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Speakers
James Abruzzo serves as Executive Vice President and Managing Director, Nonprofit Practice, in the firm's Newark, New Jersey office. He has over 25 years of experience as a consultant to nonprofit organizations. He has conducted management consulting projects in the arts/cultural, international relief, social service, foundation and trade association sectors. He has also recruited some of the nation’s top CEO’s to these nonprofit organizations. Mr. Abruzzo is also Co-Director and Co-Founder of The Center for Nonprofit and Philanthropic Leadership at Rutgers Business School. This Center hosts Symposia and Workshops for nonprofit leaders, operates a Certificate Program in Nonprofit Leadership, provides consulting to nonprofit organizations and conducts research on critical nonprofit issues. Mr. Abruzzo also serves on the faculty of the Rutgers Business School. From 1985 to 1990, Mr. Abruzzo served on the graduate faculty of Columbia University and continues to lecture frequently at other major business schools in the U.S. and abroad. He is the author of Jobs in Arts and Media Management (ACA Publications, NY) that is used as a text book in many of the graduate programs in arts management in the US. He is quoted widely in industry publications like the “Chronicle of Philanthropy,” the “Nonprofit Times,” the “Art Newspaper,” and has been interviewed on “All Things Considered”, NPR’s “Morning Edition” and “One on One with Steve Adubato.” Since 1997, Mr. Abruzzo has served on the Board of Trustees for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre and from 1998 to 2004 was the Chairman of the Board of Dieu Donne Paper Mill, Inc. a nonprofit, contemporary art publishing and creative visual arts organization in New York City. He also served as President of the Board of the Staten Island Institute of Arts and Sciences.
William Best joined PNC Bank in September, 2003 as Senior Vice President, Northeast Territory Manager, Community Development Banking in its East Brunswick, N. J. office. In this role, he is responsible for the Bank’s commitment towards the growth and prosperity of the low-moderate income segments and its communities, including community and economic development corporations, small businesses and women and minority-owned enterprises in Northern and Central New Jersey and Northeast Pennsylvania. He comes to PNC from his position of Executive Director of the New Jersey Redevelopment Authority, a state financing agency, where he served for six years in three administrations. His twenty plus years experience in banking and business were acquired through an executive banking career which he developed, managed, and supervised lending programs for the impacted communities and major financial services institutions. Mr. Best has been recognized with several awards, including the State of New Jersey Senate Resolution that acknowledged his community relations’ achievements. A graduate of North Carolina Central University, he did graduate studies with Fairleigh Dickinson University’s Banking Program, and completed the Executive Program at Harvard University’s J. F. K. School of Government. He has been affiliated for many years with the New Jersey Urban Bankers Association. He presently serves on the New Jersey Regional Plan Association.
LaDene’s passion is economic development. As Senior Project Manager for the Institute for Decision Making (IDM) at the University of Northern Iowa, an integrated business and community development 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 IEDC Professional Courses and 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. In 2005, LaDene was recognized as a fellow (FM) for her outstanding service to the field of economic development. Prior to joining the University, she was Executive Vice President and CEO of the Butte, Montana Chamber of Commerce. 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, University of Montana.
Since 1998 Ian Bromley has served with the Government of Ontario as Special Advisor to the Deputy Minister, Director of Urban Economic Development, Director of Economic Development Strategy and Director of Infrastructure and Innovation. Prior to joining the provincial government, Mr. Bromley was Director of Corporate Communications and Marketing for the Metropolitan Toronto government, responsible for all external and internal communication matters for Canada’s largest municipal government. Mr. Bromley joined the Boston Consulting Group after graduating with Distinction from the Ivey Business School at the University of Western Ontario in 1987. He also holds a M.A. in Economics from the University of Toronto and an Executive MBA from Ivey Business School. He serves as Vice Chairman – International Development for the International Economic Development Council in Washington, and on various regional economic development agency boards – the Greater Toronto Marketing Alliance, the Toronto Region Research Alliance and The Ottawa Partnership. He is an Associate of Canada’s Innovation Systems Research Network and is a member of the Metropolitan Strategies Advisory Board of the Prague Institute.
