The Corporation for Economic Opportunity (CEO) is a non-profit, tax-exempt corporation, which helps disadvantaged communities and individuals begin to reach their full economic potential. Our goal is to promote prosperity for all.
CEO's
staff and strategic partners design and implement new economic and
community development initiatives, secure program and project funding
and financing, and help develop and strengthen partnerships with public
and private entities capable of improving the economic status of our
clients.
CEO
provides the following services and assistance to its various clients
and those who would invest in such targeted communities:
Local Governments, Communities, Business Groups and Institutions
- Develop
and implement an Economic and/or Community Development Strategy
- Assist
or Serve as Project Manager
- Secure
program and/or project funding and financing
- Develop
strategic partnerships that support local growth and jobs
Corporations and Real Estate Developers
- Find
attractive, cost-effective sites
- Develop
strong partnerships with local government and the community
- Secure
and develop creative funding, financing and incentive packages
- Help
to include local and minority businesses in projects
Small and Minority Businesses
- Secure
cost-effective managerial and technical assistance from a variety of
sources
- Secure
creative sources of funding and financing
- Promote
company growth through project participation initiatives and expanded
procurement opportunities
CEO's PRESIDENT &
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Joseph
J. James is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation
for Economic Opportunity (CEO), a non-profit economic development
organization that helps disadvantaged individuals and communities reach
their economic potential. On behalf of CEO’s clients, Mr. James designs
and implements new economic development initiatives, secures funding
and financing and develops and strengthens partnerships with a number
of public and private entities, interested in the economic status of
his clients.
Mr.
James is also Managing Member of Mainstream Business Enterprises, LLC,
which is an entity certified to provide 39% tax credits for eligible
projects, under the U. S. Treasury Department’s New Markets Tax Credit
Program. He is also President & CEO of South Carolina
Scientific, Inc., which converts federal and university-based
technologies into new commercial products and services.
Mr.
James has spent nearly thirty-five years working in economic
development. His experience includes top-level positions in Austin,
Chicago, Columbia, Philadelphia, Richmond, and the Washington, DC area.
He has built a successful track record in each place he has been,
utilizing effective collaboration with business associations,
universities and community-based organizations, as well as with local,
state and federal governmental agencies.
Mr.
James is experienced in managing a full array of economic development
activities, including business attraction and retention programs,
industrial development, international business, small business
assistance programs, high-tech initiatives, financing and grant program
administration, large retail development projects, neighborhood
commercial revitalization programs, as well as in assisting individual
retailers.
He
has developed and implemented strategies to promote investment and jobs
in distressed areas and helped improve Enterprise Zone Programs in four
states. CEO has been selected as one of only seven
organizations around the country to serve as a host provider of
programs to support economic development and small and minority
business development in distressed areas.
Mr.
James has distinguished himself in the design and implementation of
several programs to assist in the growth and development of minority
businesses. He was responsible for the creation and
funding of the National Capitol Minority Business Opportunity
Committee, which helps minority firms in the greater Washington, DC
area secure government and private sector work.
Mr.
James has also been involved in a variety of tourism development
activities. He has served on the board of directors of the Chicago
Convention and Tourism Bureau, the Prince George's County Visitors and
Tourism Board and was a member of the Governor's Tourism Advisory
Roundtable in Virginia. He has helped attract and host a variety of
tourism events, including Chicago's hosting of World Cup soccer games
and five National Championships of the American Tennis Association, in
three different cities.
Mr.
James is a member of and has served on the Board of the South Carolina
Economic Developer’s Association and has been a Governor’s appointee on
South Carolina’s Workforce Investment Board. He invests in fast-growing companies as a member of the Charleston and Columbia Angel Partners. He
is actively involved in the South Carolina Competitiveness Initiative,
serving on the Education and Workforce Task Force and supporting the
creation and operation of agricultural and forestry business clusters.
He
has served on several national boards, including the American
Association of Enterprise Zones, the International Economic Development
Council and the Social Venture Network. Mr. James is a founding board
member of the Southern Association for the Utilization of Biomass
Resources (SAUBR). He is also a member of the International Council of
Shopping Centers (ICSC) and has served on an ICSC task force, which has
developed strategies to help attract retail to underserved areas. Mr. James serves on the Education Constituent Roundtable of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). He
is a Life-Member of the American Tennis Association and serves on the
Public Affairs Committee of the United States Tennis Association.
Mr.
James was born in Glen Ridge, New Jersey. He received a BS in Science
from Union College, in Schenectady, New York, and studied law and
business administration at New York University. He has also received
various awards and certifications in his field of work.
