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As a student at DCRP, Linda Hoke planned to work in the housing and community development field after graduating. However, for much of her career, including the present, Hoke has worked on economic development issues. Hoke is currently a Senior Program Manager with the Southern Growth Policies Board, a 26-year old nonprofit based in Research Triangle Park. The organization, which has 15 member states, focuses on identifying and disseminating best practices in economic development throughout the South.

For the past year, Hoke has worked as staff for the Commission on the Future of the South. This body is convened once every six years by the governors of Southern Growth’s 15 member states, each of whom appoints a member to the commission. The commission meets and has deliberations over the course of a year and comes up with recommendations for the future of the region. The commission is focusing on three primary themes for the future of the south: healthy children and families; strong communities and culture; and economic development. In the economic development arena, their primary concerns and interests are with education, technology, especially telecommunications, and in international trade, particularly with Latin America.

Hoke also collaborates with university institutes of government across the South on training state and local government officials in performance management and other techniques.

After graduating from DCRP, Hoke first worked for a real estate consultant doing market studies for low income apartment complexes. After that she worked on the Division of Community Development Grant Program for what was then called the North Carolina Department of Natural Resources and Community Development. Because Hoke had coursework in finance and business at DCRP, she gravitated from the community development to the economic development side of the Grant Program, where she reviewed financial statements of businesses that were applying for loans through the CDBG program and also helped to structure economic development projects. At that point the Division needed the skills of someone who could understand a business financial statement and Hoke had those skills.

After her daughter was born, Hoke decided to do some consulting work so she could have more job flexibility. She did this for a year and a half before coming to Southern Growth. Her consulting consisted of real estate consulting and work for the North Carolina Rural Development Center to initiate their microenterprise lending program. Hoke has been with Southern Growth for nine years.

As a DCRP student, Hoke envisioned herself working in the housing and community development arena. However, her coursework in real estate and finance led her to do economic development work in her career. Much of Hoke’s current work involves writing; she credits DCRP with giving her the opportunity to hone her writing skills.

When asked about the future of economic development, Hoke considers the current focus of the Commission on the Future of the South. Its two primary themes are trade and technology. Hoke sees these areas as becoming increasingly important within the economic development field.