John A. Adams, Jr., PhD, CEcD
President & CEO
Enterprise Florida, Inc.

Dr. Adams serves as president and chief executive officer of Enterprise Florida, Inc. (EFI) – the public-private organization responsible for leading Florida’s statewide economic development efforts.

During his career, Dr. Adams has provided leadership and expertise in economic development and international trade for several commercial banking and financial institutions. With a focus on strategic planning and regional marketing, he has made strides in fostering cross-border partnerships among local, state and international economic development organizations while pursuing workforce training, legislative advocacy and site selection inventory initiatives. He was captain in the United States Air Force.

In addition to his career highlights, Dr. Adams’ background reflects a broad range of civic involvement and service to higher education and government. This experience includes his appointment to the United States Department of Commerce’s Industry Trade Advisory Council (ITAC-11) for trade policy review, which he chaired from 2000-2005. Adams’ leadership earned him multiple honors and awards including the U.S. Small Business Administration’s National Exporter of the Year, for which he was recognized by President Ronald Reagan at a White House Rose Garden ceremony in May 1988.

Dr. Adams has authored eight books on international trade, economic development and history.

Scott D. Adams, CEcD
Director, Business Development
City of Las Vegas, NV

Scott Adams is the director of the Office of Business Development for the city of Las Vegas. He has held numerous positions in the field of urban economic development, including that of: Director of the Jefferson Parish Economic Development Commission in New Orleans, Louisiana; Director of Planning and Economic Development with the city of Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Executive Director of the New Orleans Regional Medical Center, Inc.; Executive Vice President of the Greater Norfolk (Va.) Corporation; Executive Director of the Jacksonville (Fla.) Downtown Development Authority; Assistant Executive Director of the Center City Commission in Memphis, Tennessee, and Planning and development positions in his hometown of Jackson, Michigan.

A 1977 Urban Planning Graduate of Michigan State University, he was given the American Institute of Planners Award as the top graduate. He has guest lectured at Florida State University, Memphis State University and Tulane University. He is a Certified Economic Developer with the International Economic Development Council and a past member of the American Institute of Certified Planners. He is a current member of the Urban Land Institute.

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

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.

Larry S. Barnett
Executive Director
Harrison County Development Commission

A Biloxi Native, Larry Barnett is a graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi. Mr. Barnett began his career in the architecture and construction industries. He then embarked on a career with Mississippi Power Company that spanned 20 years in various marketing and management positions, the past 10 years being in Economic Development in the areas of national recruiting, community development and project management. Mr. Barnett was instrumental in organizing and is President of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Alliance for Economic Development, the regional marketing organization for the six southernmost counties in Mississippi. Larry also is President Elect of the Mississippi Economic Development Council and a board member for both the Salvation Army and the Stennis – Michoud Aerospace Corridor Alliance.

As of October 2005, Mr. Barnett took over as Executive Director of the Harrison County Development Commission. He is certified as an Economic Development Finance Professional and is an active member of MEDC, SEDC and IEDC.

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

Mr. Benson is CEO and founder of National Community Development Services, Inc. headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. NCDS is a 50-employee firm that pioneered the trend which enabled local communities to develop and fund strategic initiatives that have propelled most of them into the front ranks of successful communities in their regions. Recent statistics show that NCDS client communities have experienced 5-year growth rates of 11.6% versus the U.S. average of 4.4%.

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 Live Oak, Florida, a rural community of 18,000 population in 1967 after graduation from Brevard College.

Howard is a board member of the International Economic Development Council, American Association of Fundraising Counsel (the Giving Institute) and, he is an advisor to the American Chamber Executives Association.

He has written for economic development and chamber journals and is a frequent presenter at economic and community development conferences.

William E. Best, FM
Senior Vice President, Manager Community
PNC Bank

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. He comes to PNC from his position of Executive Director of the New Jersey Redevelopment Authority. Under his leadership, the agency leveraged over $1.3 billion in economic development investments. His twenty plus years experience in banking and business were acquired through an executive banking career whereby he developed, managed, and supervised lending programs for the major financial services institutions.

Mr. Best has been recognized with several awards. 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, the Newark Regional Business Partnership, and the IEDC.

Lori Bird
Senior Energy Analyst
National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Lori Bird is a senior energy analyst with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado, specializing in the area of renewable energy markets and policy. She has co-authored a number of publications pertaining to green power and renewable energy certificate (REC) markets, utility green pricing programs, and renewable portfolio standards. Her work has appeared in academic and trade journals such as: Energy Policy, Renewable Energy World, and Corporate Environmental Strategy. Before joining NREL, she worked for DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy in Denver and Hagler Bailly Consulting in Boulder, Colorado. She holds a master’s degree in Environmental Studies from Yale University’s School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.

Robert Y. Bowman
Deputy Mayor, Economic Development
City of Akron

Bob Bowman joined the City of Akron in June 2004. He is responsible for administrating the City’s economic development programs which include attraction, expansion and start-up of commercial/industrial development in the, downtown, neighborhood business districts, city owned industrial parks and the Akron Global Accelerator. His office also coordinates the City’s incentives and international and domestic marketing programs.

Before joining the City, Bob served as Senior Vice President, Business Development, at the Greater Akron Chamber for 16 years. Prior to coming to Akron, he served four years as Executive Director of the Regional Partnership of Roanoke, Virginia. From 1981 to 1983, he was Commissioner and Cabinet Director for the Office of Economic Development, City of Louisville, Kentucky. From 1977 to 1981, he was Executive Director of the Louisville and Jefferson County Planning Commission, Louisville, Kentucky, and from 1974 to 1977, he was the Executive Director of the Southwestern Indiana and Kentucky Regional Council of Governments, Evansville, Indiana.

Since 1994, Bob has led the State of Ohio’s international marketing efforts at several German industry trade shows and in coordination with several Gubernatorial missions. He has chaired the Ohio Economic Development Council, has served on a number of state economic development committees and is a member of OEDC and Team Ohio.

Ian Bromley, FM, MA, MBA
Chief Executive
Creative Sheffield
Sheffield City Development Company

In September 2006, Ian Bromley was appointed as the first Chief Executive of Creative Sheffield, in Sheffield, England). Creative Sheffield is a City Development Company encompassing the activities of predecessors, Sheffield One (City Centre Regeneration Company) and Sheffield First for Investment (Inward Investment Agency) and building new capacities in marketing and branding, innovation and the knowledge economy, and regional economic development to create a comprehensive and effective company to transform Sheffield’s economy.

Mr. Bromley joined Creative Sheffield from Toronto, Canada where he held a number of progressively senior positions in Management Consulting (Boston Consulting Group), Economic Development, Communication, Marketing and Innovation development in the private and public sectors. Most recently, Mr Bromley served the Government of Ontario, Canada as Director of Urban Economic Development, Director of Economic Development Strategy and Director of Infrastructure and Innovation.

Mr. Bromley has also worked as a consultant, advisor and teacher in urban and economic development in Japan, China, New Zealand, Brazil, the United States and Canada.

Mr. Bromley currently serves as Chair of the International Economic Development Council. He has been a long standing board member with the Greater Toronto Marketing Alliance, the Toronto Financial Services Alliance, the Ottawa Partnership, the Waterloo Accelerator Centre, the Economic Development Council of Ontario, and the Innovation Systems Research Network.

