underwent emergency shutdowns, as well as during an emergency situation that led to the first evacuation of an NRC licensed site since Three Mile Island.

Mr. Merrifield led more than a dozen simulated reactor emergency drills for the NRC. Mr. Merrifield was involved extensively in the 9/11 response and is very familiar with safety changes made as a result of the event.

Before he was appointed to the NRC, Mr. Merrifield served as the staff director for the United States Senate Subcommittee on Superfund, Waste Control and Risk Assessment (January 1995 to October 1998). Throughout his tenure, he was a 10-year staffer in the United States Senate and was a member of the former Senate Environment Committee Counsel.

From September 1992 to January 1995, Mr. Merrifield served as an associate of the Washington, D.C.-based law firm of McKenna and Cuneo. From January 1987 to July of 1992, Mr. Merrifield served as a legislative assistant for two New Hampshire Senators.

With a law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center, he is an environmental attorney and is a member of the bar of both New Hampshire and the District of Columbia.

Dennis Meseroll
Director
Tractus Asia Ltd.
Bangkok, Thailand

Dennis Meseroll is one of Tractus Asia's Bangkok-based Directors. He helped found the company in 1995 and has since then been responsible for the firm's business development and corporate strategy advisory practice in Asia. During his 14 years with Tractus, Mr. Meseroll has worked with clients in the real estate, electronics, consumer goods, automotive and heavy manufacturing industries, as well as advised investment promotion agencies across Asia. His work has spanned the areas of corporate strategy, strategy implementation, site selection, partner screening, mergers and acquisitions, negotiations support, and project management.

Mr. Meseroll is also on the advisory board of Site Selection Magazine and the faculty of CoreNet Global, where he teaches about site selection and foreign direct investment issues in Asia. He is a member of the Association for Asian Studies, the Mineral Economics and Management Society (MEMS) and the co-founder of the Small to Medium Enterprises Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce in Thailand. After receiving his B.A. in geology from Rutgers University, Mr. Meseroll spent a year as a Fulbright fellow in Thailand completing research that would lead him to his M.A. in applied/mineral economics from Pennsylvania State University. He is fluent in Thai.

John P. Metcalf
Senior Partner
Corporation for a Skilled Workforce
Ann Arbor, MI

Residing in Charlotte, North Carolina, John P. Metcalf is a Senior Partner with Corporation for a Skilled Workforce where the focus is on reimagining everything about work and learning in the global economy. Mr. Metcalf focuses on community and institutional strategic planning, organizational effectiveness, transformational and change management, executive coaching, and leadership development. During his ten (10) year tenure with CSW, Mr. Metcalf has involved himself in creating innovative integration strategies for workforce, economic, and education development at the community level. Most of his work has centered on strategies engaging community stakeholders to bring about a preferred future.

Before his involvement with solving community workforce challenges, Mr. Metcalf spent 30 years at AT&T in a broad range of sales and executive leadership positions allowing Metcalf to bring a business focus to community planning.

Mr. Metcalf has served Charlotte-Mecklenburg and North Carolina in a variety of volunteer positions centering on workforce, economic and education initiatives. He was Vice-Chair of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Workforce Development Board that successfully developed a strategic plan for the board and community. He served as Chair of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School to Career Partnership, served as board member of the Academy of Finance Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools, board member of the Charlotte World Affairs Council, and board member of the NC Education Partnership.

His most recent transformational work has involved co-authoring the North Carolina State of the Workforce report 2007; his work on the award winning Texoma Region Economic and Workforce Development Community Plan; authoring the 2005-09 Charlotte Region State of the Workforce Report; co-authoring the Ft Bragg Comprehensive Regional Development Plan on Workforce Development; his work with the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction where he has led the Reinvention of Career and Technical Education; his work with the North Carolina Workforce Commission on strategic re-direction; serving on the Governors 2009 Workforce and Education Commission; and numerous other state-level workforce engagement projects in South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Rhode Island, North Dakota, Hawaii, Pennsylvania; and local work in 36 states.

Simon Fancis Millcock, ACEcD FGLF
Economic Development Officer
Indian Ocean Territories
Attorney-General's Department
Christmas Island, Australia

Simon Millcock has over 12 years experience in the filed of Economic Development and was one of the first Australian Certified Economic Developers (ACEcD). He has been an active EDA National Director for the past 4 years including:

• Development of the policy, procedures and risk management documentation
• Managed 2008 and 2009 Economic Development Australia Awards for Excellence
• Established the South Australian and Western Australian State Practitioner Networks of EDA
• Developed the EDA Regional and Remote ED Training Program
• Presented at National and International Conferences (represented EDA at IEDC Conferences)

Currently the Economic Development Officer for Australia's Indian Ocean Territories for the small isolated communities of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Christmas Island employed by the Department of Regional Australia, Regional Development and Local Government. Christmas Island with a population base of less than 2,000 was the winners of two of eight National Australian Awards for Economic Development Excellence in 2010.

Simon is a passionate believer that regional and remote communities are a key component for nations as they help drive national economies and identity. Simon is now working on international ED study tours and a Regional International Conference.

Simon is a 2005 Graduate of the South Australian Governors Leadership Foundation.

Janet M. Miller, CEcD, FM
Chief Economic Development & Marketing Officer
Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce
Nashville, TN

Janet M. Miller is Chief Economic Development Officer for the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce. Janet has oversight of a twelve-member economic development team that acts as the region's lead marketing agency for economic development with functions including business recruitment, working with existing Nashville-based firms on expansions, entrepreneurship initiatives, and international business. Miller works on a day-to-day basis with corporate executives of relocating companies to advise on relocation investments and locations. Successful relocation projects in which Miller has been involved include Nissan's North American headquarters, Dell Computer Corporation, Caremark Rx, Asurion, Louisiana-Pacific, HCA, PRIMUS/Ford Motor Credit, Mars Pet Care, and numerous others. Since she took on the departmental leadership role at the Chamber in 2002, over 78,000 jobs have been created in the Nashville region and over 240 companies recruited.

Miller was named the local Sales and Marketing Executive Association's National Salesperson of the Year for 2006, and was named one of three "Women of Influence" in the "Inspiration" category by the Nashville Business Journal in July 2007. She was named a Fellow Member of the International Economic Development Council in recognition of exceptional contributions to the field of economic development in America in Fall of 2007. She is a past-President of the Tennessee Industrial Development Council, a past Tennessee director for the Southern Economic Development Council Board, and a board member and past chairman for the Tennessee Economic Partnership. She is also a Tennessee board member of the National Association of Industrial and Office Parks (NAIOP); a member of AAA Auto Club's Tennessee advisory board, a member of the International Economic Development Council (IEDC), an associate member of CoreNet Global, past membership recruitment chair and program committee co-chair for Nashville's Downtown Rotary Club, a member of the Business Leadership Committee for Lipscomb University; and serves on numerous other boards. She is a graduate of the 2001 class of Leadership Nashville, and is a member of Leadership Music's 2007-2008 class. Miller is a frequent lecturer at economic development classes around the country, including engagements as an instructor at Basic Economic Development Courses at Georgia Tech, the University of Kentucky, and for the Tennessee Basic Course.

Miller is a graduate of the Economic Development Institute at the University of Oklahoma, and she received the Certified Economic Developer designation, the industry's highest achievement, in 2000. Prior to her tenure at the Nashville Chamber, she served as Director of Research and Marketing for Grubb & Ellis/Centennial, Inc., one of Nashville's largest commercial real estate firms.

Lauren Millier
Principal
Millier Dickinson Blais
Toronto, Ontario
Canada

Lauren Millier began her career as a senior planner with Toronto firm Walker Wright Young before becoming senior portfolio planner with the Management Board Secretariat and Ontario Realty Corporation. In 1995, she joined Coopers & Lybrand, rising to the position of Vice-President in the series of corporate mergers that produced PricewaterhouseCoopers.

In 2003, Lauren helped spin PWC's successful real estate advisory services practice into a new firm, urbanMetrics, which she joined as a partner. As her work and interests increasingly moved further into the economic development field, Lauren helped launch Millier Dickinson Blais as a vehicle for delivering high-value consulting assistance to communities and organizations wrestling with their shifting roles in a global economy and the challenges and opportunities this can create.

Lauren holds a Bachelor of Environmental Studies (Honours Planning) degree from the University of Waterloo and is both a Registered Professional Planner and a Member of the Canadian Institute of Planners. She has served for several years as Director on the Board of the Economic Developers Council of Ontario and in 2010 was elected President of that organization. She has also been invited to sit as a member of the Toronto Board of Trade Economic Development Committee.

Honorable James E. Mitchell, Jr.
President, National League of Cities
Council Member, Charlotte, North Carolina
Office of the City Council
Charlotte, NC

James E. Mitchell, Jr., is president of the National League of Cities (NLC), the nation's oldest and largest organization representing municipal government.

As a council member, he represents Charlotte City Council District Two. Elected in 1999, he is now serving his sixth term on the city council.

Council member Mitchell is the chair of the Economic Development Committee, the vice chair of the Housing and Neighborhood Development Committee, and a member of the Restructuring Government Committee. He is the council representative to the Visitors Advisory Committee, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Housing Partnership, and the Charlotte Regional Partnership Board.

He is the former chair of NLC's National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials (NBC-LEO) Foundation, and participated in NLC's Leadership Training Council and Institute for Youth, Education, and Families. He is the past president of the North Carolina Black Elected Municipal Officials (NCBEMO) and served on the board of the North Carolina League of Municipalities (NCLM).

His local activities include serving on the boards of the Police Activities League, the Right Moves for Youth Advisory Council, and the North Carolina Center for Afterschool Programs (NC-CAP). At East Stonewall AME Zion Church, he serves on the Stewards Board.

Council member Mitchell is a graduate of the following leadership programs: the Harvard John F. Kennedy School Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government, the North Carolina Institute of Political Leadership, the Leadership Charlotte, and the Focus on Leadership.

He received his bachelor's degree in Business Administration from North Carolina Central University, and is a member of the Tau Psi Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.

NLC President James Mitchell is employed as Managing Director for Integrated Capital Strategies (ICS) LLC. He is blessed with two wonderful daughters, Kayla and Nicole.

Jay C. Moon, CEcD, FM
President & CEO
Mississippi Manufacturers Association
Jackson, MS

Jay C. Moon is the President and CEO of the Mississippi Manufacturers Association, the largest and most influential voice for Mississippi manufacturers. The Association represents more than 2,200 manufacturers and associated members. As President of the MMA, Jay has helped to develop and win passage of several significant legislative programs. Jay worked with Governor Barbour, the Mississippi legislature and other business leaders to enact landmark civil justice reform. Jay helped to develop and pass Momentum Mississippi, one of the most comprehensive improvements to Mississippi's business incentive offerings. Other significant legislative incentive packages supporting Mississippi companies, such as Viking, Baxter, Northrop Grumman and Howard Industries, were also made possible through Jay's leadership.

Jay has over twenty-five years of professional economic development experience in site development, business retention, strategic plan development, financial incentive creation and marketing. Prior to joining the MMA, Jay served as the Deputy Director/Chief Operating Officer and Director for International Development with the Mississippi Development Authority. During that period, Jay was responsible for the recruitment of many well-known national and international companies to Mississippi. Jay led Mississippi's successful effort to locate the new $1.5 billion, 5,300 employee Nissan Automotive Assembly facility. This project was named by Site Selection Magazine, Corporate Location Magazine, Area Development Magazine and Southern Business & Development Magazine as the top development project of that year. Through Jay's efforts, the state development authority received consistent recognition for its innovative business attraction and support programs, including acknowledgment by Site Selection Magazine as one of the top ten economic development organizations in the US.

Jay is well known throughout the state and nation for his progressive approach to economic development and his leadership capabilities. Jay has extensive experience in international markets including Asia, Europe, and Latin America. He has led dozens of trade and investment missions and has managed international offices in seven countries. In addition, Jay has successful community based economic development experience, having directed the economic and community development, planning and building programs for the City of Gulfport, Mississippi.

He is currently the Secretary/Treasurer of the International Economic Development Council, the largest economic development organization in the world. Jay has also been designated by the IEDC as a Fellow Member. This designation is given to those who have attained unusual stature in the field of economic development. Jay is a Certified Economic Developer. Jay also served on the board of the American Economic Development Council for two terms. Jay is a former President of the National Association of State Development Agencies. He is a graduate of the Economic Development Institute where he currently serves as an instructor on international trade and marketing. Jay is also an instructor for the EDI/IEDC program in Mexico. Jay is a member of the Executive Board with the University of Oklahoma's Economic Development Institute and is responsible for international programs and special projects. Jay is the chairman of the Mississippi Manufacturing Extension Partnership, is a board member with the Mississippi Intermodal Council and the Mississippians for Economic Progress. He is a board member with the State of Mississippi Workforce Investment Board and the Southern Global Strategies Council, a part of the Southern Growth Policies Board. He is a board member with the Mississippi State University College of Business Advisory Board and the Center for Manufacturing Excellence with the University of Mississippi. He was appointed by Governor Haley Barbour to be a member of the Governor's Comprehensive Tax Study Commission, the National Governor's Association Sector Strategy Policy Academy and the Mississippi Energy Policy Institute. He is also a member of the Society of International Business Fellows. Jay has an undergraduate degree in International Relations and a Masters of Public Administration from the University of Georgia.

Ioanna T. Morfessis, PhD, HLM
President & Chief Strategist
IO.INC.
Phoenix, AZ

Ioanna Morfessis is the President and Chief Strategist of IO.INC, a worldwide business and economic development consulting firm. With her distinguished track record and reputation as an economic development executive and founder of three best-of-class organizations, Dr. Morfessis has devoted her professional life to helping companies and communities grow and prosper.

