![[photo, James O. Roberson, Maryland Secretary of Business and Employment Development]](/msa/mdmanual/12dbed/former/images/1198-1-05359b.jpg)
JAMES O. ROBERSON
Secretary of Economic and Community Development, June 1979 to 1983. Member, Governor's Executive Council, 1979-83. Member, Task Force on Permits Simplification, 1979-80; Maryland Council on the Economy, Environment, and Energy Production, 1979-83; Emergency Resources Priority Board, 1979-83; Governor's Commission on Hispanic Affairs, 1979-83; Maryland Industrial Development Financing Authority, 1979-83; Regional Planning Council, 1979-83; Maryland Small Business Development Financing Authority, 1979-83; State Use Industries Advisory Committee, 1979-83; State Development Council, 1980-83; Emergency Management Advisory Council, 1981-83; Interagency Committee on Aging Services, 1982-83.
Director, Rhode Island Department of Economic Development, 1973-77.
Head of economic development, Louisville, Kentucky, 1983-87.
Board of Directors, Charlotte Branch, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, 1996-2001.
Born in Lubbock,Texas, May 25, 1935. Baylor University, B.A. (journalism), 1956. Attended University of Houston Institute for Organizational Management; University of Oklahoma Economic Development Institute. Vice-President, Howard Research and Development Corporation, 1979. President and Chief Executive Officer, Research Triangle Foundation of North Carolina, 1988-2004. Chair, Board of Directors, 2004-06. Board of Directors, Wake Technical Community College Foundation, 2007-08. Board of Directors, North Carolina Biotechnology Center; Greater Triangle Regional Council; International Economic Development Council. Member, American Economic Development Council (past chair); National Association of State Development Agencies; Maryland Economic Development Association (Council of Past Presidents); Association of University-Related Research Parks (past president). President, Louisville Area Chamber of Commerce, 1984-91. Career Achievement Award, Association of University Research Parks, 2000. Lifetime Achievement Award, International Economic Development Council, 2002. Citizen of the World, Council on International Affairs, 2004. Married; five children.
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