Jump to main content.

THIS IS AN ARCHIVED SITE

This site contains information that has been considered archived and will no longer be updated. Please click here to go to the CURRENT eda.gov website.

A bureau within the U.S. Department of Commerce
Newsroom

Newsroom

Blog Entries from April 2016

A Discussion with Ron Brown Scholars: Start Where You Are

Ron Brown Scholars On Tuesday, April 26, I had the privilege of participating in a professional development webinar with college students from across the country who participate in the Ron Brown Scholar Program. The program was developed in honor of the late Commerce Secretary to encourage civic engagement while promoting academic excellence, community and lifelong interactions between scholars and local and national leaders.

During the webinar, we had an engaging exchange about the importance of public service and I shared my own journey of working in the banking industry and my subsequent pursuit of public service positions.

> Read more

Spotlight: EDA 2016 National Conference Focuses on the Role of Government in Redefining Economic Development

asdf “I was quite simply blown away by the conference: the sessions were relevant, insightful, and thought provoking.” - North Carolina

On April 7-8, EDA brought together over 800 regional and local economic development professionals, non-profit and private partners, and federal, state, tribal and local officials to explore issues related to improving competitiveness, job growth, innovation and overall quality of life in communities at our 2016 National Conference in Washington, D.C.

Conference speakers included: U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker; U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Bruce Andrews; U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx; Director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget Shaun Donovan; U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown; Jerry Abramson, Deputy Assistant to the President and Director of Public Affairs, The White House; Mayor of Detroit, Michigan Mike Dugan, and Victor Hwang, Vice President of Entrepreneurship, The Kauffman Foundation, among others.

> Read more

Success Story: Alabama Tombigbee Regional Commission Helps to Drive Critical FDI to Rural Wilcox County, Alabama

Devastating tornadoes that struck rural Wilcox County, Alabama in 2011 resulted in the loss of lives and permanent jobs when production in the region’s critical timber and paper production sectors was forced to cease for a number of weeks.

To help advance the region’s economic recovery and resiliency efforts, EDA, in 2013, invested $1.9 million in the town of Pine Hill to make water and sewer improvements needed to bring GD Copper (USA), Inc.’s specialized tubing and copper products operations to the county.

GD Copper is a Chinese firm that is adding to a growing metals cluster in southwest Alabama, which also includes such firms as Thyssen Krupp, SET Enterprises, Metals USA and JMC Steel.

> Read more

Highlight: Fifth Americas Competitiveness Exchange Brings 51 High-Level Representatives from 24 Countries to Arizona and California

From April 10-16, 51 high-level representatives from 24 countries visited Arizona and Southern California to explore global and regional partnerships and economic development opportunities through the 5th America’s Competitiveness Exchange on Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

The delegation toured advanced technology centers, innovation hubs, public-private partnership ventures, and strategic investments in cities ranging from small towns like Gilbert, Arizona, and Vista Escondido, California, to major metropolitan areas like Phoenix and San Diego.

In Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona, the delegation learned about the cutting-edge work being done at the University of Arizona (UofA) and Arizona State University (ASU) to revolutionize the fields of optics, biosciences, medicine, business, technology transfer, and many others.

> Read more