MEET JIM TOWNSEND

For two decades, Jim Townsend has devoted his career to creating growth and opportunity for hard-working families.  Jim is a businessman who has also been a leader in the nonprofit sector and in public service, giving him unique insights into the problems facing residents of Royal Oak, Madison Heights and the region -- and a comprehensive understanding of how to get results, even in this time of severe economic distress.

Jim led national marketing and sales for Ford Motor Company’s $4 billion minivan business, which achieved record sales in 2000.  At Ford, Jim placed a premium on ensuring the quality of future products and was nominated for a Customer Driven Quality Award. Jim founded his own consulting business in 2002 that specializes in helping companies and other organizations grow and create jobs.  Working in industry, he understands that economic change is driven by the actions of workers and business people, and he also knows how to create public-private partnerships that deliver real results.

Jim’s work in the non-profit sector is already creating important benefits for local residents. From 2004 to 2009, Jim served as Executive Director of the Tourism Economic Development Council (TEDC), where he guided a 10-year strategy for increasing metro Detroit's tourism economy by $3 billion per year. Before that, he founded and directed the Michigan Suburbs Alliance (MSA), a non-profit organization devoted to revitalizing and reinventing Detroit suburbs, including Royal Oak and Madison Heights. At MSA, he developed Redevelopment Ready Communities(R), a nationally recognized program to help cities in metro Detroit and across Michigan attract development and create jobs.  Since 2004 Jim has served on the MSA's Board of Directors and was its Vice President  in 2009 and 2010.

In the 90's, Jim served as a professional staff member in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, where he focused on innovative policies to grow the economy, train our workers, and create future-oriented investments in housing, health care, education, transportation, and the environment.  In his work on the Congressional appropriations process, Jim also learned first-hand how some states and localities are denied their fair share of tax dollars – and how federal funding can be leveraged successfully to solve pressing local problems.

Born and raised in northern New Jersey, Jim came of age in the 1980s during another time of great economic turmoil. That experience left him with a passion to help struggling families and communities regain their place in the economy, safeguard their homes, and protect the future of their children.  Sixteen years ago, he moved to southeast Michigan with his wife, Jennie, to be near her family and to go to the University of Michigan.  Jim and Jennie live with their two sons in Royal Oak, where he has been active in a wide range of civil and philanthropic causes, including participating in Race for the Cure, serving in the Thanksgiving Day Parade Distinguished Clown Corps and coaching youth soccer.

Jim holds a B.A. with Highest Honors in History from the University of North Carolina and an MBA and a Masters of Public Policy from the University of Michigan.  He loves spending time with his wife and kids, playing blues guitar, skiing and playing golf and basketball.