Paul Wright Email & Phone Number

Berea, KY, US

Lead facilitator and curriculum manager for a professional development course for community economic development professionals. This training program is designed to strengthen the Investment Ecosystem in Central Appalachia by building a talent pipeline of entrepreneur support professionals, closing the gap between supply and demand of capital in rural.

Current Courses:WNC Investment Framers Cohort Communities of Healing Cohort (Investment Lab)Raising Capital101 (self-directed)

Berea, KY

• Design, develop and facilitate online Courses and Coaching programs to support business development and entrepreneurship. Collaborates with national and foundations, regional economic development agencies, and local.
• Instructional design of 3 master courses, 7 workshops, and multiple micro path learning videos using Thinkific, Canvas, and Moodle learning management platforms.
• ARC POWER grant sub-recipients that trained 40 main-street businesses on creating a social enterprise model to hire persons in recovery
• Professional development and mentoring of 500 entrepreneur support professionals; over 400 hours of leadership coaching.

• The evaluation included 250 federal grants across 10 Appalachian Regional Commission states, 200 surveys, 8 focus groups and interviews for case studies. Wright's research portfolio included 60 grantees and writing 3.
• Accessing Equity Capital Close to Home: Building an Appalachian Angel Investor Network (Rainsource Capital, Inc)
• Strategically Engaging Partners for Regional Success (Hatfield McCoy Regional Recreation Authority)
• Filling in the Gaps: When Capital Providers Work Together (Mountain BizWorks)

• Deliver monthly FastTrac Virtual Facilitators Course ("train-the-trainers")
• Mentor FastTrac Affiliate Program Directors nationwide.

Berea, KY

• Management of a $30 million revolving loan fund and 8-person commercial lending team.
• Leveraged public and private funds to invest in Rural Appalachia communities.
• Increased MACED’s business advisory and training hours by 300%
• Developed innovative loan products that increased annual loan deployment from $2.1 to $5.8 million

Houston, Texas Area

www.lisc.org· Grants issuer and compliance manager over $1 million in grants per year.· Loan underwriting for community facilities/charter school/multi-family real estate projects.· Performed management audits and provided capacity building recommendations to staff and boards.· Compliance reporting on private and government grants such as ExxonMobile CSJP.

Greater Memphis Area

· Coached small business owners to increase profits and prepare for succession.· Provided remote bookkeeping services to small businesses.· Served as MidSouth Area Director for a national business networking franchise.

www.altconsulting.org· Management Consultant serving minority owned enterprises and rural based businesses.· Supervised field consultants working in Mid South Delta.· Assisted small businesses workout troubled loans to CDFI such as Hope Credit Union (MS).

Bangalore, India

· Conducting market and field research while traveling with loan officer in South India.· Analyzed cow milk distribution systems for a woman-owned cooperative.· Used field research in Micro Credit Agency class to design my own credit delivery model.

Mba, Economic Development

Activities and Societies: Delta Mu Delta-national MBA honors societyTony Campolo Scholar 1997

Bs, Business Administration