Members’ Corner: Jose Burnes
Name, Title, Organization:
Jose Burnes, Business Development Manager Manufacturing / Warehousing, Prince George’s County EDC
Explain your background in economic development:
Jose started his career as Trade & Investment Center Manager at the American Chamber of Commerce in Mexico, and then led regional Business Development attraction for American Industries Group, an industrial real estate developer and shelter services provider in Northern Mexico. He has dedicated his career to explore different facets of economic development, from foreign direct investment to local community building and placemaking. Today, Jose is very excited about being able to work together with economic development leaders in Maryland to grow the local economy and bring in high-quality manufacturing and warehousing jobs to Prince George’s County!
What are your key priorities within your current position?
At Prince George’s County EDC, Jose is responsible for the attraction, retention, and expansion of manufacturing and warehousing businesses in the county. He’s been very excited about using his prior experiences to work transversally with the county’s International and Latino advanced manufacturing and warehousing businesses.
Does one particular project spark your excitement? If so, describe it below.
In Mexico as part of the nearshoring trend, I was able to help Tesla’s tier one and tier two suppliers setup operations in Monterrey. I saw first hand the impact that engineering and technician jobs can have in the transformation of local communities and how much cross-cultural communication can have in the early success of a project. Nowadays, I am excited about using my experiences in supply chain and regionalism to help our counties’ businesses grow and expand in the Mid-Atlantic.
What professional pressures keep you up at night?
Fortunately none. The Prince George’s County EDC team is awesome!
What attributes are unique to your community?
Prince George’s County is the second most affluent African American-majority counties in the US! The second largest ethnicity is Hispanic, which makes it a fascinating multicultural environment.
What are your locality’s top three “selling points” for future growth?
1. Prince George’s County created the most jobs over the last decade in Maryland
2. Our median household income is 91K, 33% above the national average
3. We have 7 colleges and universities and 17 federal agencies including the University of Maryland’s flagship campus and the new FBI headquarters.
If you could wave a magic wand, what would you want to work with MEDA on to move Maryland forward?
Having used the Lofton Scholarship fund to take an IEDC course, I’d love to have more cross-county courses and collaborative initiatives aimed for young economic development practitioners. I also think that we could work with local colleges and universities in attracting graduating students to economic development.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with MEDA and your fellow members?
I’d love to connect! www.linkedin.com/in/joseburnes/
Please include any personal background information that you’d like to share (Alma mater, Military Service, hobbies, etc):
Jose Burnes has a BA from Dartmouth College and a MA in Economics (Chinese Studies) from Peking University, where he was a Yenching Scholar. Jose Burnes is a member of the MEDA Young Leaders and IEDC’s International Advisory Board. In his free time Jose loves to do pottery and try out local coffee roasteries.