Allison Brooks
Managing Director
Reconnecting America & the Center for Transit Oriented Development

Allison Brooks is Managing Director at Reconnecting America (RA) and the Center for Transit Oriented Development (CTOD), a national non-profit organization that is working to integrate transportation systems with the diverse communities they serve with the goal of generating lasting public and private returns, improving economic and environmental efficiency, and giving consumers more housing and mobility choices. Prior to joining RA, Allison served for over six years as a Program Officer at the East Bay Community Foundation where she spearheaded a number of innovative and collaborative transit-oriented and community development projects across the Bay Area, particularly focused on low-income communities. She started her career in community development over 15 years ago working on an community-based, agro-forestry project as a Peace Corps volunteer in northern Ghana, West Africa. Allison holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of California, San Diego and a Masters in Sustainable International Development from the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University.

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

As President and CEO of the Charlotte Regional Partnership, Ronnie Bryant leads the economic development organization that promotes the 16-county Charlotte region as a premier location for businesses considering expansion or relocation. 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.

Prior to joining CRP, Bryant served as President and Chief Operating Officer of the Pittsburgh Regional, Senior Vice President of the Economic Development Division for the St. Louis Regional Chamber & Growth Association and led the development team at the Shreveport, LA., Chamber of Commerce.

Bryant is a graduate of Louisiana State University in Shreveport and the Economic Development Institute (EDI). He is a recipient of the American Economic Development Council’s (IEDC) Robert B. Cassell Leadership Award for excellence in leadership and scholarship. He is a Certified Economic Developer (CEcD) and currently serves as a member of EDI’s Board of Directors and is immediate past president of that organization. Bryant is actively involved with the International Economic Development Council (IEDC), where he has been designated as a Fellow Member (FM) and currently serves as Past Chairman of the Board.

Holly Childs, MS, CEcD
Economic Development Director
City of Cincinnati
City Manager’s Office, Economic Development Division Holly Childs was hired as the City of Cincinnati’s Economic Development Director in March 2007. Charged with being the City’s lead “deal maker,” she is responsible for retaining and recruiting businesses to expand Cincinnati’s tax base and increase jobs and investment in Cincinnati’s neighborhoods.

Childs has 13 years of successful economic development management experience, including: Economic Development Director for the City of Goodyear, AZ; President of the Greater Logan County (OH) Area Community Improvement Corporation; Executive Director of Progress Alliance in Steubenville (OH), and Executive Director of the Preston County (WV) Economic Development Authority.

Childs’ educational background includes a BA in Economics with Honors from Wake Forest University; and an MS in Resource Economics from her home state West Virginia University. She is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma’s Economic Development Institute, and became a Certified Economic Developer in 1999.

Her professional affiliations include: the International Economic Development Council, the Cincinnati USA Partnership and the International Council of Shopping Centers – for which she is the State Co-Chair of the WV/Ohio ICSC Alliance program. Childs also serves on the local Boards of the Urban Land Institute and the European American Chamber of Commerce.

Denny G. Coleman, CEcD, FM
President & CEO
Saint Louis County Economic Council

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.

Jim Colson
Chief Operating Officer and President of Site Selection
AngelosEconomics

Jim Colson serves as the Chief Operating Officer and President of Site Selection at AngelouEconomics, one of the largest economic development and site selection firms in the nation. In his current roles within the organization, Jim utilizes his organizational development and project management experience and skills to enhance the offerings of AngelouEconomics and increase the effectiveness of the organization. His experience in site selection analysis is invaluable to the firm, as he directs its site selection team and grows this aspect of the business.

Prior to joining AE, Jim founded and served as the President of Growing Economies International, a site location and advisory firm with both national and international clients, and was the founding President and CEO of the New Mexico Partnership, the public/private economic development and business recruitment organization established by Governor Bill Richardson. Jim has also held senior economic development positions at the City of Glendale (AZ), the Greater Phoenix Economic Council, the Arizona Department of Commerce, and the University of Michigan’s Industrial Development Division.

Hilary C. Coman, CEcD
President
The Coman Company

Coman Company founder and president Hilary Coman has broad experience in business and marketing, locally, nationally and internationally. Ms. Coman, a Charlotte, N.C., native, earned her undergraduate degree from Davidson College and holds graduate degrees in Latin American Studies from Georgetown University and Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is also a graduate of the Economic Development Institute at the University of Oklahoma.

Through Coman Company, Ms. Coman helps clients to improve performance against their financial and social goals. Working with both business and governmental clients to identify opportunities, she assists them in market analysis, organizational assessment and strategic planning. Her expertise includes design and delivery of market research, using fact-based research to develop strategic plans, business performance improvement and development and implementation of growth strategies.

Ms. Coman is an alumna of the international consulting firm McKinsey and Company, and has considerable experience working overseas in foreign environments and cultures.

JoAnn Crary, CEcD
President
Saginaw Future Inc.

JoAnn Crary has been president of Saginaw Future, a non-profit, economic development organization for Saginaw County, since 1993. Prior to becoming president, she served as executive vice president for Saginaw Future, executive director of the Saginaw Area Growth Alliance and in various economic development positions in Saginaw County since the early 1980s.

In October 2005, Crary was awarded the inaugural Athena Award from the Saginaw County Chamber of Commerce. In August 2001, the Michigan Economic Developers Association named Crary as the MEDA Medalist Award winner. She received the State Director’s Award from the Michigan Small Business Development Center in 1997 and was honored by Governor Engler in 1996 as an Economic Developer of the Year for outstanding contributions in economic development. She also has received the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Women in Business Advocate Award for the State of Michigan and the President’s Award from the Michigan Economic Developers Association.

Crary is a member of the MEDC Executive Committee, chairs the HR Committee and serves on its Finance Committee. She also is on the MEDC CEO Practitioners Council. In 2007, Crary was elected to serve on the International Economic Development Council board of directors, serves on the Planning & Business Development Committee and chairs the Sustainable Business Subcommittee.

Fred DuVal
President
DuVal and Associates

Fred DuVal has spent over 35 years in politics and public affairs. Bruce Babbitt tapped him to run his campaign for Attorney General in 1974 and subsequently DuVal ran all of Babbitt’s campaigns including his Governors races and his 1988 bid for the White House. He also served as a senior staff aide to Governor Babbitt from 1980 to 1886.

In 1992, President-elect Bill Clinton offered DuVal the post of Deputy Chief of Protocol of the United States where he was responsible for managing the visits of Heads of State and Foreign Ministers to the United States and overseeing diplomatic accreditation.

In 1996 DuVal served as Deputy National Campaign Manager of Clinton-Gore 96 and Deputy Director of the Inaugural that followed. In 1997, DuVal was named by President Clinton to be White House Deputy Director of Intergovernmental Affairs, responsible for the policy relationship between the federal government and the 50 states and Governors including welfare reform, transportation, education and other issues.

DuVal has lectured on campuses around the country, written a variety of op-eds for newspapers and has represented the United States on a wide array of delegations to every corner of the globe.

Currently Fred is President of DuVal and Associates, a public affairs firm, serves on the Arizona Board of Regents, the Commerce and Economic Development Commission, and the Governors Commission on Workforce Policy. He serves as Arizona’s National Committeeman to the Democratic National Committee. And he has written a book about his love for Arizona entitled, “Calling Arizona Home.”