As President and CEO of the Charlotte Regional Partnership, Ronnie Bryant leads the economic development organization that promotes the 16-county Charlotte USA region as a premier location for businesses considering expansion or relocation. With more 23 years of managerial and economic development expertise, Bryant is nationally known for his proven track record of establishing and implementing successful economic development programs, with a strong emphasis on existing industry expansion and retention, regionalism and marketing. Bryant has been credited with the development of job creation strategies that resulted in more than 117,000 jobs. Prior to joining CRP, 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 implemented Missouri’s First Work Keys Service Center. 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.
Susan Christopherson is J. Thomas Clark Professor in the Department of City and Regional Planning at Cornell University. She is an economic geographer (Ph.D., U.C. Berkeley) whose research and teaching focus on: 1) economic development; 2) urban labor markets and 3) location patterns in service industries, particularly the media industries. Her research includes both international and US policy-oriented projects. Her international research includes studies in Canada, Mexico, China, Germany, and Jordan as well as multi-country studies. In the past three years she has completed studies on 1) advanced manufacturing in New York’s Southern Tier; 2) the photonics industry in Rochester; 3) the role of universities and colleges in revitalizing the upstate New York economy; and 4) production trends affecting media industries in New York City. Her new book, Re-making Regional Economies: Labor, Power and Firm Strategies in the Knowledge Economy (Routledge, 2007) focuses on barriers to regional economic development in the U.S. economy. She has also written numerous articles for academic journals on subjects ranging from labor standards to the competition between US and Canadian regions for film and TV production. Her work in the field of economic development has concentrated primarily on strategies for revitalizing the economy of upstate New York where she has lived and worked for twenty years.
Tom Flynn has been the Economic Development Director for the City of Charlotte, N.C. since 2004. As Economic Development Director he is responsible for the City of Charlotte’s efforts in Small Business Development, Business Retention and Expansion, Redevelopment and Workforce Development. He has been responsible for many economic development projects that have pushed Charlotte to the top rung of cities in terms of economic growth. Tom has also been a leader in developing many of Charlotte’s economic development programs. Tom has worked for the City of Charlotte since 1980 in various positions, including: Budget Analyst, Assistant to the City Manager, Assistant to the Mayor, and Economic Development Officer. He is active with the International Economic Development Council, serving on their Education Committee and teaching their Land Development and Redevelopment course. He also serves the National Civic League as a juror for the All America City Award. Tom is a graduate of Leadership Charlotte Class XVIII and has served in volunteer capacities in many Charlotte organizations, including: Communities in Schools, YMCA, United Way, Habitat for Humanity, and Hands on Charlotte. He is a certified economic developer by the International Economic Development Association. He received his BA from Kalamazoo College and his MPA from the LBJ School, University of Texas at Austin.
Serving as Mayor of the city of Scottsburg since 1988, William Graham has worked hard to make Scottsburg a better place to live. Starting his first term in 1988, Mayor Graham is currently in the fourth year of his fifth term. From welfare reform to city beautification, the changes that Mayor Graham has brought to Scott County are not hard to be seen. When Mayor Graham took office in 1988, Scottsburg had one of the highest unemployment rates in the State of Indiana, and a dying downtown and economy. Seeking new industry and working with existing businesses, he has been instrumental in attracting 9 new industries and numerous commercial businesses. He has sought and received federal and state grants to improve and upgrade utilities, infrastructure, and job training. Through his planning for the future, the City of Scottsburg has grown immensely, and continues to expand today. In addition to his position as Mayor of Scottsburg, he has been involved in projects with a radius far beyond Scott County. In addition to the Scott County Partnership, he has been a leader in the following organizations: the Scott County Economic Development Corporation; the Welfare to Work Initiative Task Force; the Scott County Manufacturer’s Forum; the Indiana Rural Development Council; appointed by the Governor to serve on the Indiana Solid Waste Management Board; the Southern 7 Workforce Investment; the River Hill Economic Development District; Indiana Municipal Power Association; Indiana Task Force Committee; the Southern Indiana Rural Development Council; appointed by the Governor to serve on the Governor’s Tax Commission.