Based in Phoenix, AZ, IO.INC is a visionary consulting practice that delivers expert strategies and solutions to help leaders, organizations and places grow. Among IO.INC's clients are cities, global and domestic companies, publicly traded and privately held; master planned community developers and nonprofit organizations.

Prior to starting her own company, she was the founding President/CEO of the Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore and the Greater Phoenix Economic Council, and also served as the inaugural director of the Montgomery County, MD Office of Economic Development. In these posts, she led efforts to recruit and expand more than 300 firms that combined, invested over $27 billion in private capital and generated more than 250,000 direct new jobs.

Dr. Morfessis also served as the Chairman of the International Economic Development Council and is an Honorary Lifetime Member. She is a founding director of the Helios Education Foundation, a $500 million foundation that provides access to post-secondary education in Arizona and Florida.

Yasuyuki Motoyama, PhD
Senior Scholar
Ewing and Marion Kauffman Foundation
Kansas City, MO

Yasuyuki Motoyama is a Senior Scholar at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. He received his Ph.D. in City and Regional Planning at the University of California Berkeley. Dr. Motoyama has served as a post-doctoral associate at the University of California, Los Angeles, a lecturer at the University of California, Irvine, and a post-doctoral scholar at the University of California, Santa Barbara. His primary research areas are regional economic development, science and technology development, and entrepreneurship. His published works include an analysis of the cluster theory in the Economic Development Quarterly and a research study of high-skilled immigrants and their networks in the Journal of Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Other works focusing on nanotechnology development were published in Technology in Society and Technological Forecasting and Social Change. His forthcoming book, Global Companies, Local Innovations (Ashgate Publishing, 2011) analyzes the geographic dimensions of innovations.

Michael J. Mozenter
President, JumpStart Community Advisors
JumpStart Inc.
Cleveland, OH

As President of JumpStart Community Advisors, Mike leads the application of expertise JumpStart has gained through its Cleveland area work transforming the economic impact of entrepreneurial ventures and the ecosystems supporting their growth to regions across the country. With an initial grant from the Economic Development Administration and private philanthropic entities, JumpStart Community Advisors is actively involved with assessments and building regional action plans to increase entrepreneurial activity and the growth of high impact companies.

Before joining JumpStart, Mike founded BizLogx, a company that helped clients address challenges relating to technology commercialization and business development. Through BizLogx, Mike worked with the Ohio Department of Development (ODOD) in the design and evaluation of programs to assist entrepreneurs in their efforts to establish, fund, and grow technology-based businesses. Prior to BizLogx, Mike was a partner in a seedstage venture capital fund and served as an investment banker with Banc One Capital Corporation. His career began as a corporate finance attorney and he served as the General Counsel of Goal Systems, a publicly held software company located in Columbus, Ohio, while at Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease.

Mike has a J.D. and a B.A in Science Policy from Duke University and a Masters of Management from the J. L. Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

David J. Myers, CEcD
Executive Director
Ponca City Development Authority
Ponca City, OK

David J. Myers serves as the Executive Director of the Ponca City Development Authority, (PCDA) a position he has held since September of 2003. He currently serves as the Chairman of the Governor's Economic Development Marketing Team and is a past President of the Oklahoma Economic Development Council, (OEDC).

PCDA, is a stand alone public trust serving the City of Ponca City, is the only economic development organization in the State of Oklahoma which has been accredited by the International Economic Development Council. Prior to joining PCDA, Myers served as President for the Greater Antelope Valley Economic Alliance, (GAVEA) in Lancaster, California. GAVEA was a public-private organization developed to build the economy of an area with 440,000 residents and a strong aerospace heritage. Myers joined that organization in 1999.

Myers career includes service as a Regional Manager for the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation, two terms as a member of the Palmdale (California) City Council, the Transportation Chairman of the Southern California Association of Governments, the largest Council of Government in the United States, two years with the Palmdale Water District and ten years with United Cerebral Palsy in Los Angeles and Texas.

Myers holds a B.A. in Political Science from California State University, Northridge and a Masters Degree in Negotiation and Conflict Management from California State University, Dominguez Hills. He holds the International Economic Development Council's Certified Economic Developer credential and was named the outstanding economic development professional for 2008 by the Oklahoma Professional Economic Development Council.

He and his wife Janice, a graduate of the University of Oklahoma, have been married 28 years. They have two children: Diana, a 2007 graduate of Oklahoma State University, and Greg, a 2011 graduate of Oklahoma State University and a second Lieutenant in the United States Air Force.

Samuel Nasca
Chairman
City of Hornell Industrial Development Agency (IDA)
Hornell, NY

Edward A. Nelson, Jr.
President
EAN International Consulting, Inc.
Stone Mountain, GA

Edward A. Nelson, Jr., is founder and President of EAN International Consulting, Inc., a private Economic Development firm that provides economic development services to redevelopment projects that impact local communities world-wide. He is the immediate past President and CEO of the DeKalb Chamber of Commerce. He was Director of Economic Development at Fulton County, GA. He was founder, Chairman and CEO of a 55-employee consulting firm with offices in three states specializing in Economic Development, Business Development and Industrial Development. He started his Economic Development and Industrial Development experience in 1972 at the Industrial Development Division (IDD) of the Engineering Experiment Station at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

He is past chairman of the International Economic Development Council (IEDC). He is a certified Economic Development (CEcD) professional, and recipient of the prestigious Fellow Member (FM) and Honorary Life Member (HLM) designations of the International Economic Development Council. He has served on the boards of many organizations including the Georgia Economic Developers Association, Regional Business Coalition in Atlanta, the International Village Cultural and Community Center, the International Village Advisory Board, the DeKalb Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau. He has a B.S. from Hampton University and a MBA from Atlanta University.

April Mason Nichols
Marketing Director
GIS Planning Inc. & ZoomProspector.com
San Francisco, CA

With a strong news sense and a flair for developing compelling storylines, April has spent the last 15 years managing marketing communications campaigns for economic development, real estate and business groups. Originally from Oklahoma City, she began her career as marketing/media relations manager for the Kansas City Area Development Council, where she spent nearly five years working with local media and developing award-winning marketing materials. In 1999, she moved to New York City to work for Development Counsellors International, where she managed national public relations campaigns for 20+ economic development groups. She spearheaded the City of Tacoma, Washington's "America's #1 Wired City" campaign, which earned a national PRSA Silver Anvil award in 2001. In her most recent role as vice president at Spring O'Brien marketing communications, Ms. Nichols' economic development work included an international public relations program for Tucson, Arizona to attract solar energy companies, a North American branding program for the country of Wales, U.K., and a multi-year initiative to attract investment to the new Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport for The St. Joe Company. At GIS Planning she is accelerating the adoption and use of GIS Planning's technology into the economic development, corporate site selection, and business industries. She has a MA in Journalism/Marketing from the University of Kansas and a BA in Public Relations/Communications from William Jewell College. She also attended Harlaxton College, England during her undergraduate studies. April lives just outside New York City with her husband and two daughters. She is a frequent speaker at national and regional economic development conferences.

Stephanie Poole Nieman
Director of Developed Market Standards
B Lab
Hillsborough, NC

Stephanie Nieman works on social and environmental performance standards for B Lab, a nonprofit dedicated to harnessing the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. B Lab drives systemic change and creates a beneficial economy through three interrelated initiatives: 1) building a community of Certified B Corporations that meet rigorous and independent standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency; 2) advancing supportive public policies that create the legal infrastructure for sustainable business to thrive; and 3) developing the Global Impact Investing Rating System (GIIRS) in order to help drive capital to the emerging asset class of impact investments.

Stephanie is currently working on the launch of GIIRS, which provides third-party ratings of social and environmental performance for impact investments. GIIRS offers both company and fund impact ratings, each with current and historical analyses of impact performance for comparative use. She manages the verification processes behind B Corp certification and GIIRS ratings, oversees B Lab's impact assessment strategy in the developed markets and works with investors, investment advisors, fund managers and companies to design and develop GIIRS analytical tools, benchmark data, and ratings information in order to drive capital to high-impact investments.

Prior to B, Stephanie worked in Institutional Equity Sales at Lehman Brothers, where she also served on the firm's pro bono microfinance team, and in sales and business development for Pearson Education. She has a MBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School and a Graduate Certificate in International Development Policy from Duke University.

Paula Nissen
Bureau Chief
Regional Research Analysis
Iowa Workforce Development
Des Moines, IA

Paula is the Public Service Executive for Iowa Workforce Development's (IWD) Regional Research & Analysis Bureau in Des Moines, Iowa. Her responsibilities include the development, design, analysis, and presentation of Iowa's Laborshed Studies, Workforce Needs Assessment, Fringe Benefit Profiles, Educational Outcomes Measures, Iowa College Student Surveys, and Skillshed Analyses among other workforce related research.

The customized surveys/analysis that the bureau has developed and implements are nationally recognized unique tools used to determine labor availability statistics for an area based on commuting patterns into an employment center, region, or state regardless of political boundaries.

Prior to her current position, Paula spent 15 years managing businesses, determining market trends and training management professionals. She also assisted legislators and policy makers with research efforts through IWD's Policy Office and Division of Labor.

In addition, Paula is an instructor for the University of Oklahoma's Economic Development Institute (OU/EDI) specializing in business recruitment and expansion and is a member of the Professional Developers of Iowa (PDI).

Pat O'Neal
City Commissioner
Government Services Group - City of Cedar Key
Tallahassee, FL

Pat O'Neal, PCED, former Mayor and Commissioner, City of Cedar Key, Florida (2005-2011); Levy County, Florida, Economic Development Officer; Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors for the North Florida Broadband Authority and Chairman of the Operations Committee; Member, Board of Directors of North Florida Economic Development Partnership; former Executive Director of the Levy County Enterprise Zone Development Authority; retired Lawyer and Veteran.

David Owen
Chief Executive
GFirst UK - Growing Gloucestershire
Gloucester, United Kingdom

David Owen is Chief Executive of GFirst UK, the local enterprise partnership for Gloucestershire. GFirst leads on economic development through investment, skills, connectivity, and promotion in a county that boasts the Cotswolds tourism destination alongside world class brands as diverse as Messier-Bugatti-Dowty landing gear and Superdry clothes. David became Chief Executive of GFirst in 2009 and is also currently a non-executive director of the equity fund South West Investment Group and growing training company GEL.

David's career at senior management level stretches back over fifteen years and prior to joining GFirst, he had been Director of Enterprise and Innovation at the University of Gloucestershire, Enterprise Network Manager at the University of Bristol, and Managing Director of a high-growth start-up training company - Liverpool Business Services Ltd. He is also a previous President of the Cheltenham Chamber of Commerce and former Chairman of the South West UK Business Advisory Group.

David has a first degree in business studies and a masters degree in leading change. In his spare time, David enjoys spending time with his young family, watching football (soccer!): supporting Liverpool, climbing mountains, and playing golf very badly.

Jennifer Owens
Vice President
Southwest Michigan First
Kalamazoo, MI

Jennifer Owens has 12 years of economic development experience at an array of state and local organizations. She is currently vice president at Southwest Michigan First, a multi-county economic development organization dedicated to being the region's catalyst for economic growth. In her current role, Owens designs and implements business development retention and attraction strategies. Prior to Southwest Michigan First, Owens headed Ann Arbor SPARK's business development team. While at SPARK, she propelled the talent recruitment MichAGAIN initiative from concept to reality. She also spent nearly 10 years at the Michigan Economic Development Corporation leading the business retention, marketing and communications teams. At MEDC, she developed a $6 million manufacturing diversification campaign successfully assisting local manufacturers in securing more than $200 million in new business. She has a bachelor's of arts from Michigan State University. She and her husband Michael are proud parents of three active boys.

Joshua T. Pack, PhD
Manager of Energy Technologies
Vectren Corporation
Evansville, IN

Joshua Pack is Manager of Energy Technologies at Vectren Corporation, where he manages strategic energy technology research and planning, project management, business analysis, and problem solving. He has held positions in the utilities and chemicals industries, as well as management consulting. His professional interests also include biobased industrial processes and sustainable economic development.

Dr. Pack currently leads Project GREEN (Growing a Regional Energy Employment Network), a regional strategy development initiative to bring about a local advanced energy business cluster and related workforce training programs. As Co-Chair of the initiative, he is responsible for the management of all research, strategy development, stakeholder communications, and implementation. He is also actively supporting the efforts of Vectren's economic development department as they pertain to energy technologies.

He has served as an Adjunct Instructor at IVY Tech Community College, where he developed and taught the course "Fundamentals of Ethanol and Biofuels".

Pack holds MS and PhD degrees in Biological and Environmental Engineering from Cornell University, and a BS in Engineering Management from Miami University.

Erik R. Pages, PhD
President
EntreWorks Consulting
Arlington, VA

Erik R. Pages is President and Founder of EntreWorks Consulting (www.entreworks.net), an economic development consulting and policy development firm focused on helping communities and organizations achieve their entrepreneurial potential. EntreWorks works with a diverse base of clients including state and local governments, Chambers of Commerce, business leaders, educational institutions, and non-profits. These customers all share a commitment to innovative economic development strategies that build wealth and build communities. Since its founding, EntreWorks has worked with customers in thirty states and overseas.

He previously served as Policy Director for the National Commission on Entrepreneurship (NCOE), where he directed the Commission's research and policy operations. Dr. Pages has also held senior positions at the U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration (EDA), where he helped lead efforts to assist communities affected by military base closings and defense plant shutdowns. He has worked on Capitol Hill, and was an official advisor to the 1995 White House Conference on Small Business. In addition, he has received several prestigious awards including selection as one of 24 national "Next Generation Leaders" by the Rockefeller Foundation in 1998. He is a Senior Fellow at the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness, the RUPRI Center for Rural Entrepreneurship, and serves on the Arlington County (VA) Economic Development Commission.

