Executive Director
Joint Economic Development Board Of Unicoi County
Erwin, Tennessee
Led cross-functional teams across three governmental bodies and six agencies in strategic planning endeavors related to tourist development, economic development, asset-based planning, internal resource planning, and retail development planning with implementation horizons up to 20 years and lifetime budgets into nine figures.Developed, negotiated, and implemented a package of tax incentives for industrial users between three local legislative bodies over eight months for use by a fourth governmental body.Developed, negotiated, and implemented tax increment financing (TIF) incentive package for $12.5MM retail brownfield redevelopment.Assisted with community development plans, including implementations of existing plans.Rescued troubled plant through carefully negotiated purchase program and drove foreign direct investment (FDI) of over $7MM and the creation of 115 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions.Served as an intermediary between industrial or retail end-user and municipal and/or county governments.Secured and managed over $750,000 in grant funding for local governments and agencies within 12 months of hire.Designed and gave presentations for delivery to stakeholders at local, regional, state, and federal levels, often tied to funding opportunities.Deepened relationships with state economic development department (TNECD) and local government.Featured clinician on downtown redevelopment at Appalachian Regional Commission Annual Convention, Pittsburgh, 2017.Featured panelist on rural industrial site redevelopment at Tennessee Governor's Conference on Economic and Community Development, Nashville, 2018.Featured panelist on downtown redevelopment at Southern Economic Development Roundtable, Watercolor, Fla., 2020.Featured clinician on interagency co-operation at Tennessee Valley Authority Economic Developers’ Forum, Nashville, 2020.