An active participant in the ‘greening of aviation’ by accelerating the deployment of the Next Generation Transportation System (NextGen), Traver is a member of the National Strategy Committee of the National Institute of Aerospace (NIA). He serves as the founding Chair of the Environmental Committee of the National Air Transportation Association. An early proponent of ‘green’ he played a central role in securing protection for a virgin forest in Ghana and supporting mangrove stand planting, education and reef protection in Haiti in support of OneVillagePlanet.. Traver’s commercial projects include DayJet Corporation – the world’s first ‘per seat on-demand’ air carrier, Eco Energy Corporation – an early stage clean fuel technology company and HiConversion - a software development company focused on delivering high-value real-time Website analysis tools. Previously, Gruen-Kennedy was Chief Strategist at Citrix Systems where he played a significant role in the company’s post-IPO growth to become an S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 software company. His opinions and views appear regularly in the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and Fortune magazine and in the televised global media such as CNBC, Sky News and CNN. Gruen-Kennedy is the founder and serves as Chair of the Digital Development Partnership (DDP). He fostered the establishment of the world’s first ‘Cyber Sister Cities’ in the twinning of Fort Lauderdale USA and Agogo, Ghana. The DDP supports the Millennium Development Goals by narrowing the digital divide to drive the social and economic impact of information and communications technology (ICT) in underserved communities. DDP focuses on projects in developing communities in the US and their Sister Cities abroad. The DDP works in cooperation with Sister Cities International, the Network for Sustainable Development, the United Nations and the World Bank.
Since 1986, his Eureka! Ranch consulting team has helped corporations such as American Express, Nike, Procter & Gamble and Walt Disney discover Measurably Smarter Choices for Growth. It seems to work – the Ranch has a world-class 88% client repeat rate. Today, in addition to continuing to help corporate clients, Doug is on a mission to bring the Eureka! Ranch technologies to real world entrepreneurs. He’s developed a new licensed offering called Eureka! Winning Ways that helps small and mid sized businesses discover measurably smarter choices for growth. Doug is the author of four best selling books and a popular speaker on sales, marketing, creativity and innovation. He has also hosted and starred on a wide range of network radio and television programs. DATELINE NBC described Doug as “an eccentric entrepreneur who just might have what we’ve all been looking for…the happy secret to success.” Doug’s signature dress includes bold shirts, blue jeans and often - bare feet. But under the carefree clothes and playful attitude is a one-of-a-kind straight shooter who’s a life member of MENSA and the world’s leading expert on how to invent measurably smarter choices for business growth.
Mark J. James is the Principal and founder of ED Solutions, Inc, a firm dedicated to helping economic development organizations with the effective use of technology. ED Solutions, Inc. offers web site reviews, consulting services, training services and value added products to the economic development profession. Mark is a reseller of a variety of technology tools for the profession, including site and building databases, contact management solutions and ED web tools. Mark is also a founder of Development Results, LLC, a leading firm in the provision of economic development web site metrics. Mark’s has a client list of over 50 organizations and companies. He has also served as an advisor on the development or redesign of some of the most effective economic development web sites in the profession. Prior to starting ED Solutions, Inc. Mark was director of economic development for American Electric Power (AEP). AEP is one of the largest investor-owned electric utility companies in the United States, serving portions of 11 states. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Edinboro State University of Pennsylvania, a Master of Science degree from Oregon State University in Corvallis. He also is a graduate of the University of Michigan’s Graduate School of Business Executive Program.
