Mari Howe Email and Phone Number

Managed the town’s accredited Main Street program using the Main Street America Four Point Approach to implement our strategic economic development vision.o Responsibilities included annual work planning; event development & day-of coordination; program/project creation & implementation; tracking investment & economic impact data; leading up to four volunteer committees; campaign development for online & print marketing; monitoring accreditation metrics and maintaining a downtown business database.o Strategic focus areas included public art and cultural offerings, community recreation, and creative entrepreneurship.Overseeing day-to-day operations of the Downtown Garner Association (DGA), a volunteer-driven non-profit responsible for leading economic revitalization of Garner’s historic district.o Responsibilities included fundraising, budgeting and bookkeeping; volunteer recruitment, training, and management; relationship building with stakeholders; grant writing and monitoring; board record management; maintaining leases, licenses, and insurance; and coordinating travel and training for board members.o DGA acted as fiscal agent for several economic development programs, including preservation of the historic train depot, the Garner Business Resiliency Fund, and Gearworks.Acted as liaison to businesses and property owners interested in investing downtown as they navigated the town’s development planning process and worked with staff to minimize development hurdles.Co-founded LaunchGARNER, a 10-week entrepreneur training course in partnership with Wake Tech Community College and local civic clubs to support small businesses in the wake of COVID-19.Managed Gearworks, a town-owned space that helped fast growing entrepreneurs bridge the gap from home or co-working to market rate rental space.Supported the town’s Economic Development and Planning departments with graphic design services for citizen engagement and annual reporting as needed.

Conducted qualitative & quantitative research to support the Executive Director’s special projects.Researched and prepared written analyses of business policy issues relevant to SBTDC and its clients.Compiled and analyzed client feedback to prepare a needs assessment of counseling services as part of SBTDC’s Five Year Accreditation Self Study.Prepared an article on state and national business survival trends for SBTDC’s Annual State of Small Business to be distributed externallySupported the 2014 UNC Social Entrepreneurship Conference by writing promotional content for the website and interviewing participants on-site about their experience in the business plan competition.

Provide technical assistance to local businesses through one-on-one counseling.Conducted demographic & economic analyses of Census, ESC, BLS and BEA data to fulfill clients’ market research needs and supplement business attraction proposals.Acted as economic development liaison during weekly meetings of county planning, zoning, and inspection staff to evaluate business development proposals and rezoning requests.Project management experience: - Organized the TriSouth Entrepreneur Network, a regional initiative to connect entrepreneurs in four counties with online business tools & networking. - Organized Chatham’s first youth business plan competition to engage student entrepreneurs. - Researched grant funding opportunities and wrote proposals to secure $142,000 to support new entrepreneurship initiatives. - Started Bootstrap Chatham, a monthly networking session to foster business relationships. - Managed the EDC’s online presence for community outreach via a website, Facebook page, & Twitter

Wrote a case study of the Chatham Agricultural & Industrial Fair Association, a historically African American organization that used youth gardening as a strategy to teach youth entrepreneurship.Co-wrote feasibility study for a regional farm-to-school food program in Southeast NC.Wrote a comparative analysis of Kentucky and North Carolina’s use of state tobacco buy-out funds to build and support local sustainable food systems.

Compiled demographic data and analyzed socioeconomic trends for Currituck County’s Strategic Economic Development Plan.Wrote a section of Chatham County’s 2008-2013 Strategic Economic Development Plan analyzing sustainable agriculture’s economic and social impacts on the community. Assisted with public meetings to gather input from citizens, local elected officials, and county staff for the strategic planning process in Chatham County.

Co-wrote a report on the spillover effects of public investment on private development in Durham’s HOPE VI housing project area.Used GIS mapping to analyze baseline data on housing characteristics, social demographics, and crime statistics in NE Central Durham to target practical interventions for neighborhood revitalization.