He received his Ph.D. from Georgetown University, where he has served as an Adjunct Professor. He also holds degrees from Dickinson College (Phi Beta Kappa) and the University of Pittsburgh. He has written and published widely on business trends, economic development, technology policy, and national security policy. His work has been featured in national and international media outlets including The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, Inc. Magazine, Entrepreneur Magazine, USA Today, and National Public Radio. A native of Reading, PA, he now resides with his family in Arlington, VA.

Diane Palmintera
President
Innovation Associates
Reston, VA

Diane Palmintera is founder and President of Innovation Associates. For more than 25 years she has been a national leader in technology-based economic development, and is best known for leveraging universities and national labs to stimulate economic competitiveness. She has guided state and local leaders, academic institutions, federal labs, and international organizations in technology transfer, commercialization, public-private partnerships, seed capital formation, incubation, research parks, entrepreneurship, and federal-state-local relations.

Ms. Palmintera also is a well-known author. Endorsed by national leaders and featured in Business Week, Technology Transfer and Commercialization Partnerships provides a roadmap for academic institutions to launch technology startups and transfer technologies. She is the author of other nationally recognized work: Accelerating Economic Development through University Technology Transfer, Developing High-Technology Communities: San Diego, and Partners on a Mission: Federal Laboratories Contributing to Economic Development.

Prior to founding IA, Ms. Palmintera held senior positions with the U.S. Conference of Mayors, National Governors Association, and National Alliance of Business, and was an Associate of the Urban Institute. She frequently is quoted in the news media and appears as a speaker at national and international conferences. She is Co-Chair of IEDC's Public Policy Advisory Committee.

Doug Parker
Chairman & CEO
US Airways
Tempe, AZ

Doug Parker is chairman and chief executive officer of US Airways Group, Inc. and US Airways, its principal subsidiary company. He is based at the airline's headquarters in Tempe, Ariz.

Parker became chairman and CEO following the merger of US Airways and America West Airlines in September 2005. Prior to the merger, he was chairman, president and chief executive officer of America West Holdings Corporation. Parker joined America West in June 1995 as senior vice president and chief financial officer and was elected chairman, president and chief executive officer in September 2001.

Prior to joining America West, Parker spent four years with Northwest Airlines as vice president and assistant treasurer, and vice president of financial planning and analysis. From 1986 to 1991, he held a number of financial management positions with American Airlines.

Parker received a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Albion College in 1984 and a Master of Business Administration degree from Vanderbilt University in 1986. He serves as chairman of the board of directors for Valley of the Sun United Way and is also on the board of directors for Pinnacle West Corporation. He and his wife, Gwen, have three children and reside in Paradise Valley, Ariz.

Elizabeth Parkinson
Senior Vice President, Marketing and Communications
Michigan Economic Development Corporation
Lansing, MI

Elizabeth Parkinson serves as senior vice president, marketing and communications for the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC). In her current role, she is responsible for corporate marketing and internal and external communications, which include oversight of Travel Michigan, media relations, advertising, events, Web development and graphics.

Parkinson previously was director of marketing and publications for Ann Arbor SPARK where she developed and implemented the organization's integrated marketing and publication relations plan. During her tenure, SPARK grew to national recognition with aggressive public relations outreach, targeted advertising and the development and use of digital and social media tools. Prior to joining Ann Arbor SPARK, she was employed by Edelman Public Relations in Chicago and served as managing director of the Creative Solutions group developing, coordinating and executing creative campaigns for multi-national clients including: Microsoft, Kraft, KFC, Pizza Hut, FTD, Case IH, Allstate, Abbott, Pfizer, Fuji Film, Mexico Ministry of Tourism, Illinois Board of Tourism, Bacardi, Underwriters Laboratories and Whirlpool.

Parkinson holds a B.A. degree in marketing and accounting from Alma College.

Alex Peker
Business Development
Blue Martini Development-Leasing
Great Falls, VA

Honorable Beverly Perdue
Governor
State of North Carolina
Raleigh, NC

Phillip D. Phillips, PhD, CEcD
Director, Business Retention & Expansion
Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce
Omaha, NE

Dr. Phillips is Director of Business Retention and Expansion, Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce. Through experience in the private and public sectors Phil Phillips has gained a broad background in economic development management, marketing, and strategic planning and implementation. Phil's responsibilities at the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce include response to problems and issues of local companies and providing direct support to local firms expanding in the Omaha area, supervising an ongoing business visitation program in which over 40 volunteer Ambassadors call on 300 businesses per year, playing a major role in development of the Nebraska “Advantage Nebraska” incentive program; also played a major role in preparing the Chamber's 2004-2007 Strategic plan, conducting education and information programs for the business community through Business Assistance Workshops and other outreach programs. From 1995-2004 he also served as Director of International Programs for the Chamber (since elevated to separate full-time position).

Prior to joining the Greater Omaha Chamber, Phil served as Director of the Office of Corporate Relations and Community Development at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign from 1968 to 1993. Phil was a consultant, Assistant Vice President and Vice President of the Fantus Company (now Deloitte Touche) in Chicago from 1978 to 1986. Phil also served as a faculty member at the University of Kentucky from 1972 to 1978 where he taught courses in economic geography and urban studies. He also served as an adjunct professor at the University of Illinois, University of Chicago and Creighton University. He holds a distinguished list of affiliations and certifications. Phil holds a BA and MA degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. He is author of numerous articles in publications such as the Economic Development Review and Site Selection and is author of several books, including Retaining and Expanding Local Business and Industry, Strategic Planning for Community Economic Development, and Economic Development for Small Communities and Rural Areas.

Karen Pollard, CEcD, EDP
Economic Development Manager
City of Rochester
Rochester, NH

Karen Pollard has led economic development in Rochester since 2003, where she has transitioned the community from struggling with 1 million square feet of vacant tech and manufacturing space into a new economy focus with targeted development strategies. During the economic crisis she was able to surpass traditional boundaries and engage a broad spectrum of the community in addressing local business needs to retain and grow innovative and entrepreneurial companies. Karen is a 2011 Outstanding Women in Business by the New Hampshire Business Review and a 2009 U.S. Small Business Administration District Champion Award Winner. She serves on the New Hampshire Business Finance Authority and the Community College System Advisory Board. Karen has worked in the profession since 1998 in New York, the Midwest and New England, and holds certifications from the International Economic Developers Council (IEDC) and the Northeast Economic Developer's Association (NEDA), is a graduate of the Economic Development Institute (EDI). She has been recognized for significant accomplishments in Community Marketing, Neighborhood Development Strategies and Business Retention.

Lisa Prasad
Principal
U3 Ventures
Philadelphia, PA

Lisa Prasad, Principal of U3 Ventures, has over 20 years experience working with higher education institutions. She is a noted expert both in the fields of University real estate and retail development and in the financial management of colleges and universities. At U3 Ventures, Ms. Prasad is responsible for leading advisory client interactions and project delivery, and guiding the development of real estate assets. Her advisory focus is on creating strategies for economic development and real estate investment in communities surrounding colleges and universities.

Ms. Prasad was formerly an Associate Vice President at the University of Pennsylvania Facilities and Real Estate Services Division. In this capacity, she oversaw the division's $350 million annual capital and operating expenditures related to developing and maintaining Penn's physical assets, both institutional and commercial. Prior to Penn, Ms. Prasad provided advisory services to colleges and universities in the areas of finance, business services, and facilities management in the Higher Education Consulting Practice of Coopers and Lybrand. Ms. Prasad received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan and her Master's degrees in Government Administration and Political Science both from the University of Pennsylvania.

David E. Procter, PhD
Director
Center for Engagement and Community Development
Manhattan, KS

Dr. David Procter is Director of Kansas State University's Center for Engagement and Community Development (CECD). In 2007, Dr. Procter, a group of rural grocers, non-profits, and community leaders launched the Rural Grocery Initiative to identify challenges faced by rural grocery stores and sustainable models of rural grocery operation. Since that time, Procter and the Rural Grocery Initiative have created an informational website (www.ruralgrocery.org), developed an online blog for rural grocers (https://blogs.k-state.edu/ruralgrocery/), hosted two national rural grocer summits, developed a series of rural grocer best practices, and developed a series of case studies of sustainable models of rural grocery operation. Procter has presented this work at several national conferences and at a briefing before the U.S. House Hunger Caucus. The Rural Grocery Initiative was awarded the National Outstanding Community Development Program Award by the International Community Development Society in 2010.

John Provo, PhD
Director-Office of Economic Development
Virginia Tech University
Blacksburg, VA

Dr. John Provo is Director of Virginia Tech's Office of Economic Development. John provides leadership for the office in the design and implementation of applied research and technical assistance projects that link university and community resources to address the economic development needs of the Commonwealth. He builds program partnerships and secures funding as a major point of contact between the office, academic departments within the University, federal, state, and local governments, as well as other public and private sector leaders.

Provo develops and manages projects with communities, agencies, and companies around Virginia, on a range of topics. He has developed partnerships between Virginia Tech and entities in the public, private and non-profit sectors to address economic development needs of communities around the Commonwealth. Recent accomplishments include securing more than $10 million in three large federal grants for western Virginia in green jobs and health IT training and curricular development and engineering technical assistance for transportation manufacturing equipment firms.

John received his Ph.D. from the School of Urban Studies and Planning at Portland State University. He received a master's degree in Urban and Regional Planning from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1999 and a bachelor's degree in government from the College of William and Mary in 1989. While in Richmond, he worked for Virginia's Secretary of Commerce and Trade on implementation of revisions to the state's workforce development system. John presents regularly before scholarly and professional associations, and maintains affiliations with the American Planning Association, Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning, University Economic Development Association, and Virginia Economic Developers Association.

Charles David Quinn, Jr., CEcD
Executive Director
Bastrop Economic Development Corporation
Bastrop, TX

Dave Quinn, CEcD is the Executive Director of the Bastrop Economic Development Corporation in Bastrop Texas. Prior to working for the BEDC, Dave began his career as the Executive Director of the Levelland Economic Development Corporation in March of 2004. A member of the Fightin' Aggie Class of 1997, Dave holds a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Economics from Texas A&M University

Dave received his certification through the International Economic Development Council's Certified Economic Developer Program in 2010. He is a Master Graduate of Rapport Leadership International, a leadership development program, completing over 100 hours of intense leadership training. Named as one of Lubbock's Top 20 Under 40 in 2008, Dave served two terms as the Chairman of the High Ground of Texas, a regional marketing coalition covering 60+ counties in West Texas and is one of the founding board members of the High Ground's Education Foundation.

During his tenure in Levelland, Dave facilitated a number of economic development projects including the $64 million Levelland/Hockley County Ethanol plant and the more recent $8.6 million Levelland Industrial Rail Park. He is pioneering the use of social media as a tool for economic development corporations to leveraged local support and advocacy for business retention, expansion and attraction. Established as a trust agent in his community and among his peers, Dave understands that the more you give the more you get.

Robert A. Radcliff
Managing Principal
Resource Development Group
Columbus, OH

Rob is a principal officer of Resource Development Group. He has personally managed dozens of economic development funding campaigns that have generated over $200 million for client organizations, including small, mid-sized and large metropolitan markets.

Rob's expertise includes economic development, government relations and corporate giving. He was Senior Partner at The Suddes Group for six years prior to launching Capital Funding Strategies, now Resource Development Group. Early in his career he served as Vice President of Government Affairs for The Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce, as Executive Assistant to the President at Bank One and as Staff Director of the Ohio Senate's Economic Development and Small Business Committee.

In 1980, Rob was awarded his Bachelor or Arts degree from The Ohio State University, majoring in Political Science with a minor in Economics. He received his Juris Doctor from The Capital University School of Law in 1987. Rob resides in Columbus, Ohio with his wife, Donna, and their four children.

Pam Reichert
Vice President
Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation
Denver, CO

Pam Reichert joined the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation (Metro Denver EDC) as vice president in 2011. She has responsibility for developing the organization's annual strategic plan and budget; maintaining effective relationships with key constituencies including investors, regional economic development associations, and affiliated groups throughout Colorado; expanding industry development efforts through the Metro Denver EDC's industry-focused partners; and coordinating prospect recruitment missions both domestically and internationally.

Prior to joining the Metro Denver EDC, Pam led international trade efforts at the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade under former Governor Bill Ritter Jr. Under her leadership, the office organized Governor-led economic development missions to Canada, Japan, China, Spain, Finland and Denmark, and developed cleantech export promotion programs for Colorado companies. She has more than 20 years of experience in emerging market economic and political analysis and international banking.

Pam holds a Master of Arts in Area Studies from Indiana University and a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies and French from Bowling Green State University in Ohio. Pam resides in Denver with her husband Lee and their two children.

Lyneir Richardson
Chief Executive Officer
Brick City Development Corporation
Newark, NJ

Lyneir Richardson is the Chief Executive Officer of Brick City Development Corporation, the City of Newark's economic development corporation, with overall responsibility for small and minority business development, business attraction and real estate development.

Mr. Richardson has nearly 20 years of experience as an attorney, entrepreneur and corporate executive. Before becoming the CEO of BCDC, Mr. Richardson was Vice President of Urban Development at General Growth Properties, Inc. At General Growth, he led the national initiative to bring quality shopping centers to ethnic neighborhoods in large U.S. cities. Prior to General Growth, Richardson founded Lakeshore Development & Construction Company, which developed, built and sold new affordable and market rate housing in metro Chicago, Illinois. Mr. Richardson also worked as an attorney at the First National Bank of Chicago, negotiating and drafting documents for real estate and commercial lending transactions.

