Andrea Roshaven, CEcD, community redevelopment specialist for the City of Tampa (Fla.), recently became a Certified Economic Developer. By passing the rigorous, two-part exam, CEcDs prove their comprehensive knowledge of the field and readiness to tackle economic development challenges. What was the most important thing you learned while earning your CEcD? I learned that there is a vast variety of economic development genres and professional backgrounds. I started the CEcD journey as a way to become more well-rounded and realized there is no one path to becoming a better economic development p ..read more

CEcDs are recognized worldwide as having achieved the pinnacle of excellence in the economic development field. Twenty-four professionals passed the exam held this month ..read more

IEDC's Accredited Economic Development Organization (AEDO) program recognizes organizational excellence in the areas of internal and external operations, structures, and procedures. This series profiles recently accredited AEDOs, putting some of economic development's highest-performing organizations in the spotlight. This edition: Invest Newark (N.J ..read more

Kian Kamas, CEcD, executive director of PartnerTulsa, recently became a Certified Economic Developer. By passing the rigorous, two-part exam, CEcDs prove their comprehensive knowledge of the field and readiness to tackle economic development challenges. What was the most important thing you learned while earning your CEcD? For me studying was such a great reminder of the solid fundamentals we are basing our work on at PartnerTulsa, and also of the opportunities we have to improve our work based on best practices. How will your CEcD help you in your work? Pursuing the CEcD gave me the chance to ..read more

Libraries across the U.S. provide entrepreneur support resources of all kinds, from workshops to networking opportunities to market research. Working with a local library is a good way for small business owners to get the help they need—and a good way for EDOs to enhance the reach and impact of their economic development efforts ..read more

Matt Lorenzen, MPA, CEcD, economic development manager for the City of Wilsonville (Ore.), recently became a Certified Economic Developer. By passing the rigorous, two-part exam, CEcDs prove their comprehensive knowledge of the field and readiness to tackle economic development challenges. What was the most important thing you learned while earning your CEcD? Each course provided new insights, methods, and case studies. It’s hard to name one specific takeaway as the most important. That said, I probably learned the most from the Credit Analysis and Finance course because I hadn’t had a lot of ..read more

The Economic Recovery Corps' inaugural cohort of 65 fellows and host organizations gathered in Portland, Oregon, this month to celebrate the program's launch. Learn how this exciting new initiative will impact the future of economic development ..read more

Betsy Kramer, CEcD, EDP, economic development revitalization coordinator for SEDA-Council of Governments, recently became a Certified Economic Developer. By passing the rigorous, two-part exam, CEcDs prove their comprehensive knowledge of the field and readiness to tackle economic development challenges. What was the most important thing you learned while earning your CEcD? While the journey to achieving the certification is educationally rewarding, I found the most impactful realization to be how much economic development is ever-evolving, and the essential importance of human connections to ..read more

Nearly a quarter of all new U.S. entrepreneurs in 2021 were Hispanic. Carolina Small Business Development Fund's Programa Empresarial Latino addresses specific challenges that Latino entrepreneurs and small business owners experience when starting or scaling their business. Programming such as seminars, one-on-one counseling, and online trainings provides knowledge capital in addition to financial capital. Since the program's launch in 2016, CSBDF has issued more than 220 loans and grants to Latino clients, and lending to Hispanic entrepreneurs now makes up nearly 10% of the CDFI’s portfolio ..read more

IEDC's Accredited Economic Development Organization (AEDO) program recognizes organizational excellence in the areas of internal and external operations, structures, and procedures. This series profiles recently accredited AEDOs, putting some of economic development's highest-performing organizations in the spotlight. This edition: Economic Development Alliance for Jefferson County (Ark ..read more