Barbara K. Johnson is senior vice president for workforce and area development with Greater New Orleans, Inc., a public private partnership created in 2004 to grow 30,000 jobs and $1 Billion in new investment over the next five years in the 120-parish region of Southeast Louisiana. With extensive background in regional development and urban revitalization, Ms. Johnson directs the implementation of a unified and focused workforce development strategy for the 10-parish New Orleans region which will increase job growth by 10,000 over the next 5 years by brokering workforce resources and systems with the needs of the region’s high demand industry sectors including healthcare, manufacturing, energy and the creative industries. Ms. Johnson’s experience in urban and regional development spans more than two decades, including service as deputy director of the Downtown Development District in New Orleans. She also has held planning and project management assignments with the Rapids Area Planning Commission in Alexandria, LA, the University of New Orleans, Louisiana Urban Technical Assistance Center and the Bureau of Governmental Research. She holds a bachelor of arts in city and regional planning from the University of Louisiana in Lafayette and a masters degree in public administration from the University of New Orleans.
Andrew Levine is President of Development Counselors International (DCI), a New York-based firm that specializes exclusively in economic development and tourism marketing. Since 1960 the firm has worked with over 350 economic development organizations including 35 of the 50 states. He is a frequent speaker on the topic of economic development marketing and the primary author of “Winning Strategies in the Economic Development Marketing Game” (a continuing survey of corporate executives with site selection responsibilities). He has worked closely with key editors, writers and producers at a range of media outlets including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Forbes, Business Week, The Economist, ABC World News Tonight and CNN.
Jerry M. Mallot is executive vice president of the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce and executive director of Cornerstone, the economic development division. Mallot directs a staff of 15 in the areas of Business Recruitment, International, Existing Business and Workforce Development and Research. Mallot serves on the Board of the Florida Association of Colleges and Universities and is a past president of the Florida Economic Development Council and World Trade Center Association of Florida. Mallot has served on the Board of Enterprise Florida and Jacksonville and the Beaches Convention and Visitors’ Bureau. He has been named the Professional Economic Developer of the Year in both Florida and Kansas and received the Jessie B. Smith Community Achievement Award from NAIOP (National Association of Industrial and Office Properties). In 2004, he was selected for the Harry Waldron Regional Leadership Award. Prior to coming to Jacksonville in January of 1994, Mallot was senior vice president of the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce and executive director of the Tampa Bay Partnership, a six-county regional economic development program. Mallot, with his wife Janet, spent the majority of his life in Wichita, Kansas where he led Economic Development with the Wichita Area Chamber of Commerce and served four years as Chamber president.
In July 2004, Dave Porter, an expert in community marketing and business attraction with 20 years experience in economic development, joined the Greater Austin Chamber as Sr. Vice President for Economic Development. Porter leads the region’s Opportunity Austin initiative, a five-year, five-county economic development plan aimed at creating 72,000 jobs and a regional economic boost of $14 billion. Porter joined the Greater Austin Chamber from the Asheville, NC, Chamber of Commerce where he led the Asheville economic development effort. Porter won the 2000 Governor’s Award for Economic Development, established a Technology Council and created a Rapid Response Team of community leaders. Porter is a Certified Economic Developer. Before joining the Asheville Chamber, Porter served as a Business Development Consultant for the State of Kansas where he developed relationships with site selection consultants and national real estate firms throughout the U.S. He has also served as Vice President of Marketing for the North Carolina Global TransPark Authority as well as holding various positions within economic development for the Wichita/Sedgwick County Partnership for Growth, Inc. in Wichita, KS, where he entered the profession of economic development. Porter has a bachelor’s in business administration from Wichita State University and certification from the Economic Development Institute at the University of Oklahoma.
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. Earlier 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.
Robin Roberts 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, expansion and retention, research and strategy development. Roberts is a native of Oregon, and has over a decade of public service in the economic development and public policy arena. She served as a Regional Coordinator for the Governor’s office focusing on developing cooperation between local, community and state government on economic development projects. Previously Roberts served as Director of Economic Development for the Portland Development Commission, 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. Roberts spent several years in the private sector before entering public service. Roberts holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in education from Oregon State University and a Masters of Science in Educational Administration from Portland State University. She is on the board of the International Economic Development Council, where she serves as the Chair; and she is an Oregon State University Trustee. She is the co-author of “Community Wisdom”, a humorous look at economic and community development and a frequently requested speaker on economic development topics.
