The U.S. Senate voted Wednesday to confirm Partners trustee and former Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development, putting him in charge of the Economic Development Administration (EDA).

The mission of the EDA is "to lead the federal economic development agenda by promoting innovation and competitiveness, preparing American regions for growth and success in the worldwide economy." The EDA has a number of tools that it brings to bear in carry out its mission, including "technical assistance, post-disaster recovery assistance, trade adjustment support, strategic planning and research and evaluation capacity".

Williams has served as a member of the Partners for Livable Communities board of trustees for five years, since 2009. Williams rose as to political prominence in 2005 with his election as the first African-American mayor of Youngstown, Ohio. Elected at the age of 33, Williams was also the youngest mayor in that city's history. As Mayor, Williams pursued Youngstown Vision 2010, his plan to confront the city's stark challenges relating to decades of population loss, economic decline, and high rates of violent crime. Williams exemplified visionary yet pragmatic leadership, earning him a number of distinctions, including the John F. Kennedy New Frontier Award in 2007 as well as the Governing magazine Mayor of the Year honor in 2009.

In 2011, Williams was appointed by President Obama to serve as Director of the Office of Recovery for Auto Communities and Workers — the so-called car czar. Most recently, he has served in the White House as the Deputy Director for the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, leading efforts to engage mayors, city-council members, and county officials around the country.

Williams has been instrumental in helping Partners develop its Creating the Healthy Community: Using All Assets program strategy, which focuses on how traditional place-based institutions such as libraries, museums, performing arts centers, and Boys and Girls Clubs can use their creativity and neutrality to drive a public health agenda — thereby acting as fulcrums of change. With the focus on utilizing anchor institutions as centers of redevelopment in Youngstown, Williams worked with Partners to spear the Ten Living Cities Network, a consortium working for identity preservation and economic resurgence in the ten U.S. cities most adversely affected by the dawn of the post-industrial age.

Williams says that he "[looks] forward to ... working with the EDA's staff and the Department of Commerce team to promote American innovation and regional collaboration and to helping EDA fulfill its vital mission of helping distressed communities throughout the United States realize their local plans to grow businesses and jobs."

Read more from Youngstown's local newspaper, The Vindicator.

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