Mr. Richardson is a graduate of Bradley University and the University of Chicago Law School. He is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers and has served on numerous non-profit and civic boards and commissions.

Jennifer Watson Roberts
Chairman, At-Large
Board of County Commissioners Mecklenburg County
Charlotte, NC

Jennifer Watson Roberts is currently Chair of the Mecklenburg County Board of Commissioners, and has just been re-elected to her fourth term in office. She is a native of Charlotte and a graduate of East Mecklenburg High School. She attended UNC-Chapel Hill on a Morehead Scholarship, and also holds two Masters Degrees in international affairs, from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and from the University of Toronto. She worked as a diplomat for three and a half years with the US Department of State, serving in the Dominican Republic as a consular officer and then as a political officer on the Mexico Desk in Washington before returning to Charlotte in 1993 with her husband.

During her years in Charlotte, Roberts has been Director of the Mayor's International Cabinet, a lending officer in International Corporate Banking at First Union, and executive director of the Charlotte World Affairs Council. She has also taught courses in international politics and economics in the International Studies Department at UNC-Charlotte. She speaks Spanish, French, and some Italian, and has lived in Canada, Italy, and the Dominican Republic.

Roberts has won many community awards, including the Maya Angelou Women Who Lead Award, the William Friday Fellowship, and the Counselors of Real Estate Creative Thinkers Award. She serves on numerous boards and advisory groups in the region, including the Governor's Crime Commission, the Governor's Local Government Advisory Council, the NC Association of County Commissioners, the Centralina Council of Governments, the Charlotte Chamber, the Charlotte Regional Partnership, the Girls Scouts Hornets Nest Council, Keep Mecklenburg Beautiful, and the Women's Commission. She also chairs the Metropolitan Transit Commission. Her main interests cover education, workforce development, job growth, childrens' issues, alleviating poverty and homelessness, and environmental protection.

Jon M. Roberts
Managing Director
TIP Strategies, Inc.
Austin, TX

Jon Roberts is the Managing Director of TIP Strategies, Inc. (TIP), in Austin, Texas. He is an international leader in economic development and a proponent of the "creative class" as a model for growth. He has overseen projects in Oregon, Texas, and other U.S. regions, as well as in Europe and Asia. Mr. Roberts is currently involved in a variety of development and recruitment projects.

Mr. Roberts has wide range of experience associated with incentives and tax abatements, as well as local recruitment and redevelopment efforts. He has prepared policy papers on national economic development strategy, published articles on economic development marketing and has written editorials for the state's major newspapers.

Mr. Roberts was formerly the Director of Business Development both for the State of Washington and then for the State of Texas. In these positions, he directed recruitment and investment and led international trade missions.

Prior to working for the Washington Department of Trade, Mr. Roberts was with the Oregon Technology Fund, where he was responsible for venture capital investments. He also managed two start-up technology companies: Fiberlite Composites and LifePort Inc., and worked with the Center for Entrepreneurial Ventures.

Mr. Roberts was elected to the board of KMFA radio in Austin, Texas, and is active in the technology community. He maintains his ties to the Northwest and is a Fellow of the Washington World Affairs Council in Seattle. He has served on the boards of several start-up technology companies and on state task forces and gubernatorial committees. He has lectured in business at the University of Washington, the University of Texas, and was on the faculty at Marylhurst College in Portland, Oregon. Mr. Roberts has also proven to be a successful entrepreneur. He is the founder of a mountain bike company in Portland, Oregon.

Born and raised in Germany, Mr. Roberts has traveled extensively throughout Europe and Asia. He lived in the Pacific Northwest for over twenty years before making Texas his home.

Jack Rogers
Editor in Chief
Business Facilities
Group C Media, Inc.
Trinton Falls, NJ

Jack has been a publishing professional for more than 20 years. He has worked for a daily newspaper and a variety of major business trade publications writing about a wide range of subjects. Before joining Business Facilities as Editor in Chief, Jack served as Managing Editor for two major monthly trade magazines, Online Editor for a website covering Internet security issues, and as an Acquisitions Editor for peer-reviewed business journals and books. In his role as Business Facilities' Editor in Chief, Jack has served as a judge for IEDC's Excellence in Economic Development Awards, been a frequent participant on economic development panels, and attended numerous international trade shows, conferences, and trade association meetings. Jack is a graduate of Rutgers University, where he majored in history.

Since 1968, Business Facilities has been a leader in bringing together corporate executives seeking business locations and economic developers seeking investments and jobs for their communities. Today, our leadership continues: Whether in print, online, or in person, Business Facilities provides corporate executives the information they need to choose the best location for their growing companies.

Tom W. Ross
President
The University of North Carolina
Chapel Hill, NC

Thomas W. Ross became President of the 17-campus University of North Carolina on January 1, 2011. Born and raised in Greensboro, N.C., he holds a bachelor's degree in political science from Davidson College (1972) and graduated with honors from the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Law (1975).

After a short stint as an Assistant Professor of Public Law and Government at UNC-Chapel Hill's School of Government, Ross joined the Greensboro law firm of Smith Patterson Follin Curtis James & Harkavy in 1976. He left the firm in 1982 to serve as chief of staff in the Washington, D.C., office of U.S. Congressman Robin Britt. The following year, at the age of 33, Ross was appointed to fill a vacancy on the North Carolina Superior Court. He held the position for the next 17 years.

In 1999, Ross was appointed director of the state's Administrative Office of the Courts. Over the next two years, he led efforts to improve the management of the court system and advocated for additional resources. In 2001, he left the bench to serve as executive director of the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, a Winston-Salem-based philanthropic organization devoted to improving the lives of the people of North Carolina. During his seven-year tenure at Z. Smith Reynolds, (2001-2007), the foundation awarded about $20 million annually to non-profit groups focused on community economic development, democracy and civic engagement, the environment, pre-college education, and social justice. Ross stepped down in 2007 to return to Davidson as its President, serving in that role until he assumed leadership of UNC.

Active in civic and community activities, Ross currently serves on the Board of Governors of the Center for Creative Leadership, advisory boards for the NC Humanities Council and the NC State University Institute for Emerging Issues, and the honorary Board of Directors of the Conservation Trust of North Carolina. A former chairman of the UNC Greensboro Board of Trustees, he has previously served on the Boards of Visitors for UNCG, UNC-Chapel Hill, and Wake Forest University. In addition, he has served on the boards of Davidson College, the North Carolina New Schools Project, the Kenan Institute for the Arts, the Institute of Government Foundation, the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Law Alumni Foundation, the Wake Forest Comprehensive Cancer Center, and the North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities.

Christian Saublens
Executive Manager
European Association of Development Agencies (EURADA)
Brussels, Belgium

Christian SAUBLENS is Belgian and has an experience of more than 30 years in lobbying the European Community authorities.

He is the Executive Manager of EURADA, the European association of Development Agencies. The association has 140 members operating in more than 25 countries.

Christian helped the creation of EBAN, the European network promoting the stimulation of informal venture capital at regional or national level. He is currently supporting the network of Innovating Regions in Europe.

Christian has written several papers regarding the impact of EU regulations on regional development and the role of development agencies in Europe.

Patricia Scruggs
President
Scruggs & Associates LLC
Davidson, NC

Patricia Scruggs brings over twenty eight years of business and economic development experience to her practice, and founded Scruggs & Associates LLC in 1993. She has led the development of over 60 economic and workforce development plans, focusing on midsize metropolitan regions and technology-based industries. Patricia has developed in-depth strategies for workforce and industry clusters, entrepreneurial development efforts, and commercialized research initiatives. She has in-depth experience in regional assessments that include evaluating economic impact, wealth creation, and the direct and indirect effects of various economic programs.

Ms. Scruggs was appointed the State of Oregon's first Director of Innovation, providing policy advice to and managing the operations of the Oregon Council for Knowledge and Economic Development and establishing the Oregon Innovation Council. She has been actively engaged in the development and passage of state legislation to strengthen economic competitiveness, venture capital, and the commercialization of research. Most recently, she led a national study on the role of equity capital in rural communities and serves on the Ford Foundation's working group for Wealth Creation in Rural America. Over the years, Ms. Scruggs has served on and chaired multiple economic development boards at the regional and state level.

Michael R. Sears
Managing Principal
Global Capital Markets Advisors, LLC
Alexandria, VA

Mr. Sears has over 35 years experience in all facets of real estate development and finance. He is the founder and Managing Principal of Global Capital Markets Advisors, LLC, Fund Manager to CARc sponsored JOB Funds. Mr. Sears has operated or been a senior executive of a number of companies providing financial advisory, investment management, banking and development services to domestic and international investors and corporations, as well as governments and government sponsored enterprises. His investment, finance, development experience and focus include urban mixed use real estate, hospitality, sports and entertainment facilities.

Until January of 2006, when he resigned to further develop the CARc JOB Funds, Mr. Sears was the Managing Director for GMAC Commercial Holding Capital Markets' New York City and Washington, DC offices. There he initiated and/or managed $ billions of commercial loans and equity investments in a wide variety of real estate backed transactions. At GMAC he worked closely with high net private investors, institutional investors and lenders; as well as with domestic and foreign governments. His commercial finance projects in Washington, DC included the Washington DC National's professional baseball stadium and Gallery Place; as well as the financing of the Time Warner Center and origination of the first commercial mortgage issued after 9/11/2001 in New York City.

Prior to joining GMAC in 1998, Mr. Sears was the Manager of the Bear Stearns investment banking offices in Washington, DC. He began his career at Bear Stearns in 1992, during which time he was integrally involved in structuring and selling commercial mortgage backed securities and municipal bonds nationwide; as well as providing asset management services to commercial mortgage bankers throughout the US. While at Bear Stearns, Mr. Sears administered development and growth of the company's first commercial mortgage conduit; the creation of the first government sponsored enterprise mortgage backed security; and other innovations in tracking and analyzing the performance of commercial mortgaged assets.

From 1982 and until 1992, Mr. Sears was an independent financial advisor to high net worth private individuals, public and private corporations and commercial banks. During this period he structured and arranged debt and equity for investment in the real estate, agribusiness and natural resources industries. Projects Mr. Sears managed included the sale and purchase of a Castle and Cook (now Dole Foods) business unit; and a variety of residential, commercial and industrial developments throughout the states of California,Colorado and New York.

Mr. Sears began his real estate development and finance career in 1973 as a public servant. Initially, Sears served as an Assistant to the President of the New York State Urban Development Corporation (UDC), which was founded by then Governor Nelson Rockefeller. While at the UDC, Mr. Sears worked on complex real estate development and finance projects including Battery Park City, Roosevelt Island, industrial condominiums, and mixed income housing developments in New York City and throughout the state of New York. These projects comprised in excess of 15,000 housing units, and over 2 million square feet of retail, commercial and civic development.

Samantha Seath
Executive Director
Economic Development Agencies NZ
Wellington, New Zealand

Samantha Seath is Executive Director of the Economic Development Agencies of New Zealand. EDANZ, through its members has the most comprehensive reach into New Zealand's regions, which enables the knowledge and ideas gained on the ground to be channeled into national economic development. The aim is to build collaboration between local and national agencies and to deliver projects of significance that will grow the New Zealand economy.

Before joining EDANZ Samantha trained as a chartered accountant, and has held financial and executive roles at Business NZ, National Association of Retail Grocers, the NZ Manufacturers Federation, NZ Bankers Association, Airways Corporation and Colgate Palmolive.

She is a member of the NZ Institute of Chartered Accountants (the former Chair of the Wellington branch) and a member of the Institute of Directors. She holds positions on the Board of Escalator (Chair) - a joint venture between EDANZ and Deloitte and Capability NZ Inc (Secretary and Management Board) and has held positions on the Board of the Buy NZ Made campaign Ltd and GS1 New Zealand Inc.

Mark A. Seckman, EDRP
Vice President of National Marketing
Greater Dubuque Development Corporation
Dubuque, IA

Mark Seckman provides clients over 19 years of executive leadership experience within the economic development profession. He has assembled a unique combination of management, marketing, sales and project development expertise. He enjoys the complexity of working with public/private partnerships to formulate the tactical focus of an organization and developing initiatives that lead to achieving established goals. Mark is also a certified Economic Development Finance Professional.

As Vice President of National Marketing at the Greater Dubuque Development Corporation, Mark is responsible for growing area employment by recruiting new basic sector, interstate commerce businesses to the region. Mark specializes in analyzing market conditions, target industry research and communications programming.

Prior to joining the Greater Dubuque Development Corporation, Mark held various positions at Priority One, The economic development division of the Cedar Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce. During his ten-year tenure as President of the organization, he created and implemented an industry cluster program to better focus marketing efforts and increase the ability to compete on a global platform. These strategies led to the attraction of fifty-nine new companies, of which sixteen were foreign owned and 209 existing business expansion projects. In total, these projects resulted in the creation of 14,385 new jobs and $2.143 billion in new capital investment. He also established a program promoting the growth of local operations to corporate executives at their headquarter facilities throughout North America. This initiative resulted in the expansion of twenty-eight companies within the area.

Mark is a graduate of the University of Iowa where he earned a degree in marketing with additional studies in communications and sociology.

Leigh Seeger
Economic Development Specialist
Jefferson Economic Council
Golden, CO

Leigh Seeger is responsible for the business retention and expansion (BRE) program at Jeffco EDC, with the focus on retaining and expanding primary jobs for the county. She is responsible for the BRE and Real Estate Committee and maintains the real estate database. In addition, she also serves as the Enterprise Zone Administrator and manages the program for Jefferson County. Leigh serves on many Boards including the Colorado Companies to Watch and Red Rocks Employer Advisory Board. Leigh has been at Jeffco EDC for four years. Prior to that, she earned her Bachelor's degree in Economics from Colorado State University. She is working towards her Certified Economic Developer license and is currently in graduate school earning her Masters in Economics.

