BIRMINGHAM, Ala./PALM BEACH, Fla. – Jeff Traywick, Senior Project Manager for the Birmingham Business Alliance’s (BBA) economic development division, has been selected as a a recipient of the economic development profession’s 40 Under 40 awards, the only award of its kind recognizing young talent in the economic development profession.
A five-member selection committee chose the recipients from a pool of more than 157 candidates based on their exceptional contributions to the economic development industry. The award’s program was managed by Development Counsellors International (DCI), a New York-based firm that specializes in economic development marketing.
“Jeff has worked with the BBA as Senior Project Manager since 2011, and during those four years his work has had a significant impact on Birmingham,” said Brian Hilson, president and CEO of the BBA. “Economic development requires teamwork, careful thought, a strong desire to win, and perhaps most important, a genuine desire to bring benefit to the community we serve. Jeff has all of those attributes. The companies, consultants and other economic developers who work with Jeff really appreciate how he works tirelessly and gets things accomplished.”
During the last five years in economic development, Traywick has managed or worked on 56 announced economic development projects that have resulted in more than $199 million in announced capital investment and 1,786 jobs. Before joining the BBA, Jeff served as the Manager of Parks and Properties for the City of Bessemer, Alabama’s Industrial Development Board, where he carried out the economic development mission of the city and managed the industrial development board’s portfolio of 34 industrial properties and other assets.
“I am thankful for this recognition from DCI,” said Traywick. “I have been blessed to have worked in economic development in the Birmingham region for the past 13 years. It has been a wonderful opportunity to work with our regional economic development allies and elected officials to showcase the assets of the Birmingham area to new companies and also to work with our much appreciated existing industries.”
Another economic development professional from Alabama, Christina Stimpson, director of international trade for Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce, also received DCI’s 40 Under 40 award.
DCI’s 40 Under 40 award was designed to discover the economic development profession’s rising stars.
“The people chosen by the selection committee represent a bright future for the economic development world,” said Andy Levine, president of DCI. “They are a new breed of results-driven place makers. We’re very pleased to see Jeff among the winners.”
DCI officially announced the winners at an awards reception during the International Economic Development Council Leadership Summit in Palm Beach and will feature an in-depth profile of each on its website during 2015.
For more information on DCI’s 40 Under 40 winners, visit www.aboutdci.com/40under40.
