Subject Matter Expert
Lynn A. Knight is a Certified Economic Developer with more than 30 years of experience across 37 U.S. states and territories. No stranger to challenging economic issues in communities at all stages of development, she lived in the Northern Mariana Islands for 23 years before relocating to serve as the representative for an indigenous territorial Governor in Washington DC. For 5 years she served as VP of Knowledge Management for the International Economic Development Council (IEDC), the largest and oldest organization for the economic development profession, with responsibilities for national research, technical assistance, training development, economic recovery, resilience and sustainability initiatives. Knight managed the Accredited Economic Development Organization program, was responsible for content for the organization’s training courses and conferences, and managed an economic recovery program that deployed hundreds of subject matter experts to communities across the country that experienced natural or manmade disasters.
Knight has served as a consultant to the United South & Eastern Tribes (USET), for which she conducted training in comprehensive economic development strategies (CEDS), did a study and led a publication on how tribal leaders can measure resilience. She was a presenter at the 30th Sovereignty Symposium in Oklahoma and presented at USET’s first Climate Adaptation Conference.
In addition to her work in support of economic recovery for rural communities, Knight is passionate about environmental sustainability, green energy and food security. She lives on a vintage horse farm in Virginia and together with her husband owns an indoor vertical farm on St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands.
Knight was formerly the Vice President of Corporate Affairs for a global firm, which operated in a dozen industries and 17 countries. Proficient in tourism master planning, Knight was also trained by the UN World Tourism Organization in tourism product development. Knight has won awards as an entrepreneur, community volunteer and business executive. She is the author of more than 50 publications, most recently Tribal Resilience for the Future, States of Resilience (a study of state-level resiliency initiatives) Workforce Strategy for the City of Fresno, Leadership in Times of Crisis Toolkit, and The Changing Energy Landscape and its Impact on Economic Development in America.