New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) – new in 2013

Faculty Mentor: Deland Chan

Office Description:

NYCEDC is the City’s primary engine for economic development, charged with leveraging the City’s assets to drive growth, create jobs and improve quality of life. Within the structure of the larger organization, the Center for Economic Transformation (CET) at NYCEDC aims to develop the City’s major business sectors by implementing policy and programmatic initiatives that address current issues faced by each industry, create good jobs, and promote entrepreneurship and economic diversification across the five boroughs. CET works hand in hand with industry leaders to address the needs of New York City’s businesses by analyzing current economic trends; developing strategies that resolve the challenges facing each sector; and implementing programs that help businesses thrive and grow. With its offices situated in lower Manhattan, engaging with NYCEDC will give the SIG fellow the chance to live and work in the heart of New York City – the first time such an opportunity has been possible through SIG’s summer fellowship program.

Potential Projects:

Past fellows and summer interns with CET have worked on a diverse cross section of projects, including:

  • Developing a plan for vacant lot re-activation in low-income areas of NYC
  • Managing the marketing, applications, vetting, and organization of a week-long conference that brought Latin American tech entrepreneurs to NYC for networking and informational purposes
  • Implementing an internship practicum program aimed at increasing the employability of low income, low skilled workers by giving them work experience in in-demand knowledge economy occupations, such as healthcare IT, early childhood education, and web-based work

The SIG fellow can expect to be staffed to one or several projects over the course of the summer in areas as diverse as anti-poverty programs, entrepreneurship programs, fashion, cleantech, financial services, manufacturing, and mediatech.

Interested applicants should specify which practice areas they would be most interested in working on, and CET will do its best to match staffing with those interests. However, fellows should ultimately be flexible on the exact type of work that they will be doing, as all work contributes to the bottom line of growing the City’s economy.

Day to day responsibilities may involve coordinating external communications with CET stakeholders, participating in internal discussion over future CET project strategy, attending CET-hosted or affiliated conferences and events around town, writing blog posts, and organizing timely and relevant documents to support various CET projects.

Desired Personal Qualities:

• Self-starter – able to take a project, get it going, and be responsible for its success

• Flexible – willing to work on a diversity of issues affecting a wide variety of industries and policy areas

• Team-player – willing to engage productively with co-workers in meetings, presentations, and collaborative projects; there is no “I” in team

• Curious – willing to learn about the many variables, organizations, and actors that make the largest urban economy in the United States tick

• Outgoing – this is not a research job; it will involve constant interaction with other CETers and stakeholders

• Hard-working – slackers and resume-padders need not apply

Desired Skills, Experience, and Coursework:

• *Extremely strong oral and written communication skills*

• Coursework or work experience in urban issues, entrepreneurship, government, and economics is helpful background, but not required

• Some knowledge of public-private partnerships and initiatives will be helpful

• Strong Excel, Word, and Outlook skills will be helpful

• Strong analytical capabilities and substantial intellectual horsepower

Main Fellowship Disciplines:

NYCEDC is not looking for a fellow to have a specific major; opportunities within CET cross a wide variety of disciplines, reflecting the diversity of the NYC economy and the challenges inherent in helping it grow.

Languages:

English