Johnathan M. Holifield, Esq.
Vice President of Inclusive Competitiveness, NorTech and
Co-founder and Chief Strategist, The America21 Project
jholifield@nortech.org
The architect of Inclusive Competitiveness – policies, practices and metrics to improve the performance of diverse populations within innovation ecosystems, clusters, emerging industry sectors and other areas critical to economic competitiveness – Johnathan M. Holifield, Esq. is Vice President of Inclusive Competitiveness at NorTech, the regional innovation-based economic development organization serving Northeast Ohio. In this intrapreneurial role, he is responsible for leveraging and accelerating existing efforts within the Northeast Ohio region and leading new strategic initiatives to increase economic inclusion and competitiveness.
Mr. Holifield is also co-founder of The America21 Project, a nationally networked and locally focused social enterprise that uses innovation-based economic development tools and strategies to connect disconnected Americans to the Innovation Economy. America21 contributions include co-hosting the nation’s first summit incorporating urban and minority angel investing, entrepreneurship and STEM education achievement and first conference on biomedical cluster entrepreneurship in underserved communities. America21 has conducted workshops in several cities, advancing the Inclusive Competitiveness narrative and inspiring material action. Its leadership also has been featured at SXSWEdu and in notable publications, including BusinessWeek, Forbes, Black Enterprise, Bloomberg, Washington Post Innovations, Entrepreneur Magazine, and Thompson Reuters Venture Capital Journal.
An economic development leader, Mr. Holifield’s multidisciplinary experience includes collaboratively securing more than $40 million of grant funding, cash investments, and in-kind operations support; creating Ohio’s first information technology-focused high school; forming a $40 million venture capital fund of funds, enabling a $250 million regional network of early-stage risk capital; conducting the nation’s first assessment of minority performance and competitiveness in regional innovation clusters; and designing community benefits and economic inclusion strategies for large-scale development projects valued at nearly $1.5 billion. Additionally, he introduced the framework to rationalize and prioritize the Regional Economic Competitiveness Strategy and co-authored a successful $5 million appropriation to create new Ohio STEM education, commercialization and entrepreneurship programs for high school students.
Mr. Holifield was selected to the inaugural national cohort of the ACT Foundation Aces Research Network, and has received Ohio gubernatorial appointments to the Midwest Governors’ Association Investments for the Knowledge-based Economy Project, serving as co-chairman of the Increasing Research and Commercialization team, and to the Ohio House and Senate Joint Commission on High-Tech Business, driving Ohio and Midwest economic development policies. He has written extensively on matters of technology and innovation development, inclusion and competitiveness, co-authoring the Economic Development Journal article “Inclusive Clusters: Embedding Inclusiveness in Cluster Policy and Practice,” the first endeavor to connect equity, inclusion and competitiveness and innovation cluster selection, development and leadership, and publishing entrepreneurship and economic commentary in Innovation Quarterly, The Cincinnati Enquirer, Cincinnati Business Courier, The Cincinnati Post, Crain’s Cleveland Business, The Boulé Journal and The Buffalo News.
He is founding executive director of CincyTech USA – Cincinnati's Voice of Technology and Innovation – and has held executive leadership positions with Cincinnati USA Chamber of Commerce, Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy and Cleveland Urban League and was a member of the Cincinnati Bengals of the NFL. He has also served on several governing boards, including Bio/Start Bio/Medical Start-Up Center, Greater Cincinnati Venture Association, The University of Oklahoma's Economic Development Institute and The Greater Cincinnati Foundation.
Mr. Holifield holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science from West Virginia University, where he was elected football team captain, a master's degree in Educational Foundations and law degree from University of Cincinnati, and is a graduate of The University of Oklahoma's Economic Development Institute.
Select Recent Accomplishments:
• Selected one of ten members of the inaugural national cohort of the ACT Foundation Aces Research Network.
• Conducted the nation’s first regional assessment of minority competitiveness in regional innovation clusters.
• First innovation ecosystem in the U.S. to adopt Inclusive Competitiveness strategies and practices.
• Co-authored successful $5 million appropriation for Ohio Board of Regents to create new STEM education, commercialization and entrepreneurship program for high school students.
• Co-authored groundbreaking article on equitable and inclusive cluster development policy and practice, published in International Economic Development Council Economic Development Journal.
• Developed with major university the nation’s first summit on urban and minority angel investing, entrepreneurship, STEM education achievement and policymaking.
• Advisor and content contributor to the first Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) conference on innovation and entrepreneurship.
• Introduced Inclusive Competitiveness and led panel discussion during the first White House Summit on Entrepreneurship for HBCU and Minority Serving Institutions, sponsored by the White House, the U.S. Small Business Administration and the Department of Education.
• Leading contributor to the Strengthening Technology Transfer Capacity of HBCU Initiative, proposed new solutions to bolster HBCU research, technology transfer, commercialization and entrepreneurship.
• Developed with leading bioscience venture development organization the nation’s first conference and workshop on urban and minority biomedical cluster entrepreneurship.
• Featured in notable national publications, including BusinessWeek, Forbes, Black Enterprise, Bloomberg, Washington Post Innovations, Entrepreneur Magazine, and Thompson Reuters Venture Capital Journal.