Doug Eadie
President and CEO
Doug Eadie & Company

Founder and CEO of Doug Eadie & Company, a Tampa Bay firm specializing in building high-impact board-CEO partnerships, Doug Eadie has assisted over 500 nonprofit and public organizations in applying his High-Impact Governing Model in diverse fields such as economic development, transportation, health care, aging, and social services, among others. Doug’s High-Impact Governing Model is described in his 17 books, including his best-selling Meeting the Governing Challenge, Extraordinary Board Leadership (second edition), and Building a Rock-Solid Partnership With your Board. Doug is the author of over 100 articles that have appeared in national magazines and journals, including IEDC’s Economic Development Journal, and he writes a regular column on nonprofit and public governance for 3 national publications, including Passenger Transport magazine.

Before founding Doug Eadie & Company, Doug taught ancient history as a Peace Corps Volunteer for three years in Ethiopia and later held a number of nonprofit and public executive positions, including state and city budget director and community college vice president. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Illinois-Urbana, Doug received his masters degree in management from the Weatherhead School of Case Western Reserve University.

Michael A. Finney
President & CEO
Ann Arbor SPARK

Michael A. Finney is the President and CEO of Ann Arbor SPARK (SPARK). SPARK is a public-private partnership whose mission is to advance innovation-based economic development in the greater Ann Arbor region. SPARK recently merged with the Washtenaw Development Council to form one integrated flagship economic development group to assist businesses at every stage, from those that are established to those working to successfully commercialize innovations.

SPARK represents all communities in the Washtenaw County region of Michigan and collaborates with business, government, academic, and not-for-profit partners. Prior to taking the helm at Ann Arbor SPARK, Michael served as president and CEO of Greater Rochester Enterprise, Rochester, New York; he also served as Vice President for the Michigan Economic Development Corporation; Senior Vice President and General Manager, Thomson Saginaw; and as Assistant City Manager, Saginaw, Michigan. Michael currently serves on the University of Michigan, Office of Technology Transfer National Advisory Council and the Life Sciences Institute National Advisory Council; Board of Directors for the State Science and Technology Institute and the Michigan Venture Capital Association; Trustee for the Washtenaw Community College Foundation and the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation. Michael was appointed the 2005 Minett Distinguished Professor at Rochester Institute of Technology.

Jeff Forsythe
Senior Consultant
McCallum Sweeney Consulting, Inc.

Jeff Forsythe has more than ten years of experience in site location consulting and economic development. As a senior consultant with MSC, Mr. Forsythe’s experience predominantly includes location consulting in the United States and Mexico for manufacturing, distribution, and office projects. Responsibilities have included performing detailed site/infrastructure and community examinations, labor market assessments, tax and incentive evaluations, comparative financial analyses, and strategic real estate and incentive negotiations.

Some of Mr. Forsythe’s recent location consulting experience includes serving as the project manager on a wind turbine nacelle assembly and rotor blade manufacturing facility for Nordex, PACCAR’s first engine production facility in the United States, multiple Dollar General distribution center projects, an Austal shipbuilding operation, an Oreck household appliance manufacturing plant, a Trex Company composite lumber fabrication facility, and several confidential manufacturing and office projects.

Mr. Forsythe’s latest economic development consulting experience consists of a tax and incentive comparison and financial analysis for Chattanooga, Tennessee. He also assisted with the Tennessee Valley Authority “mega” site identification and certification program. Prior to joining MSC, Mr. Forsythe was employed as a consultant with Fluor Global Location Strategies. During his time with Fluor, Mr. Forsythe was engaged in economic development and site location consulting.

Melyssa Beth Fratkin
External Relations Manager
Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC)

Melyssa Fratkin is the Manager of External Relations at the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) at The University of Texas at Austin. In this role, she oversees TACC’s corporate partnerships, public relations, international partnerships, and education, outreach and training (EOT) programs. Specifically, Melyssa focuses on developing and managing collaborations between industry and academia with the Science & Technology Affiliates for Research (STAR) program. She is also developing international collaborations between TACC and its “sister” centers around the world, to promote knowledge-sharing and strengthen international research & development.

Ms. Fratkin previously served as policy director for the High Performance Computing Project at the Council on Competitiveness, where she worked to foster government-university-industry partnerships and ‘spread the word’ on the need for high performance computing to foster innovation in the US and keep our economy strong. Melyssa also worked as a consultant to the Coalition for Academic Scientific Computation (CASC) – of which TACC is a member — where she tracked networking, technology and information security issues arising in Congress and the federal agencies.

Merle E. Giles
Director, Private Sector Program and Economic Development
National Center for Supercomputing Applications
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Merle Giles is Director of the Private Sector Program (PSP) at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). NCSA is one of the five original centers in the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Supercomputer Centers Program, opening its doors in January 1986.

Giles previously led UIUC’s Executive MBA to international stature, achieving a #1 ranking among US public university EMBA programs in London’s 2002 FINANCIAL TIMES. He and teams of executives and faculty consulted at major international companies, including BASF, Bertelsmann, Caterpillar, Deere, Disney, Deutsche Tele-kom, Lufthansa, Porsche, Procter & Gamble, Siemens, Volkswagen and others. Giles earlier served as president of a community bank and as CFO of a national transporta-tion company.

Giles earned an MBA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a BS in accounting and business administration from Illinois State University. He is an alum-nus of the Stonier Graduate School of Banking at the University of Delaware and holds a CPA certificate.

Fully one-third of the FORTUNE 50® have worked with the Private Sector Program, including AC Nielsen, Boeing, Caterpillar, John Deere, Exxon/Mobil, IBM, JPMorgan, Microsoft, Motorola, Rolls-Royce, Sears and State Farm.

Ray Gilley
President & CEO
Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission

Ray Gilley joined the Metro Orlando EDC as President and CEO in April 2001. As President and CEO, he oversees the operations of a $6.4 million regional organization with a 36-person staff that represents the four-county region of Orange, Seminole, Lake and Osceola, and the City of Orlando. Prior to joining the EDC, Mr. Gilley spent 15 years in operations management and professional roles with Progress Energy Corporation, the state’s second largest electric utility company, and 5 years in research and national business development roles with the Florida Department of Commerce.

Mr. Gilley served as chairman of the Board of Workforce Florida, Inc. from 2002 – 2005, appointed by then Florida Governor Jeb Bush. In that capacity, he led the development of the state’s workforce policy, programs and services.

He currently serves as Chairman of the Florida Economic Development Council (FEDC), a statewide association of industry leaders and professionals committed to advancing economic development professionalism, priorities and advocacy. He serves as board member of: Enterprise Florida – $11 million statewide marketing and business development organization; University of Central Florida Foundation; Hispanic Business Initiative Fund; Junior Achievement; WMFE Public TV/Radio Station; myregion.org; Seminole Chamber; and Kissimmee/Osceola Chamber.

Robert B. Graybill
Director of Innovation/President & CEO
University of Southern California Information Sciences Institute/Nimbis Services, Inc.

Mr. Graybill, represents the University of Southern California Information Sciences Institute (ISI) in cooperation with the Council of Competitiveness, to foster the development of advanced national high performance computing (HPC) collaborative environments that will help companies, universities and national laboratories share high performance computing systems and computational science expertise. As a direct result of this experience, Mr. Graybill co-founded Nimbis Services Inc. based in McLean VA, leading the development of a digital analysis virtual storefront providing pre-negotiated services from computing providers, independent software vendors, domain experts and regional solution providers on a “pay-as-you-go” for experimental and periodic users.

