
Project Development Officer at New Jersey Casino Reinvestment Development Authority
Greater Philadelphia Area

Project Development Officer at New Jersey Casino Reinvestment Development Authority
Greater Philadelphia Area
• Currently a Project Development Officer with the New Jersey CRDA, a quasi-public agency in Atlantic City making statewide economic development investments;
• Intimately involved with bridging state public policy initiatives to sound growth-enhancing investments;
• Assisted with consultant management, market and financing research, and worked directly with policymakers, public officials and private interests around the state;
• Past background includes workforce development and public policy (Deputy Policy Director at the PA Department of Labor & Industry) and considerable experience in community-based economic development (Peace Corps, Jewish Camden Partnership) and non-profit management (various independent consulting);
• I am presently pursuing a Master of Governmental Administration at the Fels Institute of Government at the University of Pennsylvania; I have recently completed course requirements for the graduate Certificate in Economic Development & Growth;
• Also an active freelance contributor to a number of prestigious, high-circulation publications specializing in topics of economic development, the Eurasia/Black Sea region and political risk.
Microeconomic economic growth strategies; public finance; real estate development; Eurasia/Black Sea region politics & development; nexus of economic growth and political risk; policy analysis; international development; non-profit management
(Venture Capital & Private Equity industry)
September 2008 — Present (11 months)
• Closely involved in all project management matters, including:
• Assist in management of consultants;
• Lead in research and internal information dissemination related to economic development strategies, financing mechanisms, and other areas as required;
• 'First look' project review responsibility for possible financing;
• Coordinating and collaborating with public and private entities statewide to create and leverage optimal investment ratios towards high-quality projects.
(Government Administration industry)
March 2008 — September 2008 (7 months)
• Assist in policy analysis & formulation related to labor & workforce issues for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania;
• Duties include program assistance, resource coordination, and project management;
• Labor & Industry point representative for PA STEM Initiative resource subcommittee;
• Labor & Industry point representative on financial sustainability committee, PA WIRED/Wall Street West collaborative.
(Non-Profit; 1-10 employees; Public Policy industry)
September 2007 — March 2008 (7 months)
• Develop & oversee grassroots economic development programs in one of the most distressed US cities;
• Duties include grant writing, organizational development, community business development programming;
• Interfacing & collaborating with community groups, area non-profits, and municipal agencies.
(Government Agency; 5001-10,000 employees; Non-Profit Organization Management industry)
June 2006 — May 2007 (1 year)
• Served as a non-profit development consultant for a media development organization;
• Work included grant writing assistance/fund raising, project design & management, financial sustainability/budgeting, time management, IT training, and networking;
• Worked on a number of secondary projects as well including projects involving youth journalism, business education, local library assistance, and education reform.
(Non-Profit; 1-10 employees; International Trade and Development industry)
January 2006 — May 2006 (5 months)
• Media/PR officer for small non-profit organization focusing on international development in Africa;
• Assisted in designing and executing a PR campaign to raise funds while designing and activating the website; authored press releases.
(Non-Profit; 11-50 employees; Non-Profit Organization Management industry)
September 2005 — May 2006 (9 months)
• Worked in a variety of capacities that included product distribution, database maintenance, financial operations, and brand marketing to reach psychiatry practitioners;
• Role focused primarily on organizational maintenance and development with opportunities for contributions in other areas such as marketing and design.
(Non-Profit; 11-50 employees; International Affairs industry)
March 2005 — April 2005 (2 months)
• Short-term contract employment for research;
• Compiled and categorized data concerning parochial publishers in the United States;
• Took, analyzed data and developed reports for submission.
Master of Governmental Administration , Public Administration , 2007 — 2009
Graduate Certificate , Economic Development & Growth , 2007 — 2009
Bachelor of Science , Anthropology, International Studies , 2004 — 2006
Peace Corps, Fels Institute of Government