The Economic Development Council of Jefferson County has selected a new executive director but before David Ballif steps in as the new executive director of EDC Team Jefferson, The Leader spoke with outgoing executive director Cindy Brooks, whose last day is June 4.

Brooks has thrived in the business of helping businesses. Before heading EDC Team Jefferson, which she began in November 2021, Brooks served as the economic recovery coordinator for the North Olympic Development Council. Prior to that she served as a business advisor for the Washington Small Business Development Center network, hosted by Washington State University.

She joined EDC during a bleak time for the country and the county.

“When I was hired, during COVID, this EDC wasn’t much more than one employee and a computer,” Brooks laughed.

Brooks explained that economic development councils, like EDC Team Jefferson, are Associate Development Organizations (ADO) that are under contract with Washington state to provide economic development services in the communities they represent.

There are currently 39 ADOs — known as EDCs in most areas — providing economic development services in Washington, under contract with the Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development.

Although such organizations exist as mandates of the Revised Code of Washington, Brooks made it her mission to turn EDC Team Jefferson into a high-functioning operation, by forging partnerships to enlist committed local funding, which could in turn be used to yield greater benefits to Jefferson County’s business community as a whole.

Brooks’ goals included the retention and expansion of Jefferson County businesses, which were disrupted by the same pandemic that had played havoc with the rest of the country, while also recognizing the economic conditions that are unique to this county.

“Jefferson County boasts a population of more than 30,000 people and roughly 5,000 registered businesses,” Brooks said. “But the majority of those businesses fall into a category of micro-enterprises, which is any business with five or fewer employees.”

Brooks noted how many smaller businesses are started by those with relatively little business experience, as well as the significant percentage of business start-ups that fail to succeed within their first few years.

“The point is that everyone could use a little advice,” Brooks said. “None of us are born knowing how to run a business. As an EDC, we want all the businesses in our community to be able to better understand their financials, efficiencies and marketing, to generate better sales. We work with businesses in every industry, from start-ups to businesses that are preparing to be sold.”

Brooks touted the North Olympic Peninsula Recompete Plan, for which Clallam and Jefferson counties partnered with five different tribal nations to receive approximately $35 million to revitalize the natural resources industries.

Under Brooks, EDC Team Jefferson has also made it a priority to connect students to career and technical education, through grants and training, as part of their larger mission to connect Jefferson County residents to the economic development services that are available.

“We’ve worked to make this county a center for more inclusive entrepreneurship,” Brooks said. “When each business can increase their profit margins, they can hire more people from within the county. When local businesses can do business with each other, rather than having to rely on businesses outside the community, it creates a more resilient and resourceful network within the community. Rather than having everyone bunker down in their own silos, we should want to foster a mosaic of local industries, to avoid a brain-drain.”

By hiring a Community Workforce Coordinator, and working with Clallam and Kitsap counties, Brooks hopes her tenure at EDC Team Jefferson has helped put Jefferson County at “the hub of the wheel” economically.

“Our EDC has considered what this county is seeking to become,” Brooks said. “We’ve sought out grants and programs for areas that can often feel left out, from Queets to Quilcene and Brinnon, while striving to bridge the gaps between the east and west sides of the county.”

Brooks was effusive in sharing credit with her EDC Team for their joint successes, from finance and engagement manager Nick Walker, and operations and communications manager Laura Brooks (“No relation,” Cindy Brooks laughed), to business advisor Patty Schmucker, social media outreach coordinator Kim Carver and Jacob Cravey, whom she singled out for his role in working with the west side of the county.

The EDC Team Jefferson summary of Brooks’ stint with their organization praises “her wholehearted approach to leadership,” which they state is “based in relationship building, developmental processes and regenerative systems thinking.”

EDC Team Jefferson’s statement also cites Brooks’ “demonstrated knowledge of rural entrepreneurship and business ownership models that support community health and wealth, including cooperative development, social ventures, public-private partnerships, and hybrid organizations.”

Brooks, a resident of

North Beach in Port Townsend, is not rushing to assume a new role.

“I’ll have to have a deep think before I decide what to do next,” Brooks said. “I’ve spent so much time managing different projects that I’d like to spend more time examining the assumptions on which our current business thinking is grounded. What sorts of growth should we be seeking?”