Brent Christensen, “Economic Development 101” (February 10)

Brent Christensen, President and CEO, Greensboro Chamber of Commerce

Economic Development 101

In June 2015, Brent Christensen joined the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce as its President and CEO, where he leads the organization that includes Greensboro’s lead economic development organization as well as Launch Greensboro and Action Greensboro.

Before arriving in Greensboro, Christensen served for three years as the Executive Director of the Mississippi Development Authority (MDA), the state’s lead economic and community development agency. In this capacity, Christensen oversaw the agency’s services, ranging from traditional business recruitment, retention and expansion assistance to developing unique state assets, such as the creative economy, and implementing programs that support community development, small business growth, tourism, disaster recovery and other federal programs vital to Mississippi.

Prior to joining MDA, Christensen was the President and CEO of the Gainesville Area Chamber of Commerce in Gainesville, FL. There, he directed the operation of the chamber, the Council for Economic Outreach, which is the chamber’s economic development arm, and the Gainesville Technology Enterprise Center, the community’s high-tech business incubator. During his tenure, the chamber was awarded its 5-star accreditation by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, placing it among the top one percent of chambers of commerce nationwide.

Christensen holds an MBA from the University of South Florida and a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Public Policy Studies from Duke University.

This is a virtual event via Zoom. If interested in attending, please email pcash@greensbororotary. org to request access.

A limited number of slots are available for club members who want to attend in person this week at Natty Greene’s Downtown.  See the most recent Rotaryarns email for the SignUp Genius link. Registration is required for the in-person option.