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2022 Ecosystem Summit

2022 ecosystem summit

Esse quam videri – TO BE rather than to seem 

NC IDEA hosted its 4th annual Ecosystem Summit on November 14-15, 2022 in Winston-Salem, NC. The Summit is the only statewide conference that brings
together diverse leaders to address what is needed to support all entrepreneurs and
create a shared vision of making our state the best place to start and grow a business.

In 2022, attendees reconnected in person to showcase the growth of our entrepreneurial ecosystem that has supported a record-breaking number of new high-propensity firm filings since 2020. Nearly 500 attendees joined us from around the state representing: Universities, HBCUs, Community Colleges, Small Business Centers, CDFIs, Economic Development Organizations, Public School Administrators, Foundations and Philanthropists, county and local government officials, policy makers and inspirational entrepreneurs.

Since our inaugural Summit in 2019, NC IDEA continues to foster partnerships and unique connections that will make a meaningful difference for North Carolina’s entrepreneurial community. We invite you to join hundreds of accomplished peers working together to redefine equitable economic development practices.

2022 AGENDA

Featured Speakers

SEE SPEAKER LINEUP
Greg LeRoy

Greg LeRoy

Good Jobs First
John Lettieri

John Lettieri

Economic Innovation Group (EIG)
Teryn Zmuda

Teryn Zmuda

National Association of Counties

2022 Sponsors

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CONTACT

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CONTACT

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Greg LeRoy

Executive Director

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Dubbed “the leading national watchdog of state and local economic development subsidies,” and “an encyclopedia of information regarding subsidies,” Greg LeRoy founded and directs Good Jobs First, a research and policy center promoting accountability in economic development. His two books include The Great American Jobs Scam, which Publishers Weekly called “…a parade of damning case studies showing why communities should not woo corporations with subsidies.” GJF has published two multistate studies showing that incentive programs and development agencies seriously shortchange small, local and entrepreneurial firms.

GJF is home to Subsidy Tracker, Tax Break Tracker, Violation Tracker, Amazon Tracker, and Covid Stimulus Watch. GJF led the campaign for Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) Statement 77 on Tax Abatement Disclosures, a landmark in U.S. municipal finance. It requires most localities, for the first time, to disclose how much revenue they lose to tax abatement programs.

John Lettieri

Co-Founder, President & CEO

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John Lettieri is Co-Founder, President, and CEO of the Economic Innovation Group (EIG), a bipartisan public policy organization based in Washington, D.C., dedicated to forging a more dynamic and inclusive American economy. John’s career in public policy has included time in both the public and private sectors working with a diverse set of policymakers, entrepreneurs, investors, and global business leaders. Prior to EIG, John was the Vice President of Public Policy and Government Affairs for a leading business association, the Organization for International Investment (OFII), where he led the organization’s state and federal policy work on such issues as tax reform, trade, investment promotion, and manufacturing. Before joining OFII, John was Director of Public and Government Affairs for a global aerospace manufacturer. He previously served as a foreign policy aide to former U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel, who was then a senior member of the United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

John is frequently invited to testify before Congress and speak to audiences around the country on issues ranging from immigration reform to labor market competition to entrepreneurship and improving access to economic opportunity for all Americans. His commentary and analysis have been cited in the AP, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, CSPAN, CNBC, Daily Beast, Fast Company, Financial Times, Fox News, The Hill, NPR, New York Times, Tax Notes, Time, USA Today, Vox, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, Las Vegas Review-Journal, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, San Francisco Chronicle, and others. John is a graduate of Wake Forest University where he studied Political Science and Global Commerce. He has served in a number of outside leadership positions, including as a member of the Board of Regents at The Fund for American Studies, the Board of Directors for Lincoln Network, and the Board of Directors for Friends of the National Zoo. He was a visiting fellow at the American Enterprise Institute from 2018-2020.

Teryn Zmuda

Chief Economist and Chief Research Officer

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Teryn Zmuda is the Chief Research Officer and Chief Economist at the National Association of Counties (NACo), overseeing the Programs and Practices Division and the Research and Data Analytics Division. Teryn leads efforts to promote NACo as a thought leader, leveraging research and best practices to elevate the county role across the spectrum of local government authorities and policy implementation, within the nation’s intergovernmental system. She also leads NACo’s economic analysis, representing the county perspective in federal policy, and guides the development of the issue-focused programmatic work, including peer learning networks and cohorts. Teryn holds an M.A. in Applied Economics from George Washington University and a B.A. in Sociology from the University of Maryland.