SSTI Digest

Holli Baumunk, vice president of the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation, has been named president and CEO of the Colorado BioScience Association.

Georgia Gov. Sunny Perdue has tapped Heidi Green to replace Ken Stewart as commissioner of the State of Georgia's Economic Development Department. Green, who currently serves as deputy commissioner for Global Commerce, will assume the new role at the end of June. Beginning July 19, Stewart will become senior advisor on Industry Strategy at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Marie Johns has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate as deputy administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration. Johns will be the second-ranking official at SBA, with major responsibility for management, policy development and program supervision.

Tom Rankin has been selected to lead the Washington Clean Technology Alliance as president and chief executive.

Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter recently signed legislation to fund initiatives around the state preparing workers for the clean energy economy. The Green Jobs Colorado Program bill, originally proposed last year by Gov. Ritter, was included in a package of sixteen clean energy related bills passed state legislature in May. Gov. Ritter believes that this package of bills will position Colorado as "a national leader in New Energy Economy."

Adding to a growing number of states seeking to increase their percentage of power from renewable sources, Gov. Jack Markell last week introduced the Delaware Clean Energy Jobs Act.  A key component of the legislation is increasing the state's Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), which governors often say generates job growth.

The overarching goal of the Delaware bill is to create a competitive climate for the clean energy market, which is addressed under four main goals, including:

Sandy Baruah has been selected to become the president and CEO of the Detroit Regional Chamber, effective March 15.

John Collar, the chief executive officer and president of the Colorado BioScience Association, resigned this week to pursue other business opportunities. Denise Brown has been selected serve as the organization's interim executive director while a search is conducted for Collar's replacement.

Ruth Cox has been named the executive director of the U.S. Fuel Cell Council.

Josh Lerner has been selected as the 2010 recipient of the Global Award for Entrepreneurship Research.

Marc Stanley is retiring as acting deputy director of National Institute of Standards and Technology. Stanley has served as director of the Technology Innovation Program (TIP) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology since December 31, 2007

Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell dropped his previous nomination, Robert Sledd, as his secretary for Commerce and Trade and instead nominated businessman James Cheng. Cheng, whose nomination needs to be confirmed by the Democratic-controlled Senate, was sworn in on January 17.

Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell said that the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) Secretary George Cornelius will step down on June 30 to become the president of Bridgewater College in Virginia.

Rick LeFaivre and Tom Clement are joining the UW Center for Commercialization as key deputies to vice provost Linden Rhoads. LeFaive will split his time evenly between the university and his other job as a managing director at OVP Venture Partners, while Clement is expected to work full-time for about 18 months.

The second installment of SSTI’s Tech Talkin’ Govs’ series includes excerpts from speeches delivered in Colorado, Virginia and West Virginia. Our first installment was in the Jan 13 Digest.

Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter, State of the State Address, Jan. 14, 2010 “Colorado voters were the first in the country to pass a renewable energy standard. … So, this session let’s think bigger, creating even larger markets for solar, wind, biomass, hydro and geothermal. Let’s increase our standard to 30 percent.

“This will trigger the creation of tens of thousands of new jobs, draw new capital investments and new companies to our state, and keep Colorado at the epicenter of America’s energy revolution. …

As economists and policymakers debate the details of how and when the nation will recover from the recession, the topic of entrepreneurship and the role it will play in shaping the new economy continually arises. In the coming years, some analysts predict a rise in entrepreneurship both as a result of massive layoffs and an aging workforce not yet ready or able to retire. Highlighting the correlation between joblessness and the uptick in entrepreneurship, several recent news articles have featured stories of the unemployed forgoing disappointing job searches and the corporate environment to pursue business ownership.

Outlining his Colorado Promise three years ago as a newly-elected governor, Gov. Bill Ritter envisioned an economy that supports high-wage jobs and offers an environment for businesses to expand and thrive. Educational programs would be synched with industry needs to produce a skilled workforce, workers would be trained in the high-demand fields relevant to each of the state's diverse regions, and enough businesses would be operating to employ them.

Two years later, Gov. Ritter convened the Jobs Cabinet, bringing together the state's economic development, education, and workforce communities to make recommendations for aligning jobs with industry needs. The cabinet presented to the governor last month a report and recommendations for achieving this goal in the report "Economic Competitiveness through Collaboration, Talent Development, and Innovation."

Rebecca Bagley, who left her position as deputy secretary for the Technology Investment Office within the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, was appointed president-elect of NorTech. Bagley will succeed Dorothy Baunach, the founding staff director of NorTech, as president and chief executive officer. Baunach will become president emeritus, serving as an adviser until December 2010. John Sider has been appointed to succeed Bagley. Prior to his appointment, Sider served as the director of venture investment for DCED.

Steve Crawford is leaving Brookings to take a new job as vice president for policy and research at CFED -- the Corporation for Enterprise Development in Washington, DC.

The Piedmont Triad Research Park laid off Bill Dean, director of the park, and Nancy Johnson, marketing director. Park officials said that the park's project manager and executive assistant also were laid off.

Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter announced that he has tapped Don Elliman, director of the Colorado Office of Economic Development, to serve as the state government's first chief operating officer.

Lawmakers across several western states have reached budget agreements for the upcoming fiscal year or biennium allocating decreased or level funding for tech-based economic development efforts. Lawmakers also passed new legislation supporting job-creation efforts and investments in alternative energy. While funding for many of these programs appear secure in FY10, additional spending cuts are anticipated in the coming months if state revenues continue to decline.

PatFerrier@coloradoan.com

Doug Johnson of UniverCity Connections believes a bill providing tax credits to angel investors putting their money into start-up companies will create hundreds of new jobs in Colorado and help stimulate the lagging state economy.

Sponsored by Democrat John Kefalas of Fort Collins, the bill is expected to cost about $1.5 million, a price that if not reconciled will likely kill it as the state grapples with a possible $1 billion shortfall through next year.

"I completely understand that unless we can come up with a non-general-fund way to pay for this, it will be difficult to get out of the finance committee," Kefalas said.

"I don't want to further strain the budget for next year, but this is a very good economic development tool that will ultimately increase revenue because it will help businesses move along and create jobs. My job now is to figure out how to pay for it."