Mr. Graybill has an extensive background in embedded and high performance computing with over 30 years of experience in the defense, government and commercial industry. Prior to joining ISI, he spent six years at DARPA, where he designed, developed and implemented six new transformational programs in high-end computing architectures and responsive embedded computing hardware, software and network systems. He was a member of the Senior Science Team leading a number of government sponsored studies in high-end computing, including the Defense Science Board task force on DoD Supercomputing Needs and the High-End Computing Revitalization Task Force. Mr. Graybill received the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service while at DARPA.

Robert Grow
Founder and Chairman Emeritus
Robert Grow Consulting

Robert Grow is founding chair emeritus of Envision Utah, a private/public quality growth partnership founded in 1997. Envision Utah is widely recognized as one of the country’s most successful public involvement efforts for the development of a broad-based, long-term growth strategy for a major metropolitan area, having received the Urban Land Institute’s Award for Excellence, the Alliance for Regional Stewardship’s Gold Recognition Award, and the American Planning Association’s Daniel Burnham Award. For his role in helping shape the strategy for the Salt Lake region’s future transportation system, Grow received the American Public Transportation Association’s (APTA) Distinguished Service Award in October 2003.

Grow has been invited to present the Envision Utah approach in more than 50 regions in the last five years. He was involved in creating the visioning process for Southern Louisiana following the Hurricane Katrina disaster.

Grow holds degrees in engineering and law and has had a diverse career, including practicing law, leading and supporting regional visioning processes, being president of a large manufacturing company, and chairing a national trade association. He has been recognized as Utah’s entrepreneur of the year.

Presently, Robert Grow is Senior Counsel with the law firm O’Melveny & Myers LLP in Salt Lake City, Utah. Mr. Grow specializes in land use planning and zoning, real estate development, regional visioning and growth planning, and environmental law.

Thomas L. Harned, CEcD, FM
Executive Director
Logan Economic Alliiance for Development

Tom is a native Kentuckian coming to Logan County after being in Virginia for forty years. He most recently served as the Director of the Virginia Institute for Economic Development and Industrial Developments Authorities at Virginia Tech. He was Vice President of the Martinsville-Henry County Economic Development Corporation, and the Director of Economic Development for the City of Martinsville. He has held various executive positions in the manufacturing, lumber and construction industries.

Tom’s education and professional accomplishments include Certified Economic Developer; graduate of the Virginia Institute for Economic Development at Virginia Tech; the Economic Development Institute at the University of Oklahoma; graduate of the Economic Development Course at the University of North Carolina; MBA, Duke University; and a Bachelor of Science from Western Kentucky University.

Tom recently served on the International Economic Development Council, Board of Directors Executive Committee and as President of the Virginia Economic Developers Association.

His successful projects include the establishment of a new business park with a shell building, a new industrial park, recruiting new employers creating over two thousand new jobs, a Small Business Development Center, a small business incubator, a new Department of Motor Vehicles Customer Service Center, several industrial expansions, a new Farmers’ Market, a residential subdivision development, a shopping center development and several adaptive reuse redevelopment projects.

Lynn Haskin, PhD
Vice President
Development Counselors International

Dr. Lynn Martin Haskin is Vice President at New York-based Development Counsellors International – the leader in marketing places, and the only firm in the world that exclusively markets places for economic development and tourism. Previously, she worked at Greater Philadelphia First (GPF), the region’s private sector leadership organization now part of the Chamber, where she was associate director responsible for 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 Pen 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. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the International Economic Development Council and the External/Member Relations Committee. She previously co-chaired the Regional Marketing Committee and was Philadelphia Chair of the 2001 (CUED) Annual Conference, raising $289,000.

Doug Henton
President & CEO
Collaborative Economics

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 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.

Michael P. Hickey
President
Hickey & Associates, LLC

Mike Hickey started Hickey & Associates over 20 years ago. Currently headquartered in Minneapolis/St. Paul, the company specializes in Market Selection and Economic Development initiatives, to help corporations determine the best locations to grow, expand or consolidate a business either domestically or globally.

They also advise many communities on Best Practices for business recruitment and retention, Workforce enhancement strategies, and identification and promotion of community assets.

They are experts in assisting companies with the full Public Incentives process, understanding how to work closely and honestly with communities to ensure the right company lands in the right community at the right time with the right incentives (everyone wins).

Clients are represented by all industries, including Manufacturing, Logistics, Food Processing, Services, Health Care, Consumer Goods, High Tech, Aerospace and Defense, as well as, many others.

Mike Hickey has held leadership positions with the General Electric and Pillsbury companies, where he helped design and implement the Model of Best Practices for employee and business transition and site location strategies. He also spent several years as Executive Director of Employment and Training and associated Economic Development activities in the mid Maryland Consortium.

C.A. Howlett
Senior Vice President of Public Affairs
US Airways

C.A. Howlett, Senior Vice President of Public Affairs, joined America West in January 1995. Prior to coming to America West, which as the result of a merger is now US Airways, Howlett maintained a government relations practice as a principal at the Phoenix law firm Lewis & Roca. He has more than 25 years of professional experience, which includes senior positions with Salt River Project, the City of Phoenix, and the White House, where he served as special assistant to President Ronald Reagan for intergovernmental affairs.

Howlett received his master’s degree in public administration and his bachelor’s degree in political science and economics from the University of Colorado.

Howlett has been a long-time Phoenix business community leader, serving as chairman of the Phoenix Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, the Fiesta Bowl, the Phoenix and Valley of the Sun Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, Grand Canyon State Games and The Phoenix Symphony. He currently serves on the board of directors of such organizations as the United States Chamber of Commerce, Arizona State Chamber of Commerce, Goldwater Institute, Barrow Neurological Institute Foundation, Tourism and Sports Authority and the Phoenix Theatre. He has also been active politically, serving on numerous senatorial, congressional, and gubernatorial campaign committees.

Mark J. James, CEcD
Principal
ED Solutions, Inc.

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. As a leading trainer to the profession, last year alone, Mark instructed over 3000 ED practitioners on the use of technology. 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 including those for the British Midlands, Dallas, Nashville, TVA, Philadelphia, Dayton and the State of Washington.

Prior to starting ED Solutions, Inc. in 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.

Kevin D. Johnson, CEcD
Vice President of Business Development
The Research Triangle Foundation of NC

Kevin D. Johnson is Vice President of Business Development for the Research Triangle Foundation of North Carolina, owner and developer of the renowned Research Triangle Park. During his tenure to date, Mr. Johnson has played an instrumental role in a record number of locate and expansion projects in the Park, totaling over $500 million in projected capital investment and the projected creation of over 5,000 new jobs. Additionally, Mr. Johnson is responsible for leasing RTP-owned incubator Park Research Center, successfully recruiting seventeen diverse and innovative start-up and university spin-out organizations.

Previously, Mr. Johnson was VP of Business Development for the Greater Phoenix Economic Council, and served as President of the Athens, Georgia Chamber of Commerce and the High Point, North Carolina Economic Development Corporation. A Certified Economic Developer (CEcD), Mr. Johnson is actively involved in economic development education and mentoring, and currently serves on the board of directors of the International Economic Development Council (IEDC).

Bill Keffler
City Manager
City of Richardson, TX

Bill Keffler was named Richardson’s City Manager in April 1995 after almost 18 years of service to the City of Richardson. He joined the staff in 1977 as an administrative assistant, and in 1979 was named Assistant to the City Manager. He earned the position of Assistant City Manager in 1981, and was named Deputy City Manager in 1985, serving in that position until the retirement of former City Manager Bob Hughey.

