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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT EDUCATION
Brett Saddler
Claymont Renaissance
Development Corporation
As a public-private organization, the
Claymont Renaissance Development
Corporation is invested in reviving the
community that used to be dominated
by the steel industry. In coordination
with the state, New Castle County
and other government entities, Brett
Saddler has been focused on strategies
that will make Claymont an ideal
place to work and live. In recent years,
Saddler has helped lead the way for
a riverwalk project and worked on
a master plan incorporating major
redevelopment concepts. On the
horizon, a new cold-storage facility and
train station will help kickstart massive
economic development in the area.
ALMA MATER:
BOARDS:
Q&A:
Tony Allen
Delaware State University
Tony Allen is the president of the
nation’s most diverse contemporary
HBCU, Delaware State University,
where he has overseen dramatic
enrollment growth, the acquisition
of the former Wesley College, and the
addition or expansion of numerous
programs. Prior to joining Delaware
State, Allen had a successful career
in communications in the fi nancial
services sector, including executive
roles at MBNA and Bank of America.
He started his career as speechwriter
for then-Sen. Joe Biden and in 2020
was named CEO for President Biden’s
Inauguration. In the past couple of
years, he served on Biden's Board of
Advisors on Historically Black Colleges
and Universities as chair.
ALMA MATERS:
BOARDS:
Q&A:
Fred Sears II
Council on
Development Finance
Th ere likely is little in Delaware that
Fred Sears hasn’t had some kind of
impact on over a decades-long career.
He served as CEO of the Delaware
Community Foundation and the
regional president of Commerce
Bank, was an elected Wilmington city
councilman, and served as a director
of the Port of Wilmington. Currently,
Sears chairs the Delaware Council
on Development Finance, the state’s
job investment board, where he leads
discussions on businesses seeking
taxpayer-backed loans for expansion
or relocation in the First State through
one of several grant funds.
ALMA MATER:
BOARDS:
Q&A:
Dennis Assanis
University of Delaware
Dennis Assanis was selected as the
28th president of the state’s fl agship
university in 2016, coming from Stony
Brook University in New York. Since
then, Assanis has led a campaign
of enrollment growth, especially
among minority students, and capital
investment, including building new
residence halls, labs and athletic
centers while upgrading the school’s
football stadium. Development of
the STAR Campus has also steadily
increased with the addition of the
Chemours Discovery Lab, UD’s College
of Health Sciences STAR Tower and the
FinTech Center among other projects.
He’s already received a contract
extension through 2026.
ALMA MATERS:
BOARDS:
Q&A:
DelawareBusinessTimes.com | DELAWARE 222 37
DelawareBusinessTimes.com | DELAWARE 222 37
DelawareBusinessTimes.com | DELAWARE 222 37