Craig Settles
President
Successful.com
Oakland, CA

For over 20 years Craig Settles' workshops, consulting services and books have helped organizations worldwide use technology to cut costs, improve business operations and increase revenue. His many in-depth analysis reports and latest book (Fighting the Next Good Fight: Bringing True Broadband to Your Community) establish Mr. Settles as a prominent thought leader on executing appropriate business strategies to deploy broadband networks. His public-sector clients include Glendale, CA and the State of California, with Microsoft and Symantec on his private sector client list.

Andrew Shapiro
Managing Director
Biggins Lacy Shapiro & Co.
Princeton, NJ

Andrew Shapiro heads the firm's location advisory practice, helping clients translate their business objectives and strategic vision into rational, balanced location decisions. His primary responsibilities include site selection (in partnership with Wadley DonovanGutshaw Consulting), feasibility analysis and labor market analysis. Andy manages the firm's alliance with Wadley-Donovan-Gutshaw Consulting.

He has also written and spoken extensively on location strategies; articles can be found on our KNOWLEDGE CENTER.

Prior to Biggins Lacy Shapiro, he spent a decade with the Fantus Company, Moran Stahl & Boyer and Deloitte & Touche. In his public sector roles, he managed the permitting and public approval activities of Public Storage in New England and Florida. He was also a planner with Fairfax County, VA.

Robert E. Sheets
Chief Executive Officer
Government Service Group
Tallahassee, FL

During his 30-year career, Robert Sheets has become a respected authority on topics related to local government management and community investment and enhancement. His areas of expertise include service delivery resolution, revenue enhancement, long-range strategic planning, cost allocation planning, indirect cost rate proposals, and reimbursement filing from federal entitlement programs.

He has been a driving force in the development and implementation of more than 200 local and state projects including fire services, stormwater and solid waste management, transportation, economic redevelopment and public utilities.

Mr. Sheets develops, directs and leads strategies and projects, which maximize revenue for local, regional and state government agencies.

He is a sought-after speaker on local government management presenting to agencies and associations throughout the nation regarding revenue enhancement and funding strategies, service delivery improvements, privatization, and home rule revenue options.

He graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. He has also completed all required coursework toward a Masters in Urban Management from the Institute of Urban Studies at the University of Texas at Arlington.

Terry Shook, FAIA
Principal
Shook Kelley, Inc.
Charlotte, NC

Terry Shook, FAIA, is a founding partner of Shook Kelley, Inc., a strategic branding, design, and urban planning firm that focuses on how places and spaces convene humans in meaningful ways. As principal-in-charge, Terry runs a New Urban planning and design group with an emphasis upon the creation of new communities in both suburbs and within urban cores according to neo-traditional design principles.

The practice of the firm is a direct reflection of the values, experiences and accomplishments of Terry over his 36-year professional career. Beginning with the 1975 design charrette that transformed Charlotte's inner city, Fourth Ward neighborhood from a haven for crime into one of the city's most notable addresses, Shook has focused his academic preparation, professional career and volunteer efforts upon restoring existing communities and designing new ones. He is a regular contributor to national and international level programs for Harvard University's Graduate School of Design, the Urban Land Institute, the International Council of Shopping Centers, the Congress for the New Urbanism, the International Downtown Association, and The Seaside Institute.

Shook Kelley can claim a variety of notable professional commissions in the service of making buildings, new urban communities, a number of repeat clients, and a range of awards. This recognition would not have occurred without the partnerships Shook Kelley has been able to form with their clients, and in many cases, citizens at large, in the joint pursuit of new buildings and places in the service of mankind.

Lisa Shpritz, LEED, AP
Senior Vice President, Environmental Manager Corporate Workplace
Bank of America
Charlotte, NC

Lisa Shpritz is a LEED Accredited Professional and a Senior Vice President of Corporate Workplace for Bank of America in Charlotte, North Carolina. As Director of the Environmental Risk and Sustainability Group, she is responsible for environmental compliance and sustainability programs for the approximately 120 million square feet of space occupied by Bank of America. Lisa works to integrate sustainability into the workplace as part of Bank of America's commitment to maintaining the workplace as a competitive advantage. Lisa has also served on the Board of Directors of the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), in the Finance, Surety and Corporate Real Estate seat since 2006.

Prior to joining Bank of America, Lisa worked in international environmental management, managing risk for telecommunications companies. She was responsible for the development and maintenance of environmental health and safety programs, ISO 14001-registered environmental management systems and electronics recycling programs for facilities throughout the US and Canada.

Lisa holds a master's degree in environmental management from the Nicholas School of Environment at Duke University in the program of chemistry, toxicology and risk assessment, an MBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler with concentrations in real estate and sustainable enterprise and a BA in Biology from Cornell University.

Pamela J. Shupp, AICP, CEcD
Vice President
Berks Economic Partnership
Reading, PA

Pamela is the Vice President of Berks Economic Partnership (BEP), a 501 c (3) corporation promoting the Greater Reading region of Pennsylvania for business attraction and economic growth. The community of over 400,000 is located about an hour from Philadelphia and is a diverse mix of cultures, industry, and land use.

Pamela has more than 25 years of experience in housing, economic, and community development with various private development companies and public organizations, including several years with the City of Reading, Pennsylvania working in Planning and Community Development, Housing Rehabilitation, Economic Development, and Redevelopment. During this time, she championed several collaborative initiatives between neighborhoods, non-profits, and the business sector.

A native of Pennsylvania, Pamela is a graduate of Bloomsburg University and received certification from the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) and is also a Certified Economic Developer (CEcD). Pamela is on the Board of the Pennsylvania Economic Development Association (PEDA) and is actively involved in several local non-profit boards.

Hon. Kathy Sistare
Chairwoman
Lancaster County Council
Lancaster, SC

Kathy Sistare is serving her fist term on the Lancaster County Council representing District #7. She was elected as Chairwoman of the Council in 2011. Ms. Sistare is presently employed by Palmetto Tri-County Internal Medicine as their Practice Administrator. Prior to her employment at Palmetto Tri-County Internal Medicine, she was employed by Springs Memorial Hospital as Director of Quality Improvement and Management and received her certification in Quality Improvement, Infection Control and Utilization Management. Kathy graduated from Lancaster High, received her Practical Nursing License from Lancaster Vocational School, attended USC-L and USC to become a Registered Nurse. She also attended Wingate University. Kathy is married to Mike Sistare. They have two daughters Pamela, married to Joseph Giardiello, and Trayce, married to Jamie Griffin, and have two grandsons, Griggs and Tucker, and two granddogs Whistle and Sassy. Her family are active members at Christ Episcopal Church. Ms. Sistare has served as Chair and board member on the Upper Palmetto Chapter of the American Red Cross, presently serves on the Hope Board of Directors and is a consulting member for several other organizations. She also is a member of the Lancaster Breakfast Rotary Club.

Clark Smith
Sales Manger
LocationOne Information System
Des Moines, IA

Clark Smith has been an economic development professional for 26 years. He has practiced economic development at the local level, state level, utility and now as a consultant. Clark's firm handles all sales and marketing for the largest site, building and community GIS database system in the country, LocationOne Information System, LOIS. LOIS is used extensively by regional organizations because of the unique sharing model LOIS provides. LOIS is proud to have over 6500 communities using this robust web based system.

Clay Smithers, GISP
Principal Consultant
Upriver GIS

Clay Smithers is the founder and principal of Upriver GIS, a consulting firm which provides geographic information systems expertise to the Florida Economic Gardening Institute/GrowFL. Through this effort, second-stage companies are supported through the provision of GIS, SEO, Market Research and Core Strategy assistance. Clay has worked for 12 years in GIS and Information Technology Consulting and holds degrees in MIS and Geography.

Gary E. Spanner, PhD
Manager, Economic Development
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Richland, WA

As the manager of the Economic Development Office, Gary's role is to apply Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's technological resources to help boost the economy of the nation and the region.

Gary serves as the first point of contact for small businesses that wish to collaborate with PNNL through a variety of mechanisms. He has worked in economic development full-time for fourteen years. Gary is currently the chair of the Tri-Cities Research District, serves on the Richland Economic Development Committee, and on the advisory boards for the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of Washington and for the Spokane Intercollegiate Research & Technology Institute. Gary co-founded angel investor groups in Spokane and the Tri-Cities.

Gary and his team have won a number of national and local awards for their work, including the Sam Volpentest Entrepreneurial Leadership Award, a 2007 Tibbetts Award, the Columbia Basin College Outstanding Alumnus Award, and a "Silver Hammer Award" from Vice President Al Gore.

Dr. Spanner holds a BS/ME from Washington State University, a MBA from the University of Washington, a PhD/IE from Arizona State University, and is an Adjunct Professor of Technology Entrepreneurship at WSU. He is also a Certified Economic Developer.

William C. Sproull, FM
President & CEO
Richardson Chamber of Commerce
Richardson, TX

Sproull is President and CEO of the Richardson Chamber of Commerce (RCC), Metroplex Technology Business Council (MTBC) and the Richardson Economic Development Partnership (REDP). This unique and complex set of organizations he runs has two separate Board of Directors and a City Council to whom he reports.

He has led the revitalization of Richardson's telecom based economy through a focus on industry and technology diversification . He built the MTBC into the state of Texas's largest trade association for technology companies. He led the RCC in 2010 through the rigorous US Chamber Accreditation program successfully, earning the highest 5 Star rating conferred by the US Chamber for accreditation. Sproull and his REDP team are credited with bringing two catalyst economic development projects to Richardson: a 3,000 employee Bank of America operation in 2004, and a $3 billion Texas Instruments semiconductor factory in 2003.

In 2005, he helped lead a statewide coalition that got legislation passed in Texas to create the Texas Emerging Technology Fund, a half-billion investment fund. Governor Rick Perry of Texas has appointed him to three consecutive two-year terms on the Fund's Advisory Committee, and appointed him as Chairman in 2010.

Previously he held senior economic development positions at the Greater Dallas Chamber, the McKinney Economic Development Corporation and at the EDC of Kansas City, Missouri. Sproull is a graduate of Baylor University, where he received a BA degree with a double major in Economics and Political Science.

Sproull is on the Boards of Directors of the International Economic Development Council, the University of Texas at Dallas, the North Texas Regional Center for Innovation & Commercialization, the North Texas Commission, and the Technology Councils of North America.

Sproull's economic development accomplishments were recognized by the editors of Site Selection magazine when they selected the $3 billion Texas Instruments project as the Top Development Deal nationally of 2003; his economic development teams have been selected three times by Site Selection as one of the top 10 development groups in the U.S. in 1994, 1997 and 2004. He is a two-time recipient of the American Economic Development Council's "Best of Class" marketing award. In 2010, the International Economic Development Council designated him with the distinction of being a Fellow Member.

The Metroplex Technology Business Council inducted Sproull as the inaugural member of their Hall of Fame in 2010 by declaring him a Tech Titan.

Ron Starner
General Manager
Conway Data Inc.
Norcross, GA

Ron Starner is the General Manager and Executive Vice President of Conway Data Inc. and Site Selection magazine, an international corporate real estate publication based in the Atlanta suburb of Norcross. The official publication of the Industrial Asset Management Council (IAMC), Site Selection reaches 44,000 high-level decision-makers six times a year with timely news, analysis and perspective on key events and trends impacting corporate real estate and economic development. The magazine also publishes SiteNet, the online Web portal for corporate real estate and economic development news and data, and three email newsletters – SiteNet Dispatch, Site Selection Impact Report and The Site Selection Energy Report.

Ron also serves as Executive Director of IAMC, a corporate real estate and economic development association with 500-plus members. Also based in Georgia, IAMC serves the needs of corporate real estate directors of leading Fortune 500 companies such as BASF, Pfizer, Honeywell and Campbell's Soup.

A journalism graduate of Virginia's Liberty University, Ron holds a master's degree in mass communications from the University of South Florida in Tampa. Prior to coming to Site Selection in August of 2000, he spent six years in various editorial roles with Florida Real Estate Journal, where he ultimately became editor and then publisher. Ron has eight years of experience at a daily newspaper in Florida, where he led the Winter Haven News Chief to several statewide awards in journalism. At the newspaper, Ron served as a reporter, opinion page editor and city editor.

Ron is a member of the Magazine Association of the Southeast. He resides in Buford, Ga., with his wife Mary and four children.

Olga S. Stella
Vice President, Business Development
Detroit Economic Growth Corporation
Detroit, MI

Olga Stella is Vice President for Business Development at the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation. In this position, she leads DEGC's business attraction and retention efforts on behalf of the City of Detroit. Olga has previously held positions within DEGC that focused on policy development, special initiatives, strategic partnerships, and project management. Prior to rejoining the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation in 2007, Olga served as Chief of Staff for State Representative Steve Tobocman. As Chief of Staff, Olga handled Representative Tobocman's policy agenda, communications, and community initiatives. Olga first became involved in economic development in Detroit in 1999 working for Mayor Dennis Archer. She holds a Master of Public Policy, as well as undergraduate degrees, from the University of Michigan.

John B. Sternlicht, Esq., CEcD
Sr. Director, Strategic Projects
SRI International
Arlington, VA

John Sternlicht, Esq., CEcD, joined SRI International as Senior Director of Strategic Projects in October 2007. John is based at the Arlington, Virginia office of SRI (founded as Stanford Research Institute in 1946), a global nonprofit research institute covering such diverse fields as bioscience (including drug development), engineering, IT, materials, energy, and policy (including economic development, education, and health care, from program design to assessment). John's responsibilities include providing vision, leadership, and strategic direction for multidisciplinary projects, and creating business development, government and commercial marketing opportunities worldwide.

