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Economic Development

Team Leader David Dodd is Solutient’s primary in economic development. He has extensive experience in development finance. For four years, while serving at the Shreveport Chamber, David was also the north Louisiana representative of the Louisiana Partnership for Technology and Innovation, which provided pre-seed and seed capital to emerging technology-based companies throughout Louisiana. He worked closely with the Louisiana Partnership and the Louisiana Department of Economic Development during establishment of the Business and Industrial Development Corporation (BIDCO) industry in Louisiana, which provides capital to high growth companies. He is a former board member of Gulf Coast BIDCO, based in Baton Rouge, LA. In 1996, he helped launch and secure funding for the first BIDCO in Alaska, Alaska Growth Capital BIDCO. He led their successful application for CDFI designation and funding, the first to a Native-American owned CDFI, plus led their successful effort to obtain SBA 7(a) lender designation.

In 2000, he worked with the Coordinating and Development Corporation to form a second BIDCO, Red River Valley BIDCO, a fund that grew to over $22 million in assets thanks to the Louisiana Community Development Finance Tax Credit Program, which he co-created. He also ran one of the first angel capital networks in the US, the Shreveport Venture Forum, and chartered a minority-owned Small Business Investment Company.

Mr. Dodd is a nationally recognized instructor on development finance, teaching at the University of Oklahoma’s Economic Development Institute, the Southern Institute for Rural Development, the Georgia Tech basic economic development course, and at economic and community development conferences in 27 states and four countries. Internationally, David has addressed the Australian Parliament and the Development Bank of Japan on successful development finance initiatives in the U.S. David co-authored “Economic Development in the New Millennium” published by the American Economic Development Council, and has authored numerous articles on capital, collaboration, and industry clusters.

In 2007, he was honored to be asked to serve on the advisory board of the National New Markets Tax Credit Fund, a $237 million New Markets Tax Credit allocation fund based in Los Angeles. In 2006, NNMF received a $25 million Gulf Opportunity Zone New Markets Tax Credit allocation. David worked with NNMF Managing Director-Real Estate Monica Edwards and Co-Founder Deborah La Franchi to identify and qualify projects for successful investment of those funds for economic recovery in the New Orleans/Gulf Coast region. To date, almost $130 million in National New Markets Tax Credit Fund NMTC allocations have been invested in that region.

Economic Development Team