JEREMY DUCKWORTH - INTENSIVE ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT July 2024

Jennifer Ryan

As GEDI celebrates its 40th class of the Intensive Economic Development Training Course, we have been chatting with some of our course alumni to learn where they are now and how their participation in the program has impacted their professional careers.

Jeremy Duckworth is currently the Chief Executive Officer at Central Alabama Redevelopment Alliance (CARA). Mr. Duckworth is a graduate of Intensive Class 2019.

Q & A with Jeremy

Job while attending the Intensive Program?

• Executive Director of the Western Communities Redevelopment Alliance

Career highlights since graduating Intensive?

• Since graduating from the Intensive course, I became the Co – Founder and CEO of the Central Alabama Redevelopment Alliance (CARA). CARA has created several impactful initiatives including the Central Alabama Micro Business Accelerator and the Alabama Small Business Resiliency Center. We have also assisted with launching the North Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce.
  
  Personally, I have been honored with several awards, including being recognized by the Birmingham Business Journal as one of the "Top 40 Under 40" in 2023, and by receiving one of the "People to Watch" awards in both 2021 and 2023. I also received the “Community First Hero Award” in 2021 and was named as one of the "12 Emerging Influencers to Know in Birmingham". I was honored to be selected to be a member of Leadership Birmingham's Class of 2023.

Favorite thing about the Intensive course?

• The People – I absolutely loved the relationships I built from my Intensive class.

Biggest lesson you learned through Intensive?

• The biggest lesson I learned is that economic development is all about relationships. Relationships are KEY.

Are you still in contact with people you met through Intensive? How have those connections helped you in your career?

• Yes. They have helped me tremendously. Because of our relationships, we were able to launch the Alabama Small Business Resiliency Council. As a member of the Alabama Resiliency Council (ARC), the Central Alabama Redevelopment Alliance (CARA) has created the Small Business Resiliency Committee (SBRC). This is to establish a pipeline for information dissemination for all the small business ecosystems across the ten MSAs in Alabama. As information becomes available from ARC, CARA will ensure the small business community is aware of the resources available to small business owners.
  
  The participation of Economic Development Organizations (EDO’s) across Alabama is necessary for information dissemination and potential resource deployment. The SBRC consists of individuals and representatives of regional organizations, research institutions, academia, private sector, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and other civic stakeholders that have an interest in small business resiliency and are committed to addressing small business sustainability. The SBRC represents a diverse group of stakeholders with expertise in different fields of relevance to disaster resiliency such as community development, economic development, asset protection, and disaster risk reduction.

What would you say to someone who is considering coming to the Intensive course but may be on the fence about making the time and financial commitment to attend?

• Intensive has been a transformative experience that equipped me with the strategic mindset and tools needed to lead impactful economic development initiatives. The program's comprehensive curriculum, coupled with its focus on practical application, has been instrumental in driving the success of our endeavors at the Central Alabama Redevelopment Alliance. I highly recommend Intensive for any leader seeking to accelerate positive change and foster economic growth.