Leonard Mitchell
Executive Director & Principal Investigator
(213) 740-1487
mitchell@usc.edu
Leonard Mitchell has more than 40 years of comprehensive, multi-level experience as a Counselor at Law and Consultant to Executive Level Management. Presently, he serves as Professor of the Practice of Economic Development at the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy, where he is also the Executive Director of the USC Center for Economic Development. His areas of academic interest and teaching are Real Estate Development Finance and Law, Regional and Local Economic Development, Economic Development Finance and Law, International Trade Finance and Law. Mr. Mitchell earned a Master of Arts in Educational Administration from Goddard College; a Master of Business Administration in Finance and Investments from The George Washington University; and a Juris Doctorate degree in Law from the Antioch School of Law, Antioch University. Continue here for full biography.
Deepak Bahl
Program Director and Co-Principal Investigator
(213) 740-9491
bahl@usc.edu
Deepak Bahl serves as a Program Director for the USC Center for Economic Development and Adjunct Associate Professor at the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy. He has more than 18 years of professional consulting experience and has managed federal, state, and local projects in the areas of community and economic development. His work experience includes strategic planning, business development, project management, teaching at USC, and policy research and analysis. He has conducted research projects for the EDA, EPA, FTA, HUD, NSF, OEA, Caltrans, local governments, and private foundations among others. He received his Master of Business Administration from the USC Marshall School of Business, Master of Planning from the USC Price School of Public Policy, and Master of Architecture from Clemson University.
Dion Jackson
Program Director
(213) 821-6145
dljackso@price.usc.edu
Dion Jackson specializes in community outreach and economic development strategic planning. She is currently the coordinator of the Advanced Manufacturing Partnership for Southern California, a collaboration supporting the industrial ecosystem for aerospace and defense companies and their supply chain, and a federally designated manufacturing community. Dion holds a Master’s degree in Urban Planning with an emphasis in Economic Development, a Master of Business Administration, and a Master of Real Estate Development from the University of Southern California.