He serves on the Quality Texas Board of Directors, the Advisory Board of the Richardson Chamber of Commerce, and is an Ex-Officio member of the Metroplex Technology Business Council Board of Directors. He is currently a member of the Richardson Rotary Club, and served on the Board of Directors of the Richardson Central Rotary Club from 1987 to 1997. He serves on the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors for the YMCA and is a member of the Leadership Richardson Advisory Board. He served as an Adjunct Instructor at the University of Texas at Dallas, Graduate School of Public Affairs from 1992 to 1994 and currently serves on the school’s Advisory Board. He is a member of the North Texas Commission Board of Directors and also serves on its Executive Committee.

Carol Klimas
Director, Public Relations
Off Madison Ave

Carol Klimas brings a diverse background in both corporate and agency public relations to her position as director of public relations with Off Madison Ave, an integrated communications firm based in Arizona with a national client base. Currently, Carol manages a diverse portfolio of clients at Off Madison Ave including Nike, NextCare Urgent Care and Take Charge America.

With an emphasis on healthcare, government and business-to-business public relations, Carol’s work for her clients includes national media relations, media training, strategic counsel, audience engagement and crisis communications.

Prior to her current position, Carol served as director of public relations for Broadband Infrastructure Group, a broadband networking company in St. Louis, Missouri. In this position, Carol was responsible for developing, managing and implementing all public relations directives and initiatives for the technology start-up company, and secured coverage for the company in various high-visibility publications such as Industry Standard, Newsweek and Interactive Week.

Carol earned her bachelor’s degree in public relations from Central Missouri State University in Warrensburg, Missouri, and is active in the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC).

Paul Krutko
Chief Development Officer
City of San Jose – Office of the City Manager Since joining the City of San Jose in 2002, Paul Krutko has led the development and implementation of an Economic Development Strategy for the world’s leading center of technology and innovation. He also helped create and implement the City’s Green Vision that is creating economic growth through ten environmental sustainability goals.

Significant accomplishments include retention and expansion projects for headquarter facilities for eBay and Cisco Systems, the acquisition of 78 acres of a former FMC site for mixed use development which includes a major league soccer stadium.

Krutko has been instrumental in advocating and developing signature events, such as the biennial ZeroOne San Jose art and technology festival and the returning Amgen Tour of California. As chief development officer, Krutko leads the City of San Jose’s Community and Economic Development City Service Area coordinating a broad range of development service and facilitation activities on behalf of the City Manager.

Prior to coming to San Jose, he held various strategic economic development, downtown leadership and planning roles with the City of Jacksonville, Florida, Cleveland, Ohio and Cuyahoga County, Ohio. Krutko is a board member of the International Economic Development Council and the California Association for Local Economic Development.

Mark Lange
Executive Director
Edward Lowe Foundation

Mark Lange is the executive director for the Edward Lowe Foundation, a non-profit organization that seeks to accelerate entrepreneurship and its impact on community and economic development. Since joining the Edward Lowe Foundation in 1998, Lange has led the organization to increased national recognition and a focus on second-stage entrepreneurs. To assist these entrepreneurs, the foundation works through local and regional support organizations to deliver education programs, recognition events and information services. It also conducts and publishes research to underscore the contributions that second-stage businesses and entrepreneurs make to local communities and the national economy.

Prior to joining the foundation, Lange served as the director of the Lundquist Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Oregon. Lange also co-founded CVT Productions, a video-production and software-distribution company.

Lange began his career in commercial banking, where he focused on manpower planning, training and public relations. In addition, Lange has served as an adjunct faculty member in entrepreneurship at the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame, and he continues to work with the college on variety of projects and programs.

Lange received both a bachelor’s degree in finance and a bachelor’s degree in marketing education from the University of Northern Colorado.

Tim Leach, CEcD
Vice President, Downtown Development
Downtown Community Alliance – Greater Des Moines Partnership

Tim Leach is Vice President of the Downtown Community Alliance, an affiliate of the Greater Des Moines Partnership, where his duties include business retention, expansion, and attraction. Tim has been involved in economic development for over 19 years. His experience includes community development for a rural Iowa community, extensive economic development work for a public utility, and now working on the continued development of Iowa’s largest downtown. Tim is a member and past president of the Professional Developers of Iowa and currently serves on the board of directors for the Mid-American Economic Development Council as President. He is a member of the International Economic Development Council and has earned the designation of Certified Economic Developer. He lives on Des Moines’ South side with his wife Rhonda. Together they have two children, daughter Lindsey and son Adam, and granddaughter Alayna.

Samuel Leiken
Senior Director of Policy Studies
Council on Competitiveness

Samuel Leiken is Senior Director of Policy Studies for the Council on Competitiveness. Prior to coming to the Council, he served as Senior Policy Analyst in the division of Social, Economic and Workforce Policy at the National Governors Association’s Center for Best Practices.

Before that he was the vice president for policy for the Council on Adult and Experiential Learning, a Chicago-based national non-profit specializing in adult learning and workforce development. Earlier in his career, he was the founder and president of the Massachusetts Product Development Corporation, a state-owned, privately operated venture capital fund investing in the new products of traditional manufacturing enterprises. He has also been the chief of staff to a Massachusetts state senator, a product development machinist at the General Electric Company, and the director of a youth employment program in New York City.

A graduate of Columbia University, Mr. Leiken holds an MPA from the Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University, and a journeyman machinist’s license from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. He has written from a number of national publications including The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and The New Republic Magazine.

Andrew T. Levine
President
Development Counsellors International

Andrew Levine is President of Development Counsellors International (DCI), a New York-based firm that specializes exclusively in economic development and tourism marketing.

Since 1960 his firm has worked with over 350 economic development organizations including 40 of the 50 states. He is 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, Newsweek, The New York Times, Forbes, Business Week, The Economist, ABC World News Tonight and CNN.

He has spoken before a range of audiences including the International Economic Development Council (IEDC), CoreNet, Educational Seminar for Tourism Organizations (ESTO), Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and numerous statewide economic development groups.

Lori J. Martinek
Owner & Principal
Presentation Plus

Lori Martinek’s experience in all aspects of the marketing equation has made her a sought-after branding strategist and community marketing expert. As the owner of Presentation Plus, an award-winning national marketing and public relations firm specializing in economic development and place branding, she works with state, county and municipal officials, public/private agencies and economic development groups to get their communities noticed – online and off.

Lori’s resume includes economic development and community marketing projects that have won top honors in IEDC and MAEDC competitions. She is well-versed in the world of media, with more than 20 years of experience as a freelance feature writer and columnist for business magazines and daily newspapers including the Northwest Herald, the Chicago Tribune and the Wisconsin State Journal

Lori is also a consultant to CEOs, elected officials, political candidates and community colleges. She has served as an SBDC Counselor in Illinois and Arizona and speaks at conferences across America on topics including online branding and marketing, media visibility, social networking and entrepreneurship. Her credits include the NFL Super Bowl Playbook for Small Business workshop in January 2008 with GoDaddy CEO Bob Parsons. Her first book, Be the Bulb!, debuted in January 2009.

Donald L. Maxwell
Community and Economic Development Director
City of Phoenix, Community & Economic Development Department

Donald L. Maxwell has been the Director of the Phoenix Community and Economic Development Department since January 15, 2007. Before coming to Phoenix, Don served as the Director of Economic Development for the City of Virginia Beach, Virginia for 12 years, as Director of Development for the City of Hampton, Virginia for 17 years and as their Chief Planner for three years.

