Jim Eldridge, Cecd Email & Phone Number

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States

Ada, Oklahoma

• Authored federal grant awards of over $1 Million to create a new Technology Accelerator program (EDA Build to Scale) and to construct a new innovation center (USDA RISE) focused on the inclusion of First American.
• Assembled a community digital economy strategy and active participation in the Rural Innovation Network organized by the Center on Rural Innovation.
• Coordinated the creation of a community workforce development strategy resulting in an application for Ada as an Oklahoma Center of Workforce Excellence, digital skilling programs, and a new talent demand survey with.
• Created a downtown business improvement grant program and multi-organizational partnership that resulted in over $700k in total investment and impacted over 30 businesses.

Ada, Oklahoma

• Managed the transition of a local economic development organization by rebuilding relationships with local stakeholders and making Business Retention and Expansion efforts a central focus.
• Oversaw the development of a comprehensive rural entrepreneurship initiative which resulted in an annual conference and pitch competition.

Ada, Oklahoma

• Responded to over 10 attraction prospect leads by creating custom GIS maps, economic impact analyses, and incentive recommendations.
• Led marketing efforts at trade shows for aviation manufacturing and water technology.
• Created a website to promote a community sales tax for economic development election which resulted in an IEDC Excellence in Economic Development Bronze Award for a Special Purpose Website.

Norman

Led research on food truck entrepreneurs and commercial districts resulting in over 20 semi-structured interviews and a grant to present research at the 2015 Urban Affairs Conference.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Area

• I was the first Executive Director of an upstart commercial district association. I was able to help the organization accomplish:
• The implementation of a new strategic plan, resulting in the doubling of our membership in the first year of operation.
• Working with a multi-organizational team to gain the support for businesses in order to host the district's first Open Streets Event, resulting in thousands of people visiting the district in 2014.
• Leading a newly formed Governance Committee to create the bylaws and organization structure that resulted in a successful application of 501(c)4 status for the organization.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Area

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Area

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Area

Master’S Degree, City/Urban, Community And Regional Planning

I studied the relationship between Oklahoma City's street vending policies and economic development by researching a community of local.

Economic Development Institute

Continuing education for professional economic developers in partnership with the International Economic Development Council.

Bachelor’S Degree, Cultural Anthropology

Conducted ethnographic fieldwork on graffiti writers in Oklahoma from 2006-2007. Research found local graffiti writers often utilized.

International Baccalaureate Diploma