- Titles
- Executive Director
Chair of the Board - Years
- 2003–2005
- Where
- Duluth, MN
Executive Director, September 2003 to August 2004
- Hired by the board (chair Barry Dahl) in August 2003 and started the week of September 8, with offices at 11 East Superior Street
- Led the 501(c)(3) under a $150,000 professional services agreement with the Duluth Economic Development Authority (DEDA), coordinating academic, business, and government leaders
- Launched e-City Duluth for Mayor Herb Bergson: internet kiosks across the city, an eight-block free Wi-Fi zone downtown, and the duluthguide.com portal. The mayor called the effort “exemplary”
- Wrote monthly activity reports, quarterly reports, and an annual report for DEDA and the City; dissolved the Soft Center International fee arrangement
- Negotiated the DEDA lease for 2,100 square feet of admin space, 4,400 square feet of flex space, and a 3,000-square-foot incubator
- Recommended the University of Minnesota Duluth run the incubator and that the full-time executive director role end once DEDA funding was eliminated in July 2004
Chair of the Board, 2004 to May 2005
- Chaired the board from the Twin Cities while beginning doctoral coursework; led the final board meeting on May 20, 2005
- Chaired the e-City Duluth committee for Mayor Bergson until handing it to Jake Stupak in May 2005
The job he didn’t take
- Jim Hill, his former Sun manager, recruited him for Proofpoint Systems, a performance-improvement consultancy with a federal (TSA) contract. First conversation April 2, 2003; terms discussed by phone on December 30, 2003 and in writing on January 7, 2004, as an independent contractor with a February 1, 2004 start. He stayed with the Soft Center and the Ph.D.