Initiatives
Collaborative Economics

The Mission and Team of the firm of Collaborative Economics

Burgess COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

Contact 520 S. El Camino Real, Suite 710 San Mateo, CA 94402 | 650.235.8323

ABOUT

Our passion is building teams of civic entrepreneurs who can turn ideas into action, transforming their communities, regions, and states.

We act as your strategic partner, combining our talents with yours to create breakthroughs that would not otherwise be possible. Our founders are alumni of a major consulting firm, SRI International, who 20 years ago chose to form a more agile, innovative, and cost effective alternative. Our promise is that collaboration will lead to action, rather than a quantitative study that has no further impact.

Collaborative Economics has a strong track record of producing results and a long list of satisfied clients who regularly refer other civic entrepreneurs to us.

THE TEAM

Doug Henton | Chairman and CEO Doug Henton has more than 30 years of experience in economic and community development at the national, state, regional, and local levels. Doug is nationally recognized for his work in bringing industry, government, education, research, and community leaders together around specific collaborative projects to improve regional competitiveness. Doug founded Collaborative Economics in July 1993 after a decade as assistant director of SRI International’s Center for Economic Competitiveness. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Economics from Yale University and a Master of Public Policy degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

Contact Doug ... henton (at) coecon.com

John Melville | President and COO Over the past 20 years, John and his partners have worked with public and private leaders in over 40 communities across the U.S. and abroad, helping them launch concrete, collaborative initiatives to improve regional innovation, economic development, and quality of life. John has worked extensively in California to help develop regional innovation and economic strategies for Silicon Valley, Sonoma, Sacramento, Tri-Valley, Santa Barbara, San Diego, the Central Valley, and others. John co-founded Collaborative Economics in July 1993 after a decade as a senior policy analyst with SRI International’s Center for Economic Competitiveness. He holds an B.A. with honors in Political Science from Stanford University.

Contact John ... melville (at) coecon.com

Francie Genz | Project Manager Francie Genz is a project manager at Collaborative Economics where she focuses on regional economic strategies, workforce development, and the clean economy. She has managed projects focused on fostering regional collaboration, strengthening workforce development, and aligning regional and state leaders around a triple-bottom-line agenda for economic growth. Prior to joining Collaborative Economics, Francie worked to remove employment barriers facing immigrant professionals at Upwardly Global, a national nonprofit organization. Francie holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Development Studies from McGill University and a Master of Public Policy from the University of California, Berkeley.

Contact Francie ... genz (at) coecon.com

Bridget Gibbons | Design Manager Bridget Gibbons has more than 10 years of design experience, including logo, identity, graphic and web design. As COECON’s Design Manager, she helps translate complex ideas and data into graphic visual representations for our clients. She has designed and managed the overall look and feel of such projects as Clean Economy Solutions, the Index of the Massachusetts Innovation Economy (which included a companion web portal) and the California Economic Summit. Bridget holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theatre History and Criticism from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Kim Held | Project Manager Kim Held has worked at Collaborative Economics since 2010. In this time, she has led studies examining regional economies and innovation assets particularly in Silicon Valley but also in other regions throughout the country. Her work at Collaborative Economics includes synthesizing data, research findings and interview results into comprehensive documents. Report topics have ranged from the manufacturing industry and corporate citizenship to the economy of the North Shore of Oahu. Kim holds a Bachelor's degree in History from University California, Los Angeles and graduated with honors.

Contact Kim ... held (at) coecon.com

Janine Kaiser | Project Manager Janine Kaiser is a project manager with a focus on regional economic growth strategy, clean economy and technology commercialization. She specializes in quantitative analysis, including survey and econometric research methods, building on experience at Eaton Corporation and as a field research project manager in Mexico. Her work at COECON also includes providing technical assistance to regional teams with diverse stakeholders to help achieve economic, policy and/or workforce gains. Janine holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics, Spanish and International Studies from Case Western Reserve University, and a Master of Public Policy from the University of California, Berkeley.

Contact Janine ... kaiser (at) coecon.com

Jessie Oettinger | Project Manager Jessie Oettinger has been a project manager at Collaborative Economics since 2011 and involved in workforce development work since 2008. At Collaborative Economics, Jessie manages a variety of projects from hands-on technical assistance coaching with workforce development and sector partnership clients to generating white papers on emerging fields such as innovation infrastructure. Jessie holds a B.A. from the University of Oregon and a Master of Public Policy from the Goldman School at the University of California, Berkeley.

Contact Jessie ... oettinger (at) coecon.com

Renae Steichen | Clean Economy Practice Manager Renae Steichen manages the Clean Economy practice area at COECON, bringing energy and environmental expertise to economic strategy, policy analysis, and workforce development projects. She has led the research, analysis, and writing for a number of reports at Collaborative Economics, as well as providing technical assistance by working directly with cross-functional teams in California regions and organizations across the country. Previously, Renae worked for five years in Washington, D.C. as a sustainability and policy analyst for private and public organizations. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Politics and Environmental Policy from Drake University and a Master of Public Policy from The George Washington University.

Contact Renae ... steichen (at) coecon.com