Richard Seline has been working in the economic development arena for over 20 years at the national, regional, and local levels. He has been recognized for his work in public-private partnerships, regional business climate analysis, and technology adaptation by business organizations. Richard spun New Economy Strategies out of Collaborative Economics (CEI) of Palo Alto to focus on discreet regional projects, especially in the areas of biotech/life sciences and innovative economic convergence. Richard’s work with CEI included technology cluster-oriented projects in Greater Washington D.C, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh and Texas, as well as on behalf of the Biotechnology Industry Organization, U.S. Department of Commerce, and the National Alliance for Regional Stewardship. From 1986-1990, Richard served as Special Assistant for Strategic Affairs to the President of U.T. M.D. Anderson Cancer Center – a component of the world’s largest medical complex. Richard was a consultant to Andersen’s Office of Government Services on privatization and public-private partnerships around federal assets, facilities, and programs. He served as senior advisor for the creation of Andersen’s E-Commerce/E-Governance Strategy Team and The Homeland Security Advisory Group. Richard led the working group and advised Andersen on the business case for the CIA’s In-Q-Tel Initiative leading to a unique technology commercialization partnership. He served as the co-chairman of the Federal Privatization Task Force to the National Council of Public-Private Partnerships.
David P. Smith is Executive Vice President in the Pittsburgh office of DHR International, an executive search firm headquartered in Chicago. DHR is the nation’s fifth largest retained search firm. Mr. Smith serves as DHR’s Practice Leader for Community & Economic Development and Planning. He has been a leader in the field of executive search for over 23 years. Prior to entering the executive search field, Mr. Smith was a career Army officer where he served in numerous command and staff leadership positions. He is a decorated combat veteran having served two combat tours in the Republic of Vietnam with the 101st Airborne Division and with the United States Army Special Forces “Green Berets.” Mr. Smith was born and raised in Herkimer, New York, the foothills of the Adirondacks. He studied Liberal Arts at the State University of New York at Brockport and the University of South Carolina. Active in numerous professional and community organizations, Mr. Smith has served on the Board of the Pittsburgh Chapter of the American Red Cross and the Board of the Pittsburgh Chapter of the American Heart Association.
William Sproull began his duties as President and CEO of the Richardson Chamber of Commerce, Metroplex Technology Business Council and the Richardson Economic Development Partnership on October 11, 2004. One of his first accomplishments was the recruitment of 5,000 new Countrywide Financial jobs to Richardson. Previously he was Vice President for Economic Development at the Greater Dallas Chamber. Sproull was President and CEO of the McKinney Economic Development Corporation from July 1996 to November 2000. Before working in Texas, Sproull served for eight years as VP of Business Development for the EDC of Kansas City, Missouri. From 1983-1987 he worked for the Kansas City Corporation for Industrial Development as Director of Business Retention. Sproull is a graduate of Baylor University in Waco, Texas, where he received a BA degree with a double major in Economics and Political Science. Sproull is on the Board of Directors of the International Economic Development Council and Texas Economic Development Council, and the University of Texas at Dallas Development Board. He was appointed by Texas Governor Perry in 2005 to the 17 member Texas Emerging Technology Fund advisory Board.
