I am an individual who is committed to the development of strong local economies and quality communities through thoughtful and responsible economic development efforts focused on innovation and growth of small businesses. I have expertise in innovation and have helped communities create entrepreneurial ecosystems that foster and accelerate startups and growth-oriented expansions.My gift is the ability to see how people and programs connect. The relationships I've cultivated over the years are the secret sauce to helping innovation-based companies do the world changing work the rest of us are counting on. I take good care of the angel investors in my network (I'll protect your time, and vet deals I send your way). I've served as a Community Development Director, and as the President/CEO of an Economic Development Corporation and and Chamber of Commerce. It's a unique combination in that I understand infrastructure, land use, and economics from both the municipal and private interests. I've worked as a strategic planning consultant for communities and as a business consultant. Before we quit asking startups to write business plans I'd reviewed around 700. Now focused on business models like the Lean Canvas and pitch decks for investors, I've reviewed over 1,000 more. Based on all that experience, I firmly believe we have the ability to solve the world's biggest problems through a combination of hard work and innovation. I've also thrown in the towel and left things to fate, moved to a foreign country, lived on an island and taken a year to write a book, so I know about trusting the universe and what happens when a highly structured person lets it all go, just to see what will happen. My heart is in this. It's what I'm supposed to do and I am full in. Someday, I will run a center that connects great minds and budding entrepreneurs in an environment that lets people pursue their passion with total abandon, but right now I'm building my skills and playing the innovation-based-economic-development-conversation forward and I'm looking for people who want to join me. No one does it alone. We're here to help each other out, and together we can make a positive difference on the world's biggest problems.