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1050 K Street NW
Suite 400
Washington, D.C. 20001
T 202.589.2849
F 202.312.7460

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Phillip A. Singerman |

Senior Vice President


Professional Experience

Phillip Singerman is a recognized national innovator in public/private partnerships to promote local economic development. His 30-year career includes positions in the public — local, state, and federal levels — and private sectors.

Singerman's expertise includes program development and implementation of technology transfer and commercialization programs with universities and federal laboratories, business incubation and research park facilities, seed funds for early stage companies, and special cooperative agreements with federal agencies. Singerman is particularly knowledgeable about federal economic development programs and has been effective in leveraging federal funds for local economic development programs.

Singerman has developed a particular expertise in the intersection between environmental policy and economic development; has spoken at numerous national conferences; and serves on the National Advisory Board of Climate Prosperity, Inc. (an initiative funded by the Rockefeller Bros. Fund), on the Advisory Board of the Maryland Clean Energy Center and as a judge of the 2010 Siemens Sustainable Community Awards (a program of the U.S. Chamber's Business Civic Leadership Center). He recently completed an engagement to develop a Green Tech Strategy for Montgomery County, MD, and prepared a report on Green Jobs Development on behalf of Living Cities for the City of Philadelphia.

Singerman was appointed U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development by President Bill Clinton and served from 1995-1999. In this position, he directed the Economic Development Administration (EDA), the federal government's lead economic development agency, whose $400 million annual budget provided grants to hundreds of distressed communities.

Singerman was the founding chief executive of two of the best-known state-sponsored technology-based economic development organizations: Pennsylvania's Ben Franklin Partners Program in Philadelphia and the Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO). Ben Franklin Partners is longest lasting state technology development organization and serves as a model for the states; TEDCO is regarded as the most innovative new organization. In July 2008, Entrepreneur Magazine rated TEDCO #1 and Ben Franklin #3 among the nation's most active 100 seed capital venture funds.

Prior to joining B&D Consulting, Singerman was a Managing Director at Toucan Capital Fund II, LP, a $120 million private venture capital firm, investing in early stage life science companies. Toucan Capital's portfolio includes two dozen companies, with activities in India, China, and Europe.

Singerman has served on numerous boards and commissions, including the State Science and Technology Institute, the Tech Council of Maryland, East Baltimore Incubator (a collaborative project of the City of Baltimore and Johns Hopkins University), the International Economic Development Council and the U.S. Department of Commerce's Advisory Committee on Strengthening America's Communities Initiative. 

Singerman previously held policy development and program management positions in local governments and state municipal associations in New Haven, Philadelphia, and Connecticut and taught at Barnard College (Columbia University), Yale College, and the Fels Center of Government (University of Pennsylvania). He received his B.A. from Oberlin College, a Ph.D. from Yale University and served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Colombia, South America.

Professional Associations
  • Economic Development Quarterly — Editorial Board
  • Maryland Clean Energy Center — Advisory Board
  • Climate Prosperity Project, Inc. — National Advisory Board

Presentations

  • "Securing Federal Support for Your TBED Agency," SSTI's 13th Annual Conference, Overland Park, Kansas, October 23, 2009
    [Download .ppt]
  • "Sustainability Initiatives in Regions: Stimulus Funding Related to Sustainability and The Rockefeller Fund Climate Prosperity Project," presented to the Board of Trustees, Partners for Livable Communities, May 12, 2009
  • "Sustainability: On the Cutting Edge," Southeast Workforce and Economic Development Conference, Atlanta, Ga., May 4, 2009
  • "Navigating the New Washington: New Wine in Old Bottles," presented to the National Business Incubator Association, Kansas City, Mo., March 20, 2009
  • "Navigating the New Washington: Old Wine in New Bottles," presented to the IEDC 2009 Federal Economic Development Forum, Washington, D.C., March 15, 2009
  • "Federal Funding for Research Parks: A Practitioner's Perspective on Washington," presented to the Tri-Cities Research District, Richland, Wash., March 5, 2009
  • "The Impact of Climate Change Policy on Economic Development Programs," University Economic Development Association 2008 Summit, St. Petersburg, Fla., November 10, 2008
  • "Climate Change Policy and Local Economic Development,"  International Economic Development Council's (IDEC) 8th Annual Conference; Atlanta, Ga., October 20, 2008
  • "Strategic Use of Federal Programs to Support Technology-Based Economic Development," SSTI's 12th Annual Conference: Encouraging Regional Innovation; Cleveland, Ohio, October 14, 2008
  • "Climate Change Policy and Economic Development Practice," Tech Council of Maryland's (TCM's) Clean & Green Tech Conference, Bethesda, Md.,  October 2, 2008
  • "Keynote Address," Economic Development Administration Regional Conference, Denver, Colo., September 9, 2008
  • "Tapping into the Potential of Bio-Science and Bio-Medicine Innovations," Panelist, Economic Development Administration Conference, Cleveland, Ohio, May 13, 2008
  • "Acquiring Venture Capital and Private Equity," Panelist, Economic Development Administration Conference, New Orleans, La., April 18, 2008

Publications

  • "Commentary: Locally Driven Investment Program Best Bet to Retool Midwest," co-author with Sandy K. Baruah, Detroit News, April 13, 2010

  • "The Climate Prosperity Handbook: Green Savings, Green Opportunities and Green Talent," co-author with Shari Garmise and Liz Thorstensen, International Economic Development Council, July 2009

  • "Repurposing Federal Economic Development Programs: A Practitioners Perspective," Economic Development Quarterly, May 2008

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