FSBDC at Pinellas County Economic Development Director, Dr. Cynthia Johnson, earns Economic Development Finance Professional certification
CLEARWATER (January 30, 2014) – Dr. Cynthia Johnson, director of the FSBDC at Pinellas County Economic Development, received certification as an Economic Development Finance Professional (EDFP) from the National Development Council (NDC). EDFP certification is a professional credential given to individuals who successfully complete NDC’s intensive economic development finance training series.
The training provides individuals working in the field of economic development with instruction in business credit analysis, real estate financing, loan packaging, deal structuring and negotiating, and the creation and implementation of development programs.
Each of the four EDFP Certification Program courses are five days in length and conclude with an exam. Upon successful completion of all four courses, the candidate is awarded EDFP certification.
Johnson serves as center director for the FSBDC at PCED and senior manager of the business assistance division. She is an experienced business consultant with specialties in business planning, disaster mitigation, operations management, government procurement, as well as Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) grants. She directs a professional team of consultants that are committed to creating relevant relationships that assist in the creation of new businesses, leading to more and better jobs for Pinellas County. She is the project manager and certified facilitator for the FSBDC at PCED’s FastTrac® program, an award-winning training program for entrepreneurs.
Additionally, she is an adjunct professor at the University of South Florida and serves on the Florida High Tech Corridor Council’s SBIR/STTR Matching Grant Advisory Board. In 2010, she was nominated for business woman of the year by the Tampa Bay Business Journal and the St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce for her work with entrepreneurs and small business owners.
The National Development Council was established in 1969 and is a non-profit organization specializing in economic and housing development training and technical assistance for community development. NDC has provided training to more than 60,000 professionals working in the fields of economic and housing development. Participants come from diverse backgrounds including city and state governments, public agencies, community-based organizations, professional organizations and banks.