Previously, after ten years' practice first in a multinational law firm and then in the Virginia Attorney General's Office, John served eleven years as General Counsel and Legislative Director of the Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP). During that time, John also served as Virginia's Deputy Secretary of Commerce and Trade under Governor Mark Warner (2002-2006), where he oversaw the legislative, regulatory, strategic planning, personnel, and other activities of fifteen diverse agencies in economic development, minority and women-owned business, workforce, regulation of professions, and energy.

John received his BS from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service, and his JD from the University of North Carolina School of Law. He also studied journalism and mass communications at the Université de Fribourg (Switzerland) on a Rotary International Graduate Fellowship. In 2001, John earned the certified economic developer designation from the International Economic Development Council. He is fluent in English, French, German, and Spanish, and has spoken and written on economic development in various venues in the US and Europe. John served until this year as a long-time board member and officer of Equality Virginia, and has held various leadership roles in the Richmond Jewish community. He is the founder and past president of the Patrice Taylor Johnson Memorial Scholarship Fund. John and his husband, James Finley, were married in 2010 and are the proud dads of three sons. They live in Richmond with the youngest, a high school junior.

Louise Kenngott Stevens
President
ArtsMarket, Inc.
Bozman, MT

Louise K. Stevens is founder and president of ArtsMarket, Inc., which since 1982 has served hundreds of communities, economic development agencies, redevelopment and planning agencies, and nonprofits in the US and Canada with cultural development planning, feasibility studies, market and economic analysis. ArtsMarket's mission is to "build audiences, communities, and economic strength through culture and the arts." Ms. Stevens is author of three books commissioned by the National Endowment for the Arts, including the Community Cultural Planning Work Kit, and of many large scale studies. ArtsMarket clients have realized over $350 million in capital for cultural development projects based on her feasibility studies and recommendations. She has written articles for IEDC Journal and Economic Development America, and has previously presented at IEDC's If You Build It Will They Come conference. ArtsMarket's cultural economic research work has twice been recognized by IEDC Annual Awards, in 2003 for the Yakima Capital Theatre Expansion and Downtown Redevelopment project, and in 2005 for The Big Sky on the Big Screen Act. Ms. Stevens holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from Northwestern University. Ms. Stevens writes a blog on cultural development topics at www.artsmarket.wordpress.com, and she can be reached at lstevens@artsmarket.com.

Cynthia Stewart
Director, Community Relations
International Council of Shopping Centers
Washington, DC

Cynthia Stewart is the Director of Community Relations in the International Council of Shopping Centers Office of Global Public Policy. She has been with ICSC since 1999 and works with members to develop collaborative initiatives and activities for the retail real estate industry, non-profits and government officials.

As part of her role with ICSC, Ms. Stewart directs the ICSC Alliance Program. She also works with a diverse constituency of public sector organizations and non-profits to address quality of life issues while promoting sound development. She developed ICSC's Underserved Urban Markets Task Force, the Secondary & Rural Markets Initiative, and has coordinated the publication of several books focused on economic development and public-private partnerships.

Prior to ICSC, Ms. Stewart was Chief of Staff to Maryland State Senator Jim Simpson. She also served at the municipal level in both Illinois and South Carolina as Deputy City Clerk, City Clerk and Community Development Assistant. She completed her B.A.A.S. in Public Administration from Midwestern State University, Wichita Falls, TX and has also completed the University of Shopping Centers School for Economic Development and the ICSC School for Professional Development. Since joining ICSC, Ms. Stewart has served on various councils including the Brookings Institution's Urban Markets Initiative Advisory Council, the U. S. Conference of Mayors' Business Council Steering Committee and in 2009 she chaired the National League of Cities Corporate Partners Leadership Council.

Christine M. Sullivan
Senior Manager, Tax Credits and Incentives
Ernst & Young LLP
Raleigh, NC

Christine is a Senior Manager based out of Ernst & Young's Raleigh, North Carolina office and is the discretionary incentives leader for the Carolinas market. With nearly 15 years of experience as a governmental and corporate liaison professional in economic and land development, Christine is the former senior vice president for a national boutique site selection consulting firm, where she led the economic incentive business practice of the company. During her career, Christine has over has successfully secured state cash grants, tax abatements, property tax abatements, entitlement incentives, training credits and grants, strategic community partnerships and other economic incentives that have had a positive, direct impact upon the client's bottom line. Being a highly articulate and effective communicator with solid platform and presentation skills, she is consistently asked to deliver agenda and project summation for clients to communities and political leaders.

Previously, Christine worked for a national tax credit production firm as senior manager of the Economic Development Incentive Services division. She has also represented tax credit land developers to state agencies and managed the developer's overall project goals for finance, political, public policy and pre-construction.

Christine began her career as a governmental liaison in Austin, Texas. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a bachelor's degree in government and a minor in business administration.

Derieth L. Sutton, CEcD, EDFP
Economic Development & Governmental Relations Coordinator
Niagara Bottling, LLC
Groveland, FL

Derieth L. Sutton is the Economic Development & Government Relations Coordinator for Niagara Bottling, LLC, the largest family-owned and operated bottled water manufacturer in the United States. Sutton brings over 20 years of public and private sector experience to that position.

Prior to joining Niagara, Sutton served as the Lake County Regional Director for the Metro Orlando EDC where she worked recruitment, expansion and retention projects within the Orlando region. Her experience in economic development can be traced back to positions held with the Kansas Lottery, the Kansas Department of Commerce & Housing, and the City of Kansas City, KS. She has also worked as the Economic Development Specialist for the City of Palm Bay, the Business Development Coordinator for the City of Fort Pierce and Director of Economic Development for Worcester County (MD) Government.

Sutton has earned a bachelor of art degree in electronic journalism from the University of Oklahoma and a master of science in public administration from Lacrosse University.

In her current position, Sutton is responsible for both new and existing plant expansions, the exploration of energy efficiency programs and the implementation of incentive opportunities that ultimately position the company for growth while reducing operational costs.

Sutton is a member of IEDC's Public Policy Advisory Committee (PPAC), and PPAC's Workforce Development sub-committee. She has also served as a volunteer through IEDC's Economic Recovery Volunteer Program.

Mark M. Sweeney
Senior Principal
McCallum Sweeney Consulting
Greenville, SC

Mark Sweeney is a senior principal in McCallum Sweeney Consulting (MSC), providing site selection services and economic development consulting to companies and organizations worldwide.

With more than 20 years of experience in site selection and economic development, Mr. Sweeney assists companies in identifying, evaluating, and selecting the optimal location for their capital investments. Such projects cover a wide array of related factors, including sites, infrastructure, transportation, labor and demographics, state and local taxes, and incentives.

Mr. Sweeney also provides consulting services to leading economic development organizations across the United States in such areas as strategic planning and organizational design, site certification, target industry programs, incentive strategies, and sustainable development.

Mr. Sweeney has assisted clients in a wide variety of industries, from automotive manufacturing to software development and internet services. Recent clients include Daiichi Sankyo (pharmaceutical), Mitsubishi Electric (transformer manufacturing), SunCoke Energy (headquarters), SGL/BMW (joint venture carbon fiber manufacturing for electric vehicles), Sallie Mae (credit operations center), Nissan (headquarters; auto assembly; engine; distribution), Michelin (tire and rubber manufacturing distribution), Dollar General (distribution); and Oreck (headquarters; appliance manufacturing). Of particular note are the Nissan headquarters relocation from Los Angeles to Nashville, Tennessee (November 2005) and the Nissan auto assembly project that announced in Canton, Mississippi (November 2000).

Mr. Sweeney has conducted siting projects in Europe and Asia as well as most regions of the United States. Economic development clients include CLECO (Louisiana), Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), Southern California Edison, and Duke Energy; the States of Nebraska, Oklahoma and Tennessee; and Alexandria, Louisiana; Topeka, Kansas; and Macon, Georgia.

Mr. Sweeney spent more than five years at the South Carolina Department of Commerce, serving as Director of Research and Communication. There, he directed departments providing project management support, information management (including world's leading economic development application of Geographic Information Systems), and communications. Mr. Sweeney was also one of the authors of Approaching 2000 – An Economic Development Vision for South Carolina, a state strategic plan for economic development.

Mr. Sweeney has a Masters in Business Administration from Clemson University and a Bachelor of Science from Appalachian State University. In addition, Mr. Sweeney was a recipient of a Murphy Fellowship for graduate work in economics at Tulane University. He lives in Greenville, South Carolina.

Jerry W. Szatan
Principal
Szatan & Associates
Site Selection Consultants
Chicago, IL

Jerry Szatan has more than thirty years experience in site selection, economic development and real estate investing in the United States and abroad. He formed Szatan & Associates, a location strategy, site selection and economic development consulting firm based in Chicago in 1998. Site selection projects include headquarters, R&D, manufacturing, distribution, call centers, back offices, and other corporate facilities for domestic and international companies including: Boar's Head Brand, Carlson Wagonlit Travel, Davis Selected Advisors, Equiserve, Nature's Path, Organics LaGrange, Sun Microsystems, Union Pacific Railroad, Waste Management and Wausau Insurance

He advises economic development organizations nationally on development strategy, marketing, real estate development, labor markets and best practices. He was a senior manager at The Fantus Company, a regional economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and worked in real estate investment and public policy analysis.

Mr. Szatan writes and speaks widely on site selection and economic development topics, including: labor market evaluation, demographic trends, facility consolidation issues, rural site selection, intermodal freight development, green economic development and cultural institution building. He has spoken before many state, national and international professional groups including the International Economic Development Council, Business Retention and Expansion International, National Association of Foreign Trade Zones and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and been quoted in the Wall Street Journal and other business publications. He has an M.A. in regional economics from the University of Illinois and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

Klaus Thiessen
President & CEO
Grand Forks Regional Economic Development Corporation
Grand Forks, ND

Before joining the Grand Forks Region Economic Development Corporation as President & CEO in 2004, Mr. Thiessen was a consultant in all aspects of economic development at the local, national and international levels. For 10 years he was President & CEO of the Winnipeg Economic Development Corporation following two years as Director of the Winnipeg EDC. Mr. Thiessen is a past President of the Economic Developers Association of Canada. He holds a Master of Public Affairs degree from the University of Manitoba and his undergraduate work includes graduating with honors from the University of Winnipeg with a B.A. in Urban Studies and Political Science.

Allison J.H. Thompson, CEcD, EDFP
Director of Economic Development
City of Cedar Hill
Cedar Hill, TX

Allison J. H. Thompson, holds a BS in Criminal Justice from Texas Christian University, an MA in Urban Affairs from the University of Texas of Arlington as well as professional certifications from both the International Economic Development Council and the National Development Council.

Currently employed by the City of Cedar Hill, a thriving community in southwest Dallas County on Joe Pool Lake, she serves as the Director for the Cedar Hill Economic Development Corporation as well as directs the economic development efforts for the City of Cedar Hill.

Her experience ranges from working as a consultant focusing on strategic economic development planning to managing a regional economic development organization. She has served as director of economic development in several Texas cities.

Kinnee M. Tilly
Vice President, Business Retention, Expansion and Small Business
Tulsa Metro Chamber
Tulsa, OK

Kinnee Tilly is Vice-President of Business Retention, Expansion and Small Business of the Tulsa Metro Chamber. She joined the Chamber in 2008. She is responsible for the day to day operations and administration of a staff of 3, and multiple volunteer groups within the Chamber including the Small Business Council, Mosaic, and the Entrepreneurship Venture Oversight Committee. Her focus is on support and programming for existing business, as well as the identification of high growth companies.

Ms. Tilly serves as the Chamber representative to the BRIDGE program, through the City of Tulsa Human Rights Division. She is a member of the Governor's Economic Development and Marketing Team, the Oklahoma Economic Development Council and the National Business Incubator Association, as well as the International Economic Development Council. In addition, she is also a member of the Oklahoma Business Incubator Association, and Business Retention and Expansion International. In 2010, the Business Retention and Expansion program of the Tulsa Metro Chamber was recognized by BREI as one of the outstanding programs in the nation.

She holds a Bachelor's degree from Lindenwood University and a Master's from the University of Oklahoma. A native of Oklahoma, Ms. Tilly is married, with two grown children.

Catherine Timko
Principal
The Riddle Company
Washington, DC

Catherine is a nationally recognized expert on downtown and neighborhood retail development and attraction. She has advised communities and investors on the use of economic development programs and financing and has been instrumental in the development of tools to advance retail attraction and investment. Her recent work on the Center City Philadelphia retail campaign, Be In On It, has achieved national recognition and resulted in new retail investment and enhance marketplace awareness.

Catherine is a city planner who earlier in her career worked for Wallace, Roberts and Todd focusing on downtown planning and economic and commercial revitalization. She has been involved in more than 40 downtown planning and marketing projects nationwide. She has been instrumental in the development of critical financing and marketing tools, while working in local government and then as a consultant to communities, and private investors. Catherine recently completed a national study analyzing the impact of BIDs and promotion on local business performance. Her knowledge of best practices is invaluable in shaping and implementing community based retail development models that work.

In the past 10 years, she has consulted with communities, economic development organizations, and BIDs, of all sizes in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Maryland, Virginia, Texas, Florida, and Washington, D.C., advising them on retail and business attraction programs with measureable success. Private clients include CVS, Madison Retail Group, Marcus & Millichap, Lowe Enterprises, Next Realty, Bank of America, Roadside Development, City Center Retail, Pritzker Residential, Equity Residential, and Tishman. Catherine is a Senior Advisor with Econsult Corporation and an active member of APA, IDA, IEDC, ULI, and ICSC, and is the former Dean for Economic Development for ICSC University of Shopping Centers.

