The University of Alabama’s Community Development Institute Southeast will take place June 10-13, 2024, at Bryant Conference Center located in Tuscaloosa, AL. The purpose of the conference is to empower participants with the knowledge and skills necessary to work towards the improvement of their communities through community and economic development practices.

Who Should Attend? 

Anyone interested in the development and improvement of their community, including community and economic development practitioners, city, county and state officials, community volunteers, non-profit staff and board members, and chamber staff.

This program consists of three, four-day training sessions which can be completed over the course of three years at the same site location or by fast tracking to multiple sites within the CDI network in a single year or more. 

Keynote Speaker: 

Greg Canfield serves as Managing Director of Economic Development at Burr & Forman. In this role, he works closely with the firm’s Economic Development Team, which includes lawyers across five states. The team handles economic development matters regarding site selection, incentive negotiation and implementation, choice of entity and tax structure, construction, real estate, environmental permitting, contraction negotiations, and government relations.  Prior to joining Burr, Greg served for twelve years as Secretary of Commerce for the State of Alabama. During Greg’s service he secured more than $70 billion in new investments, creating 180,000 jobs; launched Commerce’s successful rural development strategy; and led trade missions to 30 countries. His efforts resulted in recognition in the Alabama Automotive Manufacturers’ Association Hall of Fame and the Southern Automotive Manufacturers’ Alliance Hall of Fame.
 

Greg also served as a State Representative for the State of Alabama from 2006-2011. During his tenure, he served on the House Leadership Team and as Chairman of the House Committee on Commerce and Small Business. Greg attended the University of Alabama and the University of Alabama at Birmingham where he earned his B.S. in Finance.  Greg has been married to his wife Denise since 1983, and they are the parents of Rachel Canfield Young and John Canfield.
 

Acknowledgements 

CDI Southeast is part of a national network of training sites endorsed by the Community Development Council, a nationally recognized non-profit organization with the mission of advancing the practice and profession of community development. For more information about the CDC and CDI site locations visit cdcouncil.com.