Posted: March 5, 2010

Rodney Jordan
Director - community impact
One Economy Corp.
Think tank director
Joe Jordan Foundation

Rodney Jordan serves as director - community impact for One Economy Corp., a global nonprofit organization that uses innovative approaches to deliver technology and information to low-income people. Jordan is leading One Economy's efforts associated with Cisco System's 21st Century Schools program - a $40 million investment by Cisco in Louisiana and Mississippi - whose primary goal is to improve and expand learning opportunities for students by integrating technology into classroom activities.

He is also a founding partner of MELANET LC, an Internet Web development, consulting and technology training firm. Jordan was a principal architect of the Hampton Roads Community Leaning Center Network, which created and supported community-based computer learning centers in underserved communities throughout Hampton Roads.

Jordan received his bachelor's degree in computer science from Hampton Institute. He is chair of the Norfolk State University Science and Technology Academicians on the Road to Success Advisory Board; on the board of directors of the Old Dominion University Community Development Corporation; and a board member of the Hampton Roads Workforce Development Board. He was a member of the board of commissioners of the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority from 2002 to 2009, where he held the position of vice chair, and immediate past vice chair of Hampton Roads Ventures, a community development investment firm. He is on the board of directors of The Joe Jordan Foundation and of the Urban League of Hampton Roads.

Which industries are the best to generate jobs in Hampton Roads?

The question posed is rather broad and that in and of itself is a concern I've had so that I will seek to address it in my answer to the second question. For this answer, I will target jobs that provide sustainable or higher wages that leverage our existing assets or create an opportunity for new industries that build upon our workforce talents. To list some:

• Clean renewable energy jobs that give the port a competitive edge especially when it comes to manufacturing and shipping large components that defy ground transportation.
• Modeling and simulation.
• Biomedical and biomedical research.
• Advanced manufacturing.
• Information technology that continues to build upon our region's importance to national defense, homeland security and related technologies and spinoffs.
• Health care and health care R&D, which leverages facilities such as Hampton University's Proton Therapy Institute.

  
  How do we get those jobs here?

  In addressing this question, I would like to move a little beyond the traditions of regional cooperation, growing a skilled and educated emerging workforce, worker retraining, and economic development incentives. All of those are important and needed. In this instance, I want to also address regional equity and maximizing all the human and institutional assets in our community. I believe a start for attracting jobs to Hampton Roads while competing against other regions is to fully embrace the principles of regional equity and full inclusion.

  The Hampton Roads Partnership recently released its draft regional economic plan, Vision Hampton Roads. As I read the draft, the following statement captured my attention, "The racial and ethnic composition in Hampton Roads is significantly different from that of the nation. Hampton Roads has proportionately more African Americans than the nation and proportionately fewer persons in every other racial category." I believe this composition provides Hampton Roads with a great competitive advantage if we fully embrace it in policy setting and leadership, business development and opportunity, and full discussion in our public conversations. When I served several years on the Southside's workforce development board, I was often amazed at the lack of awareness of the significant contribution to our economy, research and employment base provided by institutions such as Hampton University and Norfolk State or the many businesses owned and/or operated by African Americans, 33 percent of our Hampton Roads population. One important way of growing jobs is increasing the numbers of African Americans involved with our regional leadership at the lead staff and policy-making levels and boldly tackling the disparities that still exist in contracting with historically underutilized private-sector firms. In our discussions of regional cooperation, we should strongly embrace regional equity.

  Regional equity comprises three basic premises:

• Regional health depends on the health of all the region's sectors - public, economic and civic.
• Central cities and declining suburbs cannot successfully confront the problems of concentrated poverty independently, that is, without a regional focus.
• A regional approach to equity supports rather than undermines the political power, social cohesion and sense of place of all residents of the region, but particularly those communities who have long been denied effective voice as a result of regional forces.