Dick Story has been Chief Executive Officer of the Howard County Economic Development Authority since September 1993. Mr. Story has worked in the industry for 28 years, serving as Executive Director of the Carroll County Economic Development Commission from 1979 to 1983 and as Executive Director of the Baltimore County Economic Development Commission from 1989 to 1991. Other leadership positions in economic development include the Greater Baltimore Committee, the Washington/Baltimore Regional Association, and Maryland Economic Growth Associates. Mr. Story is active on several boards and commissions. He is a former Chair of the BWI Airport Development Council. He has chaired the Area Business Development Officials Committee (ABDOC) – 21 economic development organizations in Greater Washington and has chaired the Economic Development Advisory Committee of the Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore – 6 jurisdictions in Greater Baltimore. Current service on community boards includes the Columbia Foundation, the Baltimore Area Council-Boy Scouts of America, Humanim and the Howard County Chamber of Commerce. He holds the Certified Economic Developer designation from the International Economic Development Council and has been named a Fellow Member by IEDC for long-term service to the profession of economic development.
Joy Wilkins, CEcD is manager of the community innovation services group at Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute and oversees the development and delivery of the Institute’s services for economic development organizations, cities, counties, and regions. She directs teams to advise communities on a variety of strategic issues, and has also led numerous research initiatives to investigate public policy matters. Prior to Georgia Tech, Joy served as a consultant for economic development and real estate clients and as a researcher at the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce where she developed several publications and reports concerning metro Atlanta’s economic development landscape for prospects and investors. She has also been a freelance writer. Joy entered the economic development profession in 1994 and is a Certified Economic Developer by the International Economic Development Council (IEDC). She is also a frequent public speaker on economic development, strategic planning, and quality management topics, and has authored several articles appearing in journals, newsletters, and other publications. Joy holds 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 sociology and political science majors, from the State University of New York at Fredonia. She is an active member of numerous professional associations.
In mid-1994, Gregory H. Wingfield was elected president and chief executive officer and helped launch the Greater Richmond Partnership, Inc., Greater Richmond’s public-private regional economic development organization. Organizations that Greg Wingfield has run since 1987 have been named one of the “Best Economic Development Groups in the United States” eight times by Site Selection Magazine. Greg Wingfield earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in urban and regional planning from Virginia Commonwealth University and began his career as a planner with state and regional agencies, and as director/manager with the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development. From 1984 to mid-1987, he was marketing manager with the Virginia Department of Economic Development. Then, for seven years, just before coming back to Greater Richmond, he was president of Forward Hampton Roads, the economic development arm of the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce in Norfolk, Virginia. He is a recipient of the Outstanding Alumni Award of the College of Humanities and Sciences at Virginia Commonwealth University, a past president of the Virginia Economic Developers Association, the recipient of the Virginia Economic Developers Association’s Cardinal Award, and served as the Spring 2002 Cadmus Leader-in-Residence at the Jepson Leadership School at the University of Richmond.
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Maury Forman, PhD. is the Managing Director for Education and Outreach Programs for the Washington State Department of Community Trade and Economic Development. He was voted into the Inland Northwest Partners Hall of Fame for his work with rural communities in 2006. He was the winner of the American Economic Development Councils Preston Award for outstanding contributions in educational advancement, The US Small Business Administrations Vision 2000 Award and the ROI Research Institute Award for Innovation in Adult Education. He is a popular speaker and is a well-known educator and humorist. Dr. Forman is also one of the best selling authors in the country on economic development, having written 8 practical books for the practitioner, including Learning to Lead, The Washington Entrepreneurs Guide, Community Wisdom, the Ten Commandments of Economic Development and the 25 Immutable Rules of Successful Tourism.
Traver Gruen-Kennedy is a global technology leader. He is ranked by NetworkWorld magazine (along with Bill Gates and Michael Dell) as one of the “25 Most Powerful People in Networking”. The World Economic Forum named him a Technology Pioneer for his contributions to technology and to society.
Doug began his entrepreneurial career at age 12, inventing and selling a line of magic and juggling kits. After earning a chemical engineering degree from the University of Maine he joined Procter & Gamble where he rose to the rank of Master Marketing Inventor - inventing and shipping a record 9 innovations in 12 months.
Rob is a principal officer of Resource Development Group. He has personally managed dozens of economic development funding campaigns that have generated over $150 million for client organizations. These include markets as diverse as Atlanta, Washington D.C, Rocky Mount (NC) and Fort Worth, Texas.
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