Jackie Turner-Lovsness
Program Specialist
Southwest Initiative Foundation
Hutchinson, MN

Jackie Turner-Lovsness is a program specialist with the Southwest Initiative Foundation in the southwest region of Minnesota. Jackie works in the economic development program focusing on entrepreneurship development and growth, along with a microenterprise loan fund. Covering 18 counties, she assists in the delivery of the tools necessary for entrepreneurs of all levels and skills to be successful in their business endeavors. Their mission is to provide opportunity, training and access to capital to current and potential business owners. The Southwest Initiative Foundation received an Excellence in Economic Development Award for their Entrepreneurship Initiative in the category of Entrepreneurship for communities with populations of 200,000 – 500,000 from the International Economic Development Council in 2010.

Prior to joining the Southwest Initiative Foundation, Jackie was an Enterprise Facilitator, working with entrepreneurs on business start-ups and expansions. An entrepreneur herself, she owned and operated a coffee shop and catering business before she started working to assist entrepreneurs. She is a graduate of the University of South Dakota.

Dean J. Uminski
Partner
Crowe Horwath LLP
South Bend, IN

Dean Uminski is Principal of Crowe Horwath LLP, and leads the National Economic Development and Site Selection Practice. In this role he is responsible for all aspects of economic development planning including; market analysis, strategic planning, capital improvement planning, site location assistance, financing strategies, exit strategy planning, business attraction and expansion/retention planning, tax abatements, statutory credit reviews and incentive negotiations.

Mr. Uminski is currently the co-chair for the Whirlpool Corporation Global Incentives Team. In this role he provides site selection and strategic economic development planning initiatives for all of their North American expansions.

He is currently in his third year of sitting o the Editorial Advisory Board for Area Development Magazine. In addition to writing articles on site selection and economic development issues including Smart Growth and Green Energy, he provides technical assistance with their annual corporate and consultants surveys.

Mr. Uminski currently serves as the External Economic Development Advisor for the Indiana State Chamber's Economic Vision 2010 Task Force. In this role, he helps to develop a comprehensive blueprint for making Indiana one of the best business start-up and growth economies in the global marketplace. His primary focus to date has been to look into new business retention/expansion and training programs for existing companies in Indiana.

Tina Valdecanas
Chief Strategy & Branding Officer
The Research Triangle Park
Research Triangle Park, NC

Tina Valdecanas serves as Chief Strategy & Branding Officer at the Research Triangle Foundation of North Carolina, owner and developer of the Research Triangle Park (RTP). As Chief Strategy & Branding Officer, she identifies what the Park must do to remain a competitive place for R&D activities and served as the project manager for the Park's recent update to its Master Plan. Tina is also responsible for coordinating the Foundation's branding and research functions.

Before joining RTP in 2005, Tina was Vice President for Product Improvement at the Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC). During her tenure at GPEC, Tina coordinated the Council's relationships with other business organizations. During her earlier career, Tina held positions at Arizona State University's Morrison Institute of Public Policy; the US-ASEAN Business Council, a Washington, DC-based trade association that works to improve the business environment for American companies in the Southeast Asian region; the US Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service; and the Bureau of Intelligence and Research at the US Department of State.

Tina received her undergraduate degree from the Edmund Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and her masters' degree from the Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University.

Douglas van den Berghe, PhD
CEO & Founder
Investment Consulting Associates (ICA)
LocationSelector
ICAincentives
Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Douglas van den Berghe (PhD) is the CEO and founder of Investment Consulting Associates – ICA headquartered in Amsterdam and two web based FDI advisory products: www.locationselector.com and www.ICAincentives.com. Douglas was previously the director of Ernst & Young - International Location Advisory Services (ILAS) part of the real estate group of Ernst & Young Global. He holds a PhD in Business Administration from Erasmus University Rotterdam – Rotterdam School of Management (RSM). As a management and strategy consultant he assisted many corporate clients in successfully implementing their global investment strategies, location selection as well as optimizing their global supply chains across the world. Some of his corporate clients include: Shell, Philips, Electrolux, HB Fuller, John Deere, Johnson Controls and ING.

As an Economic Advisor he also worked on issues related to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), economic development and competitiveness for numerous governments, Freezones and Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs) in numerous countries. As an Economic Advisor he has also worked for various international organizations like the US State Department, United Nations Conference on Trade en Development (UNCTAD), United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), European Commission and the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

Douglas has lectured at a large number of universities and business schools worldwide including: Harvard Business School (HBS) and published in several journals like: International Business Review, Transnational Corporations and Business Strategy Review.

Douglas has worked in many countries including: EU-27, Central America, Albania, Australia, China, Ghana, India, Jordan, Iraq, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United States and Turkey.

In addition, he has the following sector expertise: electronics, consumer products, financial services, automotive, oil & gas, chemicals and IT.

Marty K. Vanags
President & CEO
Economic Development Council of the Bloomington-Normal Area
Normal, IL

Marty Vanags graduated from Illinois State University, Normal, in 1984 with a bachelor's degree in political science. He earned a master's degree in public administration from Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, in 1986. Marty began work at the EDC in May of 2004 with over 15 years of experience in community and economic development, private commercial development and business management.

Marty currently manages the Central Illinois Development Partnership a marketing organization of Central Illinois communities and EDCs; Chairs the Education Committee and serves on the Board of Directors of the Illinois Development Council; Co-Chair of the Public Policy Advisory Committee (chair of the Entrepreneurship Sub-committee) and the member of the Economic Development Research Partners of the International Economic Development Council; Advisory Board member of the Illinois State University Alternative Energy Major, ISU Alumni Board and Advisory Board Member of the Small Business Development Center at Illinois State University; member of the McLean County Chamber of Commerce Board and the McLean County Branding Task Force. Under Marty's leadership, the EDC has been recognized for its best practices in marketing, foreign trade development, business retention and by the McLean County Chamber of Commerce for public service.

Marty can be seen and heard on the BNBIZ radio show an hourly radio show featuring entrepreneurs, and small businesses topics every Tuesday at noon at WJBC 1230 am or WJBC.com or on podcasts at bnbiz.org. You can also read Marty's blog at www.martyvanags.com or follow him on his Twitter account at “bnedguy.”

Lorie Vincent, CEcD
Executive Director
The High Ground of Texas
Stratford, TX

Lorie Vincent serves as the Executive Director of The High Ground of Texas. The High Ground is a regional coalition of over100 communities and organizations involved in the marketing and economic development of the West Texas region. The High Ground, organized since 1987, covers a 60+ county area. Before becoming the first Executive Director of the High Ground in 1999, Lorie served as the Executive Director of the Sherman County Development Committee, Inc. where she developed an award-winning economic development program that received numerous honors including recognition in the Wall Street Journal. Lorie is a Director of the Texas Panhandle Regional Development Corporation and the West Texas A&M University Foundation Board. She is on the Executive Committee of the Texas Economic Development Council and currently serves as Treasurer. She has served on many statewide and national Boards including the Leadership Texas Alumni Association and the Professional Speakers of the Southwest. She is a Master Graduate III with Rapport Leadership International and is certified to train on many topics. Prior to the moving back to the Texas Panhandle, Lorie resided in the San Antonio area. Lorie holds a BBA in Accounting with a minor in Finance, and is a Certified Economic Developer. She is married to Matt Vincent and they have one daughter, Mazie Rae.

Mark Vitner
Managing Director & Senior Economist
Wells Fargo Securities, LLC
Charlotte, NC

Mark Vitner is a managing director and senior economist at Wells Fargo, responsible for tracking U.S. and regional economic trends. Based in Charlotte, N.C., he also writes for the company's Monthly Economic Outlook report, the Weekly Economic & Financial Commentary, and provides regular updates on the housing markets, commercial real estate, regional economies, and inflation.

Mark joined Wachovia (then First Union) in 1993. Before that, he spent nine years as an economist for Barnett Banks in Jacksonville, Fla.

Mark's commentary has been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and many other publications.

Originally from Atlanta, Mark earned his B.B.A. in economics from the University of Georgia, an M.B.A. from the University of North Florida, and has completed further graduate work in economics at the University of Florida. He also completed the National Association of Business Economics (NABE) Advanced Training in Economics program at Carnegie Mellon University.

Mark is a member of the National Association of Business Economists and co-founded its Charlotte chapter, The Charlotte Economics Club. He serves as a distinguished lecturer and practitioner at the University of Georgia. He is also a member of the American Economic Association, the American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, and the Charlotte Chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth. Mark currently chairs the economic advisory committee for the Bond Dealers of America. In addition, Mark serves as the chief economist for the North Carolina CCIM (Certified Commercial Investment Member). He is a member of the Blue Chip Economic forecasting panel and was recently named one of the 2009 North Carolina Power Players, 50 most powerful people in business, by Business Leader magazine. Mark currently serves on the Joint Advisory Board of Economists for the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Robert W. Walsh
Commissioner
New York City Department of Small Business Services
New York, NY

Robert Walsh, Commissioner, NYC Small Business Services Robert W. Walsh was appointed Commissioner of the New York City Department of Small Business Services (SBS) by Mayor Bloomberg in January 2002. During his tenure, he has reshaped the Agency to directly focus on and respond to the needs of the City's nearly 200,000 small businesses- the first time that a City agency has been completely dedicated to this goal. In doing so, SBS has invigorated the City's 64 business improvement districts – the largest network of BIDs in the country – which deliver nearly $100 million in supplemental services for the direct benefit of more than 16,000 retail businesses. He has also enhanced the delivery of technical assistance and incentives to NYC's small businesses through NYC Business Solutions and energized the City's promotion and support of minority- and women-owned businesses. In June 2003, Mayor Bloomberg merged the City's adult workforce programs with SBS. Since then, Rob has led the effort to use workforce development as a tool for economic development, transforming a system that placed New Yorkers in 500 jobs a year into one that places New Yorkers in more than 31,000 jobs a year. Prior to his appointment, Rob spent five years in North Carolina as President of Charlotte Center City Partners, an organization dedicated to improving and growing Charlotte's central business district. From 1989 to April 1997, he led the Union Square Partnership, where he played a key role in the neighborhood's revitalization. During the 1980's, he worked in the administration of Mayor Edward I. Koch. He began his career in public service as a New York City Urban Fellow, a program he later directed. Commissioner Walsh holds a bachelor's degree and a Masters degree from Fordham University.

Richard C. Ward, CEcD, AICP, CRE
Vice President
Zimmer Real Estate Services, LC
St. Louis, MO

Mr. Ward is Vice President and a member of the Development Management Group of Zimmer Real Estate Services with offices in St. Louis and Kansas City. His principal areas of focus include: shaping and advising public/private ventures and partnerships; developer selection and development agreements; site selection and acquisition strategies; incentive agreements between local governments and private investors; litigation support and expert testimony relative to redevelopment and eminent domain, land use controls, and public/private partnerships; and master developer arrangements for complex multi-developer projects. Prior to joining Zimmer in 2007, Richard was a principal and chief executive of Development Strategies, consultants in real estate, economic and community development located in St. Louis with assignments nationwide. Richard is a certified economic developer with the CEcD designation of the International Economic Development Council (IEDC); a Counselor of Real Estate (CRE); and a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP). He has been an active member of ICED for over fifteen years, having served as a member of its Board of Directors for the past ten years. He is also a member and former chair of the Public/Private Partnership Council of the Urban Land Institute. He holds graduate degrees in business administration (major in finance) and urban design from Washington University in St. Louis and in urban and regional planning from Virginia Tech.

Laith A. Wardi, CEcD
President
ExecutivePulse, Inc.
Erie, PA

Laith Wardi, CEcD, is President of ExecutivePulse, Inc. He has worked in the economic development profession for over 20 years.

Laith has comprehensive experience in business retention & expansion that includes outreach to hundreds of value-added client companies, work as a resource provider, and 15 years of regional program management.

In 1994-95, Laith pioneered the first web based system for business retention. Today, the ExecutivePulse™ Business Intelligence System is the most widely used database for business retention & expansion in North America.

As a founder and President of ExecutivePulse Inc., Laith provides skills training, survey development, technology development and management consultation to clients seeking to implement a systematic and sustainable customer outreach program.

He is a regular instructor on business retention for the professional certification program sponsored by the International Economic Development Council (IEDC). Laith also speaks to community, economic and workforce development audiences throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe on customer retention, one-to-one database marketing and technology assimilation.

Laith is a graduate of Mercyhurst College and received his economic development certification through IEDC in 2002.

In addition to his work in the field of economic development, Laith has experience in real estate management, media sales, and as a strategic planning consultant for both public and private-sector clients.

Stuart M. Wasilowski
Vice President
Corporate and Continuing Education
South Piedmont Community College
Monroe, NC

Stuart Wasilowski is currently serving as Vice President of Corporate and Continuing Education at South Piedmont Community College, Monroe, NC. His areas of responsibility include Professional Development programs, Customized Training, the Small Business Center, and programs for dislocated workers. This division of SPCC provides training and education to more than 8000 people annually with registrations in excess of 16,000.

Wasilowski has 25 years of experience in higher education, community development, fundraising, non-profit management, small business lending and business administration.

Wasilowski is a graduate of the Institute for Educational Management, Graduate School of Education at Harvard University, he recently began work on his doctorate in Higher Education Leadership and is the recipient of League of Innovation in Community College Scholarship at Walden University. Wasilowski earned an M.B.A. from the Keller Graduate School of Management in Chicago, IL and a BA from Augsburg College in Minneapolis, MN. He has completed a number of local and regional leadership programs including training from the Disney Institute. Additionally, he is a certified Master Trainer from NCCCER and a certified facilitator in Appreciative Inquiry. Wasilowski held public office in a mid-sized community in Illinois concentrating on community/economic development and revitalization of the central business district.