Don also served in the U.S. Air Force for four years. He has been an Adjunct/Assistant Professor and Design Critic for more than 12 years at Christopher Newport University, Old Dominion University, Harvard University and Hampton University. He is an active member of the American Society of Public Administration, International Economic Development Council and American Planning Association.

Don was recognized as Marketing Executive of the Year by the Sales and Marketing Executives in Virginia (the only public servant ever recognized) and requested by the Bush Administration to lead an effort to develop an economic development strategy for localities in the South African Cities Network.

Under his direction, his various departments’ accomplishments include: recognition as one of the Top Ten Development Agencies in North America, numerous national awards for promotion and marketing activities, and attraction of significant national and regional headquarters.

Jeff Moseley
President & CEO
Greater Houston Partnership

Jeff Moseley is the president and CEO of the Greater Houston Partnership, which serves as the primary business advocate for world trade, economic development and public policy for the Houston region.

Prior to joining the Partnership, Moseley was the CEO of the Office of the Governor for Economic Development and Tourism, a position he held from 2003 to 2005. From 1999 to 2003, he served as the executive director of the Texas Department of Economic Development (formerly the Texas Department of Commerce). As executive director of the Texas Department of Economic Development, the Department was key to bringing a Toyota truck manufacturing plant to Texas; the company’s first and only one in the state.

Moseley currently serves on the board of directors of the American Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE); the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Committee; and Center for Houston’s Future Executive Committee and board of directors. Additionally, he is a member of the Chamber of Commerce Committee of 100 (CCC100), an elite group of chamber executives; and the Texas Association of Business Alliance for I-69. He formerly served on the United Way Strategic Planning Task Force.

Daniel Charles Mouawad
Chief Executive Officer
Pro.manchester Limited

Daniel is the Chairman of the Institute of Economic Development in the United Kingdom – the leading national organization for economic and regeneration practitioners. The IED seeks to ensure that all cities and towns achieve their potential and that includes Manchester, the city for which Daniel developed the economic blueprint for its £14 billion productivity growth during the next ten years.

Daniel is also Chief Executive of pro.manchester, a private sector corporate membership organization representing the 241,000 employed in the financial & professional service community in and around Greater Manchester. Its aims are to support F&P sector growth, generating an additional £3.5bn in GVA terms and 70,000 net new jobs over the next ten years.

Internationally educated, Daniel has previously held a variety of regeneration agency Directorships including most recently in Manchester, London Docklands and the London Thames Gateway. Named by the Local Government Chronicle as one of the UK’s top five regeneration leaders, Daniel supports a number of advisory roles including membership of the Chancellor’s national Financial Services Sector Advisory Board.

Tim O’Brien, MA
Business Consultant – Information Technology
Nebraska Department of Economic Development

Tim O’Brien is an Information Technology Consultant for the Nebraska Department of Economic Development (NEDED) and an instructor at Doane College. At NEDED, he consults with businesses and communities about information technology needs and opportunities technology creates. He also creates and implements strategies needed to recruit and assist existing technology-based industries in Nebraska.

He possesses a broad range of technical knowledge with specialties in technology management, e-commerce, marketing, and more than 10 years experience in web design. Tim holds a bachelors degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in Management Information Systems and masters degree from Doane College.

Harry Paxton, CEcD
Economic Development Director
City of Goodyear, Arizona

Harry Paxton serves as the Economic Development Director for the City of Goodyear, Arizona. Paxton leads a staff of five that works to recruit and retain high quality jobs and increase the tax base in this fast growing suburban community in the Greater Phoenix Metropolitan area. He has been with the City of Goodyear since July of 2007.

Paxton has over 18 years of experience in the Economic Development field serving communities in Arizona and Southwest New Mexico. Prior to coming to Goodyear he served as an Economic Development Specialist for the City of Chandler, Arizona and as the Assistant Director of the Silver City-Grant County Economic Development Corporation in Southwest New Mexico.

Paxton is a graduate of Western New Mexico University with a Masters Degree in Business Administration and also graduate from Arizona State University with a B.S. in Finance. He is a Certified Economic Developer (CEcD) and an Economic Development Finance Professional (EDFP). Paxton is a member of International Economic Development Council and has been an instructor at the New Mexico IEDC Certified Basic Economic Development Course. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Arizona Association for Economic Development and is Co-Chair for the Economic and Workforce Development Committee.

Robert A. Radcliff
Principal
Resource Development Group

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.

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. Rob resides in Columbus, Ohio with his wife, Donna, and their four children.

Rebecca Ryan
2EO
Next Generation Consulting

Rebecca Ryan is an energetic entrepreneur and the founder of Next Generation Consulting (NGC), a research and consulting firm that helps clients engage the next generation. In 2007, Rebecca became a 2EO, with responsibilities for sales, marketing and positioning.

NGC has conducted interviews, focus groups, and surveys with over 25,000 young professionals since 1998. Cities, states, arts organizations, and companies use NGC’s research and applications to attract and develop the next generation of citizens, patrons, employees and customers.

Ryan summarized her firm’s research in her 2007 book, Live First, Work Second: Getting Inside the Minds of the Next Generation. Dr. Richard Florida, author of the best-seller, The Rise of the Creative Class and The Flight of the Creative Class wrote the forward to Ms. Ryan’s book. He writes, “I am a huge Rebecca Ryan fan,” and considers “NGC one of the most reliable sources for CEO’s, mayors, legislators, economic developers and non-profit leaders who want to attract and retain the next generation of creative workers.”

Rebecca was named the 2004 Entrepreneur of the Year by the U.S. Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship and the 2006 Communicator of the Year by Women in Communication.

Prior to starting NGC in 1998, Rebecca held posts with the Iowa Department of Economic Development, Iowa Department of Education, Iowa Association of Business and Industry, and Keep Iowa Beautiful.

Rebecca was raised in West Bend, Wisconsin by members of the “greatest generation.” She “boomeranged” back to Wisconsin after living, working and playing professional basketball in Iowa, Minneapolis, Germany and Hungary, respectively.

Rebecca serves as the youngest ever trustee of Alverno College and on the boards of the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce and the Women’s Fund of Greater Milwaukee.

You can catch Rebecca in her own words at her blog: www.nextgenerationconsulting.com/blog.

Paul M. Saldana, CEcD
President & CEO
Tulare County Economic Development Corporation

Paul has served as President & CEO of the Tulare County EDC since 2001. He is the immediate Past Chairman of the California Association for Local Economic Development and served on the Board for the American Economic Development Council. A Certified Economic Developer (CEcD) since 1993, he has served as an Instructor for CETYS University Economic Development Program in Mexico since 2004 and previously for the University of Oklahoma Economic Development Institute. The recipient of 18 national and state economic development awards, Paul has achieved designation as an Accredited Economic Development Organization in two different organizations he has managed. Paul also serves as a member of the Board of the California Enterprise Development Authority, Board of Regents for the California Academy for Economic Development and served three terms as Chairman of the Central California EDC.

Paul was appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger to the Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley, serves on the Advisory Board for Southern California Gas Company and is on the Tulare County Workforce Investment Board. Paul is active in Valley Bible Fellowship and serves on the School Site Council for Exeter High School, where he lives with his sons Lauren and Sage.

Wayne Schell, FM
President and CEO
California Association For Local Economic Development

Wayne has a long record of achievement in local economic development. As CALED’s President/CEO, Wayne works with a statewide Board of Directors to shape programs and services.

