About Laura James

Laura is CVEP's Vice President of Innovation, and is also a sports fanatic, music lover, and consumer technology junkie. With an undergraduate degree in education, certificates in economic development, nonprofit management, and information systems management, and an M.B.A., she helps tech founders prove that business has the power to make the world an amazing place. Laura is the only Certified Economic Developer (CEcD) in the Coachella Valley.

New Partnership Benefits Palm Desert Businesses

By |2023-08-08T14:58:51-07:00August 7th, 2023|Categories: Business Development, Economic Development, News|Tags: , , , |

For business owners, or those who dream of starting a business, the Coachella Valley is an ideal place to be. With numerous business-centric organizations and a strong movement among local chambers of commerce and consumers to shop locally, support networks in the Coachella Valley are in many ways stronger than those in other, similarly sized [...]

CVEP’s CEO Named One of the Top 50 Economic Developers in North America

By |2023-06-01T16:28:42-07:00June 1st, 2023|Categories: Economic Development, News|Tags: , , |

The Coachella Valley Economic Partnership (CVEP) announced that Chief Executive Officer, Joe Wallace, has been named one of the of top 50 Economic Developers in North America in 2023 – the only one in California and one of three in the western states. Recipients will be presented with their award at Consultant Connect’s ECONOMIX event [...]

Moducan Corporation One of RivCo’s Top Three Innovative Companies

By |2023-05-08T10:53:48-07:00May 8th, 2023|Categories: Innovation, News|Tags: , , , , , |

Every year during the month of April, CVEP and numerous partners celebrate Riverside County Innovation Month. Innovation Month's signature events are a series of Shark-Tank-style Fast Pitch competitions held in distinct regions throughout the county. The winners of each of these regional pitch competitions met on April 27 to compete to claim the title of [...]

Entrepreneurs and City Leaders Meet to Celebrate Innovation Month

By |2023-04-24T20:29:00-07:00April 24th, 2023|Categories: Economic Development, Innovation, News|Tags: , , , , |

Cities invest in economic development programs for many reasons, including enabling job creation and strengthening the economic base of their communities. One increasingly important part of many cities' economic development strategies is entrepreneurial development. Entrepreneurial development programs support high-potential local businesses through startup and growth phases, leading to job creation and increased business success rates. [...]

Moducan Corporation Wins Coachella Valley Fast Pitch

By |2023-04-07T16:44:58-07:00April 7th, 2023|Categories: Innovation, News|Tags: , , , , , , , , |

CVEP and Riverside County Office of Economic Development have joined forces again this April to celebrate Riverside County Innovation Month. As part of the monthlong celebration of innovation, local entrepreneurs and the public were invited to participate in the region’s signature Innovation Month event, Coachella Valley Fast Pitch, hosted by CVEP. Coachella Valley Fast Pitch [...]

Laura James to Speak at 2023 IEDC Leadership Summit

By |2023-01-24T21:04:13-08:00January 24th, 2023|Categories: Economic Development, News|Tags: , , |

Economic development leaders from across the globe will convene next week in Tucson, Arizona for the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) 2023 Leadership Summit. The sold-out conference will feature three distinct learning tracks for leaders to choose from: The Intersection of Innovation and Economic Development: Strategies for entrepreneurial and workforce development that will help leaders [...]

Join Us For Coachella Valley Fast Pitch 2022

By |2022-04-02T11:22:17-07:00April 1st, 2022|Categories: Innovation, News|Tags: , , , , , , , |

Riverside County Innovation Month is a chance to celebrate all types of innovators. On the official events calendar, you might find webinars, workshops, podcast premieres, networking events, virtual tours, and more. But the real showcase of Innovation Month is the series of Regional Fast Pitch events and the Fast Pitch Finale. One of only four [...]

CVEP Leaders Speak at IEDC Leadership Summit

By |2022-02-11T18:15:06-08:00February 11th, 2022|Categories: Economic Development, Innovation, News|Tags: , , |

Economic development leaders from all across the country recently traveled to the Coachella Valley for the 2022 IEDC Leadership Summit: the first in-person IEDC conference since the beginning of the pandemic. CVEP CEO Joe Wallace and CVEP VP Laura James had the honor of speaking at the Summit's first and most widely attended breakout session: [...]

Apply to One of Our Pioneering iHub Programs

By |2022-03-15T14:58:19-07:00December 20th, 2021|Categories: Innovation|Tags: , , , |

When an entrepreneur or a small business comes to us for assistance, the first step is determining what type of assistance is really needed. Because the iHub program receives a fair amount of publicity, many assume that they should apply to the iHub as the mandatory first step on a path to success. For some [...]

CVEP Honored with IEDC Excellence in Economic Development Award

By |2021-10-06T14:46:31-07:00October 6th, 2021|Categories: Economic Development, News|Tags: , , , |

Coachella Valley Economic Partnership (CVEP) won a Silver Rank for its Fast Pitch Greater Palm Springs, a project in the category of Special Event of the International Economic Development Council (IEDC). The honor was announced this week at an awards ceremony during the IEDC Annual Conference in Nashville, TN. “Fast Pitch Greater Palm Springs is [...]

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