Robert Watkins
President & CEO
R. J. Watkins & Company
San Diego, CA

C. Paige Webster
Site Selection Consultant
Foote Consulting Group, LLC
Phoenix, AX

Paige Webster has been working with Foote Consulting since the inception. Paige has worked with many projects across many industry sectors including: aerospace, bio tech, geo thermal, wind and solar, warehouse distribution, office projects, data centers, and corporate centers and the retail sector. Paige has been working in site selection and economic development for thirteen years. Paige has also been assisting on other economic development, incubator and work force development studies for Foote Consulting, LLC.

Paige has had extensive site selection experience as he was the Western Regional Real Estate Manager for Aaron Rents. Paige was able to facilitate and expand the major retail expansion for Aaron Rents in the Western United States.

Paige has had experience in the Economic Development arena too. He was the former Economic Development Director for the Greater Yuma Economic Development Corporation. Paige's experience includes working with back office, warehouse distribution, bio tech, software development companies and food processing companies for the Yuma area. Paige did extensive work in cross border economic development and was a member of the Border Trade Alliance (BTA) and worked closely with the Arizona Governor's Office on cross border issues in Mexico. Paige was on the Workforce Development Board and was also a Board Member of the Arizona Association of Economic Development (AAED). Paige has also received the CEcD designation during his career in Economic Development.

Paige also worked for the Arizona Department of Commerce as the Northern Arizona Representative, assisting companies to expand or relocate to the State of Arizona with projects related to injection molding, warehouse/distribution, back office, agro-business, inter tribal companies, bio-tech, high tech, aviation.

Rick L. Weddle, FM, HLM
President & CEO
Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission
Orlando, FL

Rick L. Weddle joined the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission (EDC) as President and CEO in March of 2011. In this role, he leads the operations of a $6 million regional organization with a 32-person staff that represents the four-county region of Orange, Seminole, Lake and Osceola, and the City of Orlando.

Prior to joining the EDC, Weddle spent seven years as President and CEO of the Research Triangle Foundation of North Carolina, owner and developer of The Research Triangle Park. Under his leadership, the Research Triangle Park generated successful development projects with projected capital investment of over $800 million and the projected creation of over 6,300 new jobs.

Weddle's extensive career in economic development also includes serving as President and CEO of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC) in Phoenix, Arizona. He has led economic development organizations in Toledo, Ohio, where he served as President and CEO of the Regional Growth Partnership (RGP); in Stockton, California, as President and CEO of the San Joaquin Partnership & Business Council; and in Winston-Salem, North Carolina where he was President and CEO of Winston-Salem Business Inc.

An active speaker and leader in numerous economic development and science park organizations, Mr. Weddle currently serves as Vice President of the International Association of Science Parks (IASP) and was elected President of IASP-North American Division in December 2007. He has also been active in the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) since its inception and served as president in 2002.

Ronald Wiley
Director
State of Ohio
Minority Business Enterprise Division
Columbus, OH

Ron Wiley was appointed Director of the Ohio Department of Development's Minority Business Enterprise Division in April 2010. As Director, Ron is responsible for leading the Division's efforts to create, grow, and develop minority business enterprises throughout the state. Being Ohio's lead facilitator of minority business growth, Ron provides leadership and direction to the Division's loan programs, the Minority Contractors and Business Assistance Program Centers and the Procurement Technical Assistance Centers, and spends considerable time toward the development and implementation of conferences, workshops, and seminars that support Ohio's minority businesses.

Prior to joining the Department, Ron served as President and Chief Executive Officer of several banks and development organizations in Missouri, North Carolina, and Texas. In these roles, he developed successful loan portfolios, policies, and strategic plans that addressed the unique financing needs of women and minority businesses. These experiences have enabled him to gain valuable insight into how public-private partnerships can mitigate risk and jump start economic development, particularly in distressed communities.

Ron's most recent role was Managing Officer of Higher Ground Financial Services in Raleigh, North Carolina, a company he created to assist small businesses and banks with strategic planning and technical advice, as well as providing financial literacy counseling to churches. He returns to the State of Ohio and the Department of Development after more than 16 years, when, in the late 1980's and early 1990s he worked for the Department as a Loan Officer.

Ron holds a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Otterbein College and is a graduate of Harvard Business School's Owner/President Management Program, a three-year executive education program for senior executive entrepreneurs. Ron is also certified as an Economic Development Professional by the National Development Council.

Joy Wilkins, CEcD
Senior Fellow
The University of Georgia's Fanning Institute
Athens, GA

Joy Wilkins is a Senior Fellow with The University of Georgia's Fanning Institute – and, is a frequent advisor, speaker, instructor, and author on economic development, strategic planning, and quality management topics. Joy joined Fanning to contribute to the organization's efforts in leadership development and community capacity building. One of her primary interests is to continually identify and share best practices on what it takes to run a high performance organization in ever-changing economic, social, and political dynamics. She has served as a consultant for clients in the United States and Canada.

Previously, Joy served as Group Manager for Community Innovation Services at Georgia Tech's Enterprise Innovation Institute and oversaw the development and delivery of the Institute's planning, research, and educational services for leaders in economic development and government representing cities, counties, regions, and state and federal entities. She built and grew a unit into a highly successful, talented, and recognized group of service-oriented team members and served as an accomplished member of the general faculty for more than 10 years. In another prior capacity, Joy served as a researcher with the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce where she produced customized reports and publications concerning metro Atlanta's economic development landscape for a wide range of investors. While at the Chamber, much of her work was concentrated on addressing research needs associated with Atlanta's hosting of the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games.

Joy entered the economic development profession in 1994 and has been a Certified Economic Developer by the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) since 2002. She has a master's degree in city planning from the Georgia Institute of Technology; a graduate certificate in real estate from Georgia State University; and a bachelor's degree, with majors in sociology and political science, from the State University of New York at Fredonia. Joy serves on the IEDC Board of Directors and has been actively involved in a number of other professional associations and committees.

Curtiss L. Williams, Sr.
Senior Program Coordinator
Franklin County
Economic Development & Planning Department
Columbus, OH

Roy H. Williams
President & CEO
Greater Oklahoma City Chamber
Oklahoma City, OK

Roy became the President & Chief Executive Officer of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber on January 1, 2004, after having served as Executive Vice President of Economic Development since mid-2002.

Roy has held numerous executive leadership positions in Chambers of Commerce and Economic Development organizations in Texas, Arizona, Ohio and Oklahoma. Some of these include the Texas Governor's Office, the Texas Department of Commerce, the Greater Phoenix Economic Council (Arizona), the Greater Columbus Chamber of Commerce (Ohio), and the Oklahoma Department of Commerce. His experience in economic development however, is not just limited to domestic activities. Roy also was responsible for international trade and investment offices in Japan, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, Korea, India, Belgium, Germany and Mexico.

Additionally, Roy was Partner, co-founder, and President of The Economic Development Group, Inc., an international economic development consulting firm with offices in Ohio and Arizona. In that capacity he helped build economic development strategies and tools for cities, counties, regional partnerships, states, utility companies, universities, private companies and even foreign countries. As well, he performed corporate site location consultant work for companies and executive searches for economic development organizations.

Roy also has served on the faculty for several professional certification programs including the United States Chamber's Institute for Organization Management and the International Economic Development Council's Economic Development Institute. And he is an active participant of numerous domestic and international Councils and Associations, holding both membership and appointed positions. Nationally, Roy serves on the American Chamber of Commerce Executive's Board. Statewide and locally, Roy serves on numerous Boards of Directors, some of which include the Oklahoma Business Roundtable, the Oklahoma Bioscience Association, the State Chamber of Commerce, the Oklahoma State Fair, the Oklahoma Health Center Foundation, Oklahoma Chamber of Commerce Executives, Oklahoma Industries Authority, Downtown YMCA, the Oklahoma Technology Development Corporation - i2E, Downtown Oklahoma City, Inc., United Way, Leadership Oklahoma City, Allied Arts, and several others.

Roy has a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Texas Lutheran University and pursued his M.B.A. at Sam Houston State University. As well, he is a graduate of the Institute for Organization Management at Southern Methodist University, successfully completed the American Chamber of Commerce Executive Leadership Program at the Center for Creative Leadership in North Carolina, and is a graduate of the Governor's Center Strategic Leadership for State Executives program at Duke University.

Jim Winter
Global Manager - Corporate Real Estate
Alcoa Inc.
Pittsburgh, PA

James E. Yokeley, Jr.
Director, Community Economic Development
North Carolina State Ports Authority
Wilmington, NC

Jimmy Yokeley joined the NC State Ports Authority in Jan. 2006 as Director, Distribution Services & Economic Development. In August 2010, he joined the executive department reporting to Ports' CEO Tom Eagar as Director, Community Economic Development. His main tasks include developing a close working-partnership with the local, regional and statewide economic development community all across North Carolina, helping to increase the awareness of the value the Ports brings to the retention and recruitment of jobs from globally-dependent businesses and industries. He oversees a marketing plan recruiting global distribution and assembly manufacturing facilities to North Carolina, with companies who have a strong need for the NC Ports. In addition, he is engaged with industrial site selection consultants and real estate developers to identify and establish shovel-ready sites, build global distribution and assembly manufacturing facilities. Mr. Yokeley is the primary liaison with the N.C. Department of Commerce, working with his colleagues to create information and financial incentive packages for the successful recruitment of companies' global industrial facilities and representing the Ports Authority at Commerce Department meetings.

He joined the Authority after gaining 25 years of experience in the container ocean cargo carrier and global logistics industries, with most of his time serving in senior management positions. Mr. Yokeley's tenure included duty with Expeditors International, one of the world's top 10 most successful global logistics companies headquartered in Seattle, WA, where he was global sales executive in Charlotte. He was a vice president of American Steamship in Charlotte, NC from 1996 to 2004, a global logistics provider based in NJ, and prior was a managing director with Carotrans International, Inc., the international cargo carrier subsidiary of Carolina Freight Carriers Corp. based in Cherryville, NC. Mr. Yokeley worked the first 12 years of his career with Audnel America International, Inc., the first international nvocc entity in the southeast USA, with global headquarters in Charlotte, NC where he earned the title of vice president/COO.

A native of Charlotte, he holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He lives in Wilmington, NC with his wife of 29 years. Their daughter is a 2009 honors graduate from Appalachian State University, by way of The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, AL. and, a son who is a junior at Appalachian State University and a redshirt junior quarterback on the football team.

Holly Zanville
Senior Program Director
Lumina Foundation
Indianapolis, IN

Holly Zanville is a Program Director at Lumina Foundation where she leads the development of plans and strategies to support student success in higher education. The success portfolio includes work in strengthening student success in community colleges with a focus on improving outcomes of developmental education; strengthening the capacity to develop and use quality data; increasing degree completion for targeted populations (adults with prior college credits but no degree, Minority Serving Institutions, Latinos); and exploring new approaches to credentials (accelerated degree programs, prior learning assessment). Zanville's experience spans the educational pipeline, with prior service in K-12, community colleges, universities, and higher education governance systems. Most recently, Zanville served as Coordinator of Oregon's Joint Boards K-20 Redesign Initiative; Senior Academic Officer, Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board; and Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Oregon University System. Zanville received her Ph.D. in Educational Administration from the University of Minnesota.

Tony Zeiss, PhD
President
Central Piedmont Community College
Charlotte, NC

Dr. Zeiss holds a doctorate in community college administration from Nova University, a master's degree in speech (radio and television), and a bachelor's degree in speech education from Indiana State University. In 1992, he became the third president of Central Piedmont Community College, the largest community college in North Carolina, serving approximately 70,000 students annually. During his tenure, the college has grown from one campus to six and is recognized as a national leader in Workforce Development.

Dr. Zeiss authored or co-authored books on economic development, adult literacy, national workforce development and the Civil War. His recent publications include four books on creating high performance employees, a book on community college leadership, a tribute to John Montgomery Belk, and a Revolutionary War novel.

Dr. Zeiss is a professional speaker and keynoter for companies and colleges on fundraising and on recruiting, developing, and retaining peak performers at the workplace.

Dr. Zeiss is past Board Chair of the American Association of Community Colleges and the League for Innovation. He was the Association of Community College Trustees' National CEO of the year for 2004-2005. CPCC was selected as the 2002 Community College of the Year by the National Alliance of Business in 2002-2003.

Melissa A. Ziegler, CEcD
Group Leaders and Principal
CDM - Wilbur Smith Associates
Knoxville, TN

Melissa Ziegler brings 25 years of real-world experience in economic and community development, visioning and strategic planning, transportation and economic development planning, and real estate development. Since joining Wilbur Smith Associates in 2003 she has created innovative, integrated economic development, transportation, freight, and land use programs and frequently speaks on creating globally competitive transportation networks for economic growth, reinvestment strategies for inner ring suburbs, and sustainable economic development in the global marketplace. She is leading a study of the Mohawk-Erie corridor in upstate New York using a newly-created framework to prioritize transportation projects according to their potential impact on economic competitiveness, livability, and sustainability.

Earlier in her career Ms. Ziegler helped form The Development Corporation of Knox County, TN, a non-profit public-private partnership responsible for attracting businesses, developing industrial parks, and managing programs which, during her ten years as executive director, led to more than $1 billion in private investment and stimulated quality growth and development, attracting businesses and technology development and fostering community and regional revitalization. She is active in IEDC and is a past president of the National Association for Community and Economic Development. She holds an MBA and an MPA from the University of Tennessee.