Wayne grew up and graduated from Law School in North Dakota. When he first came to California, he was an Assistant in Governor Ronald Regan’s Office of Intergovernmental Management. Then, for almost a decade, Wayne was Director of the California Office of Local Economic Development. During that time, Wayne helped write the legislation that established a state role in economic development as well as conducted extensive training provided technical assistance teams who designed local ED strategies, and helped set up many of the state’s network of economic development organizations. Wayne also served as the interim Director of the State Department of Economic and Business Development. Wayne also owned and operated his own consulting firm, Economic Development Services.

Wayne was a founder and original Board member of CALED. He became President and CEO in 1990. In 2000, he received the Golden Bear Award – California’s highest economic developer honor. He also serves as a Board member and officer of the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) and has been selected as a fellow member of IEDC for his significant contributions to the profession and practice of economic development nationally and internationally.

Kim Schippers, CEcD
Executive Director
Hopkinsville Economic Development Council

Schippers is responsible for the attraction and retention of industries as the Executive Director of the Hopkinsville -Christian County Economic Development Council (EDC).

Over the past 18 years, Kim has been involved with an incredibly strong program that has been fortunate to recruit over 55 industries with hundreds of expansions. Two stand out elements of the program are the existing industry program and the spec building program. There have been 10 speculative buildings sold and preparations are underway for number 11.

Kim is currently a member of the International Economic Development Council (IEDC), Japan America Society of Kentucky, Southern Economic Development Council (SEDC) and Kentucky Association of Economic Development (KAED) and received the “CEcD” designation as a certified economic developer in 2006.

Charles J. Schwahn, PhD

Chuck Schwahn has made his professional life a study of leadership and effective organizations. For the past twenty-five years he has worked with businesses and school systems throughout North America providing consultation and training on the topics of leadership, change, personnel practices, and future-focused strategic design. His work with businesses and school systems is based upon his study of leadership and his successful eight year experience as Superintendent of the Eagle County School District and as leadership and planning consultant to Vail Ski Corporation, Vail, Colorado.

Chuck, who is the author of Total Leaders, a bestseller book published by the American Association of school Administrators and Making Change Happen, received his doctorate from the University of Massachusetts where Ken Blanchard of The One Minute Manager fame, was his doctoral chair.

Richard S. Seline
CEO & Principal
New Economy Strategies, LLC

Richard Seline has been working in the economic development arena for over 25 years at the international, national, and state/regional levels, and has been recognized for his work in public-private partnerships, regional business climate analysis, and technology adaptation by business organizations. New Economy Strategies’ (NES) work has included technology cluster-oriented projects worldwide.

From 1986-1990, Richard served as Special Assistant for Strategic Affairs to the President of U.T. M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Prior to forming New Economy Strategies, Richard managed the Jacob-Louis Group and was a consultant to Arthur Andersen’s Office of Government Services on privatization and public-private partnerships around federal assets, facilities, and programs. He was a co-founder of the Texas Privatization Initiative and served as a consultant for various organizations.

At the federal level, Richard served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of U.S. Department of Commerce for Economic Development from 1991-1992, White House Liaison to the Persian Gulf Task Force at the U.S. EPA, Chief of Staff of the President’s Commission on Executive Exchange at the White House, Director of Community and Media Relations at the 1990 Economic Summit of Industrialized Nations, and as Director of Client and Industry Relations for the General Services Administration.

Richard J. Sheehy
Director, Advance Planning and Site Selection
CH2M Hill Electronics and Advanced Technology

Mr. Sheehy manages the site selection group for CH2M HILL. He offers more than 25 years of site evaluation and selection experience – including 13 years with CH2M HILL – evaluating site locations and developing projects for advanced technology, semiconductor, food, pharmaceuticals, and biotechnology industries.

He has served both as a private industry consultant in real estate development and as an economic development public official with the State of Oregon

Mr. Sheehy began his career as a developer and marketer of the first high tech semiconductor park in Oregon’s “Silicon Forest.” He was involved in the development of a 300-acre industrial project in Oregon designed and constructed to meet the requirements of high technology manufacturers and related suppliers. The community surrounding the industrial park began as a farming community and is now home to one of the largest concentrations of microelectronics, solar and advanced technology companies in the world.

David P. Smith
Executive Vice President
DHR International

David P. Smith is Executive Vice President in the Pittsburgh office of DHR International, an executive search firm headquartered in Chicago. Mr. Smith is responsible for business development, engagement management, and executive identification and evaluation.

Mr. Smith has been a leader in the field of executive search for over 21 years. Prior to joining DHR, he owned and operated a “boutique” search firm specializing in emerging growth and technology based industries. He has conducted hundreds of successful search engagements for Fortune 500 corporations, start-ups, and emerging growth firms. His select clientele also includes numerous public sector, private, and non-profit entities. Mr. Smith has personally led numerous Chief Executive Officer engagements for a diverse array of economic development organizations. He serves as DHR’s National Practice Leader in Economic Development and Planning.

Mr. Smith is a member of, or has professional relationships with, numerous professional economic development organizations, i.e., International Economic Development Council (IEDC), International Downtown Association (IDA), the American Planning Association (APA), the Association of University Research Parks (AURP), National Association of State Venture Funds (NASVF), the State Science and Technology Institute (SSTI), Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), Batelle Technology Partners (Public Technology Management), Urban Land Institute (ULI), and the National Association of Regional Councils (NARC).

Richard Stephens
Senior Vice President, Human Resources & Administration
The Boeing Company

Richard (Rick) Stephens is Senior Vice President, Human Resources and Administration for The Boeing Company. Stephens also is a member of the Boeing Executive Council.

A 28-year Boeing veteran, Stephens oversees all leadership development, training, employee relations, compensation, benefits, Global Corporate Citizenship, and diversity initiatives at the Chicago-based, $61.5 billion, 158,000-person commercial airplane and defense company.

Stephens was appointed to lead companywide Human Resources and Administration in September, 2005. He previously served as senior vice president of Internal Services and president, Shared Services Group. Prior to these assignments he was vice president and general manager, Integrated Defense Systems Homeland Security and Services and has led a number of service and support-related programs such as Space and Communication Services, Reusable Space Systems, Naval Systems and Tactical Systems, Space Shuttle and submarine combat systems.

Stephens was appointed to the Secretary of Education’s Commission on the Future of Higher Education and also serves on the Department of Homeland Security Advisory Council. In 2006, Stephens was appointed by President Bush to serve as a member of the President’s Board of Advisors on Tribal Colleges and Universities. He is a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, a member of the National Science Resource Center Advisory Board, and is chairman of the Illinois Business Roundtable. Stephens also serves as the Boeing executive focal for the University of Southern California and is vice chair of Healthcare for the Orange County Business Council.

John M. Stroud
Executive Director
Longview Economic Development Corporation

John has been in economic development for 39 years and has always had a passion for working with companies to create new opportunities for employment within the communities in which he has served as head of their chamber of commerce or economic development program.

This passion has enabled Longview Texas over the past ten years to have a job growth exceeding the state, a strong per capita income growth, and higher property tax values enabling the community and the local schools systems to embark on major new initiatives in park and new school development.

John has provided significant leadership, according to the mayor of his city and his board, in developing a highly professional staff for marketing the city, existing business expansion, and workforce development. He is extremely proud of the leadership role the Longview Economic Development Corporation is taking to recruit students into careers and their work to make workforce development a focus of the community.

The Longview Economic Development Corporation has a $4 million annual budget with an eight person staff, is developing shell buildings, owns a 400 acre business park, and will begin construction in May of a new 700-ace business park.

