Alan Durham

Alan Durham serves as a senior research faculty manager and IEDC economic development course director with Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute (EI²) in the Center for Economic Development Research (CEDR). Prior to joining CEDR, Alan worked with city and county governments as an executive-level economic development director to accomplish economic development and community development goals. Alan is an expert at conducting fiscal impact analyses, has a successful track record negotiating incentives with Fortune 500 companies, and has extensive experience with tax increment financing and public/private partnerships to foster quality real estate development and redevelopment. Alan is CEDR’s go-to expert for downtown development, real estate development, and neighborhood and community revitalization. 

As the Economic Development Director for Gwinnett County, Alan authored the County’s Tax Allocation District Policies and Guidelines and created five new tax allocation districts to encourage redevelopment within the county’s Community Improvement Districts. He also established the first Office of Economic Development for the City of West Palm Beach, Florida and created the city’s economic development strategy. As the President/CEO of the Fayette County Development Authority, he created the county’s tax incentive policy based on a corporation’s average salary, capital investment, and number of new jobs created. Alan holds a Bachelor’s degree in History and a Master’s degree in Historic Preservation from the University of Georgia.