Success Stories

Kathleen Finch has always had a knack for design and enjoyed creating clothing and home good items for public consumption.  This led her to many years as a textile designer with a major department store chain. As technology continued to evolve, so too did Kathleen’s interest in applying emerging tech to her creative skills.

Pearl River is just a short drive from the John C. Stennis Space Center in Hancock County, Mississippi. Operated by NASA, it is America’s largest and most productive test site for rocket propulsion systems, serving both the nation and the commercial sector. As early as 2005, school officials saw the need to develop a steady pipeline of skilled workers capable of supporting the growing aviation and aerospace fields on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Timber markets are one of America’s most valuable, yet unpredictable, natural resource industries. It is no stranger to volatility, going from boon to bust and back again. As recently as 2019, paper mills and biomass electric plants were closing in Maine, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont, a four-state region collectively referred to as the Northern Forest. As the plants continued to close, the demand for wood harvested in the region began to decline.

Pittsfield, Massachusetts is a small New England community about two hours from Boston. Throughout the 20th Century, it was known as a hub for manufacturing, providing residents with a host of jobs in regional production plants. General Electric (GE) was the town’s biggest employer, operating a plastic production facility along the Housatonic River.

It is in that same spirit of preparedness that Vivian’s Door provides business training to the community, maintaining an open-door policy with its students - small business owners and entrepreneurs. It’s more than just helping them grow their businesses, but rather serving the whole community.

When Mélodie Picard arrived in the small community of Phoenix, Oregon in 2018, she came with a determination to meet a niche, but growing demand for high-quality cheese made in America.

The Muhlenberg County Opportunity Center (MCOC) first opened its doors in 1966, about 25 years before the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. This non-profit organization in western Kentucky provides mentoring, vocational training, and jobs to adults with disabilities, serving as a critical connector to opportunities and services.

The seafood industry is often described as the lifeblood of Maine, providing food to customers the world over. Generations of fishermen have sailed its waters in search of lobsters, crabs, scallops, and a variety of other fish. In recent years, the cultivation of oysters, mussels, seaweed, and other species has added to their hauls. Seafood, along with forestry, agriculture, and outdoor recreation, is one of the iconic natural resource-based industries that dominate the economy in the Pine Tree State.

The place-based investment is core to EDA’s mission, with our team working closely with local community leaders to ensure EDA’s grants support targeted economic development based on each community’s unique needs. It’s not a one-size-fits-all approach, which allows EDA’s grants to be flexible, dynamic, and meet the moment that’s called for in each community. In Lubbock, Texas, that has translated into multiple EDA investments, as leaders turn a painful Air Force Base closure into economic opportunity for the region.

Reidsville is a small North Carolina community about twenty miles from Greensboro. Known as “Lucky City,” the residents have a simple motto: ‘live simply, think big.’