Dick Fleming is CEO of Community Development Ventures, Inc., where he advises public, private, and nonprofit entities on strategies to drive community, economic, entrepreneurial, and resource development.Brings several decades of experience as a "civic entrepreneur," successfully driving civic advancement and economic growth in roles in Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Denver, and St. Louis as:- CEO of the St. Louis Regional Chamber & Growth Association (RCGA); - CEO of Denver Metro Chamber & Greater Denver Corp; - Founding CEO of the Downtown Denver Partnership; - Vice President/Deputy Director of Central Atlanta Progress, Inc; - Sub-Cabinet Member of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of Community Planning & Development in Washington, D.C.; and ,- Assistant Development Director, The Rouse Company, Baltimore, MDBegan career as a mixed-use developer and city planner with The Rouse Company in Baltimore and Phipps Land Company in Atlanta, where he was involved in Rouse’s restoration of Faneuil Hall in Boston, and in master planning of the 15,000-acre new towns of Columbia, MD and Peachtree City, GA.Since 2012, has served as CEO of St. Louis-based Community Development Ventures, Inc. A leader for over two decades in St. Louis’ becoming a national BioBelt leader in Plant & Life Sciences (including partnering in creation of the CORTEX Innovation District, as client for the Battelle Plant & Life Sciences Strategy, and civic implementation of its recommendations. Other RCGA tech initiatives during his CEO tenure included creation of the Coalition for Plant & Life Sciences (now BioSTL); Tech Gateway Alliance, ITEN; & T-Rex Incubator.Has similarly been an active part of multiple aspects St. Louis’ emergence as a Global Geospatial Intelligence Hub, as well as in efforts to support startup entrepreneurs -- in particular women and minority entrepreneurs.At the national level, served as Board Chair of: the International Downtown Association (IDA); the Alliance for Regional Stewardship; Partners for Livable Communities; the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE); the Climate Prosperity Project, Inc. and Clean Economy Solutions (both, initiatives of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund), as well as Board Vice Chair of the cityscope publication & now on Advisory Board of The Neal Peirce Foundation.Active in local volunteer leadership of St. Francis Xavier College Church as member of the Pastoral Council, Chair of Development Commission, and active in College Church's initiatives dealing with systemic racism.