About Laura James

Laura is CVEP's CEO, 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.

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 [...]

Announcing the Inaugural CVEP Economic Development Week Award Winners

By |2021-05-17T16:18:17-07:00May 15th, 2021|Categories: Economic Development, News|Tags: , , , , |

The Coachella Valley Economic Partnership (CVEP) celebrated Economic Development Week from May 9-15, 2021. Adding to the celebration this year, CVEP's inaugural Economic Development Week Awards recognize local individuals, companies, and organizations for their significant contributions to economic development in the Greater Palm Springs region. The awards are destined to become a highlight of Economic [...]

CV Entrepreneur Wins 1st Place at RivCo Fast Pitch Finale

By |2021-04-30T16:21:51-07:00April 30th, 2021|Categories: Innovation, News|Tags: , , , , , |

Technology entrepreneur Bear Simerson is the first entrepreneur from the Greater Palm Springs area to come in first at the Fourth Annual Riverside County Fast Pitch Finale held on April 28, 2021. Simerson was one of five Riverside County entrepreneurs who qualified for the Finale by taking top honors at an official Riverside County Innovation [...]

Congratulations to the Winners of Fast Pitch Greater Palm Springs!

By |2021-04-20T09:45:31-07:00April 20th, 2021|Categories: Innovation, News|Tags: , , , |

Fast Pitch Greater Palm Springs - held on April 14 at the Mary Pickford Theater in Cathedral City - was an action-packed, shark-tank-style pitch contest. All in all, six innovators pitched their ideas to our panel of judges. Two winners were named: one in the product/service category and one in the technology category. Both Fast [...]

Fast Pitch Greater Palm Springs 2021

By |2021-04-13T13:18:30-07:00April 13th, 2021|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, socially-distant 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 [...]

Small Business Comeback: Get Your Business Online

By |2021-03-02T14:31:37-08:00March 2nd, 2021|Categories: Business Development, News|Tags: , , , , , , , |

A year ago. A presentation on digital marketing from Rich Henrich and Paul Gonzales of Rook SEO (now Rook Digital) was scheduled for the first week of March 2020. Stay-at-home orders hadn't yet been put in place. That event was the first of many that we had to cancel or postpone in 2020. At the [...]

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