Don Smith, a FOCUS Senior Advisor, is the President of the Regional Industrial Development Corporation of Southwestern Pennsylvania (RIDC), the largest IDC in Pennsylvania with an annual budget of nearly $50M. RIDC’s portfolio includes over six million square feet of buildings for lease, as well as developable land in seven office and industrial parks it owns and manages.
Mr. Smith’s work in the field of regional economic development began with the Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce. After completing his BA in economics at Harvard University, Don moved on to become a strategic projects coordinator at the Pennsylvania Department of Commerce, where he was the lead analyst on the state's economic development strategy -- Investing in Pennsylvania's Future.
Upon receiving his Ph.D. from the H. John Heinz III School of Public Policy and Management, Don accepted a position with RAND's Critical Technology Institute in Washington D.C., as a technology policy analyst specializing in the financing of new technologies and the development of regional technology clusters.
In June of 1995, Don returned to Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University to direct the Center for Economic Development, and teach in the economic development curriculum. He later became the Vice President of Economic Development for MPC (Mellon Pitt Carnegie) Corporation – a nationally unique model of collaboration on economic development between the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon.
Don served as President of the Pittsburgh Digital Greenhouse, Inc, a startup company designed to stimulate an electronic chip design industry cluster in Southwestern Pennsylvania. He later spent a year as CEO of the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse, an effort on which he led the design team that focuses on developing the biotechnology industry in southwestern Pennsylvania.
In Pittsburgh, Don is active in a number of boards and community activities, including serving as Vice Chairman of the Redevelopment Authority of Allegheny County, Chair of the Greater Oakland Keystone Innovation Zone and on the boards of Ft. Pitt Capital Total Return Fund, Idea Foundry, Pittsburgh Regional Alliance, The First Tee of Pittsburgh.
Contact Information:
Don Smith
President
RIDC
425 Sixth Avenue, Suite 500
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
Office: 412-471-3939 ext. 30
Cell: 412-606-3308
dsmith@ridc.org