John Tennant
Managing Partner
W2N2 Partnership

John was CEO of Canada’s Technology Triangle Inc (CTT Inc), the public-private regional economic development partnership for Ontario’s Waterloo Region, including the cities of Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo, from 2002 through 2008. Canada’s Technology Triangle is home to Research In Motion (developer and manufacturer of the BlackBerry^TM), a major Toyota plant, and a constellation of insurance companies. In 2008, Site Selection Magazine named CTT Inc as a Top 10 Canadian economic development group, while Canadian Business Magazine ranked the area as the best place to do business in English-speaking Canada. Additional recognition included the City of Waterloo’s selection as the Intelligent Community of 2007, and a Top Five placing in its category in Foreign Direct Investment’s “North American Cities of the Future” (2007-08).

Previously, John had a distinguished Canadian foreign service career which culminated as Canadian Consul General in Detroit (1998 to 2002). There, he was a key point person on Canada-US border issues (including at the time of the tragic 9/11 events), while furthering the development of the immense bilateral trade and investment linkages with Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky.

Recently, John established his own consultancy, W2N2 Partnership (www.w2n2.ca).

Anthony Townsend, PhD
Research Director
Institute for the Future

Dr. Anthony Townsend is a technology forecaster and strategist with the Institute for the Future, an independent non-profit research group based in Palo Alto, California. Anthony leads the Institute’s research on innovation systems and economic development, and is currently conducting a multi-year study on the future of science parks and incubators. Prior to joining the Institute, Anthony enjoyed a decade- long career in academia, where his research focused on the role of telecommunications in urban development and design. Anthony worked and lived in South Korea on and off between 2001 and 2004, as an urban planning consultant and Fulbright scholar. During this period, he directed several major research projects funded by the National Science Foundation and Department of Homeland Security. Anthony holds a Ph.D. in urban and regional planning from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Anatalio Ubalde
Chief Operating Officer
GIS Planning, Inc.

Anatalio Ubalde is Co-founder and President at GIS Planning Inc., an economic development internet strategy company and is CEO of ZoomProspector.com, an online site selection service. Mr. Ubalde works with organizations throughout the nation to empower economic development using Internet technology. His company’s strategies are implemented in 37 states and serve the majority of the 50 largest cities in the United States from New York City to San Francisco as well as numerous states and small communities. For the last two years GIS Planning has made the Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing private companies in the United States. His work is featured in The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and the U.S. Department of Commerce “Innovative Local Economic Development Programs”. Mr. Ubalde is on the Board of Directors for the International Economic Development Council and is a past recipient of the IEDC Outstanding Economic Developer of the Year Award. Mr. Ubalde is co-author of the new book Economic Development Marketing: Present & Future. He is frequently invited to advise about the use of Internet, marketing and GIS for economic development at national and international conferences making presentations on this subject throughout North America, Europe and Asia. He previously worked in local economic development with a focus on downtown revitalization, waterfront redevelopment, business attraction/expansion, business retention, and site selection assistance.

Mary Jo Waits
Director, Social, Economic, & Workforce Programs Division
National Governors Association Center for Best Practices

Mary Jo Waits is director of the Social, Economic, and Workforce Program division with the NGA Center for Best Practices. Mary Jo was an author of Investing in Innovation, a report by the Pew Center on the States and National Governors Association (NGA) released during NGA’s Innovation America Initiative.

Before moving to Washington D.C., she led a public policy consulting firm, Mary Jo Waits and Associates LLC. For more than a decade, she was Associate Director of the Morrison Institute for Public Policy, a “think tank” at Arizona State University. She oversaw the Institute’s project development, publications, research and analysis. She was principal author of The New Economy: A Guide for Arizona and The New Economy: Policy Choices for Arizona. She was the principal author of Five Shoes Waiting to Drop on Arizona’s Future. She was the principal author of Which Way Scottsdale?, a report widely acclaimed for shaping that city’s -and other cities’-strategy to lead in the knowledge economy.

Mary Jo has written extensively on the industry clusters approach to economic development. Her articles on economic development have been published in Public Administration Review, Economic Development Quarterly, and Economic Development Commentary.

Rick L. Weddle, FM, HLM
President & CEO
Research Triangle Foundation of NC

Rick L. Weddle is President and CEO of the Research Triangle Foundation of North Carolina since 2004, owner and developer of The Research Triangle Park. Previously, he led regional economic development organizations in four states, including the Greater Phoenix Economic Council, the Toledo, Ohio Regional Growth Partnership, the San Joaquin Partnership & Business Council in Stockton, California and Winston-Salem Business Inc in North Carolina. Active in the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) since its inception, Mr. Weddle, a Fellow Member, was elected as the first Chairman of the Board of IEDC in 2002 and received the designation of Honorary Life Member in 2007. Rick also serves on the boards of various regional, national and international organizations: North American Division President of the International Association of Science Parks (IASP); Association of University Research Parks (AURP); Research Triangle Regional Partnership; Vice Chair of Government Affairs, Legislation and Policy for the Regional Transportation Alliance; and Co-Chair of Reality Check, a joint effort of the Urban Land Institute and Triangle Tomorrow. He and his wife, Ginger, live in Cary.

Terri L. Williams, CEcD
Director of Economic Development
Brooks Development Authority

As Director of Economic Development for the Brooks Development Authority, Ms. Williams is responsible for coordinating and directing the economic development program with local, state and federal governmental agencies as well as private sector funding sources to create opportunities for the development of Brooks City-Base She is also responsible for the development of legislative and governmental affairs.

She previously served as an independent Economic Development Consultant to the City of Windcrest, as president & CEO of Williams Economic Development Consulting, where she was responsible for leading efforts to redevelop the Walzem Road area in Northeast San Antonio and Bexar County.

Ms. Williams has also held the position of Business Development Manager for the Port Authority of San Antonio (formerly Greater Kelly Development Authority). Prior to joining Greater Kelly Development Authority, Ms. Williams was employed by the City of San Antonio as Manager of the Small Business Division in the Economic Development Department.

Ms. Williams is a member of the Texas Economic Development Council, the International Economic Development Council, the San Antonio Economic Development Foundation Board of Directors, the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce Economic Development Steering Committee, the San Antonio Fiesta Commission, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Jack & Jill of America, and others.

Lois C. Yates, CEcD
Executive Director
Falcon Field Area Alliance

Lois C. Yates is the Executive Director of the Falcon Field Area Alliance, the private not-for-profit economic development partnership dedicated to fostering economic growth in the Falcon Field Business District in Mesa, Arizona. Working with public sector partners, FFAA brings a private sector voice to marketing the Falcon Field Business District as a place to do business.

Ms. Yates has held executive economic development positions in Florida, Michigan, New York, Maryland as well as Arizona. Prior to moving to Arizona she was the Vice President of the Greater Baltimore Alliance, a private-public partnership supported by major corporations, Baltimore City and the surrounding five counties.

Ms. Yates is very active in national and statewide economic development organizations as well as serving on numerous boards and commissions in the metro Phoenix area. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the East Valley Partnership, the Mesa Neighborhood Economic Development Corporation, Mesa Preparatory Academy, Mesa Chamber of Commerce, Mesa Convention and Visitors Bureau, Red Mountain Business Advisory Board, and the A.T. Still University Advisory Board. She is also a member of the Scottsdale Airport Commission, the International Economic Development Council and the Arizona Association for Economic Development.