Fairfax County EDA president authors book on reinventing local and regional economies

Book highlights more than two dozen examples of US communities and regions struggling to turn the tide after national and global economic downturn

Fairfax County, Virginia USA, Monday, October 24, 2011 -

Gerald L. Gordon, Ph.D., president and CEO of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA), has written “Reinventing Local and Regional Economies,” (CRC Press), which examines how communities are remaking their local economies in the wake of long-term economic decline and more recent global economic trends.

Dr. Gordon, who has led the FCEDA since 1983, interviewed more than 70 mayors, economic development professionals, chamber of commerce executives and university presidents and other community leaders to document two dozen case studies of how communities have reacted, successfully and unsuccessfully, to local, national and global economic trends. He also drew from his experience in Fairfax County, which the Washington Post recently called “the economic wunderkind of Virginia and in many ways of the Washington area…a magnet for government contractors and other major corporations.”

The book is a follow-up to Dr. Gordon’s 2009 book, “The Formula for Economic Growth on Main Street America” (CRC Press), and comes out as localities across the United States and the world try to regain their economic footing and plan for the future.

“Cities and regions across the country are now experiencing the same economic hardship that others have confronted. The community leaders who lived through these difficult times and worked to reinvent their economies have both positive and negative lessons to offer, lessons that can provide great value to other cities and regions as they address similar issues and seek workable solutions,” Gordon said.

“Reinventing Local and Regional Economies” highlights cities as varied as Birmingham, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Pittsburgh as well as Fairfax County to provide case studies on how communities have tried – some successfully, some unsuccessfully – to stabilize their economies through diversification, create industrial clusters and support systems, build entrepreneurial businesses, enhance community assets, build bridges between the public and private sectors, and use incentives to spur economic development.

Dr. Gordon has taught at the University of Maryland, George Mason University, Virginia Commonwealth University, and The Catholic University of America. He has consulted with numerous local and state governments throughout the U.S. and around the world, as well as the United States Navy, businesses, nonprofit organizations, associations, colleges and universities, and the United Nations.

Dr. Gordon is a Fulbright Senior Scholar and is the author of 12 books and numerous articles on strategic planning, economic development, leadership styles, and other management topics. In 2006, Dr. Gordon became the first American to address the All-Parliamentary Exports Group in the British House of Commons. In 2010, Virginia Business magazine named Dr. Gordon its Virginia Business Person of the Year and the Virginia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce presented him with its Bridge Builder Award for his work to promote a diverse business community.

Click here to view the book cover design.