Biography : Kim Walesh

Kim Walesh, co-founder of Collaborative Economics, is a nationally recognized economic development strategist and co-author of Renewable Energy: Strategic Opportunities for the Great Central Valley.

Kim has worked with leaders in more than 30 metropolitan regions in the United States and abroad to help them build stronger economies and better communities. Kim is currently serving as Assistant Director of Economic Development for the City of San Jose, leading a team responsible for San Jose’s economic development strategy.

Kim is co-author of the book Grassroots Leaders for a New Economy: How Civic Entrepreneurs Build Prosperous Communities, and more than 40 other reports and publications. Prior to founding Collaborative Economics in 1993, Kim was senior policy analyst at SRI International, where she played management and analytic roles in more than 20 state and regional competitiveness projects in North America, Asia, and Europe.

Kim holds a bachelors degree in economics from Valparaiso University and a master of public policy degree from Harvard University, where she was a Kennedy Fellow.