About CREC

The Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness (CREC) is an independent, not-for-profit organization founded to provide policy-makers from around the world with the information and technical assistance they need to formulate and execute innovative, regional, job-creating economic strategies.

Our staff members come from around the globe, bringing with them diverse backgrounds, and world-class skill sets.

CREC fellow

Erik Pages
Senior Research Fellow

As President of EntreWorks Consulting, Dr. Erik Pages has traveled around the world to advise clients and policy-makers on how to create communities that foster entrepreneurship with the goal of economic development. EntreWorks works with a diverse base of clients including state and local governments, Chambers of Commerce, business leaders, educational institutions, and non-profits.

Since its founding, EntreWorks has worked with customers in forty states and overseas. Recent engagements include serving as lead consultant for the Pacific Mountain Alliance for Innovation, a regional effort to support innovative industries in Washington’s South Puget Sound. EntreWorks has also helped design statewide entrepreneurship and business development programs in Arkansas, Georgia, and North Carolina. Recent program evaluation projects include work for the Appalachian Regional Commission, Georgia’s Centers of Innovation program, the Kansas Department of Commerce and Housing, and Maine’s Department of Community and Economic Development.

Previously, Dr. Pages served as Policy Director for the National Commission on Entrepreneurship (NCOE), where he directed the Commission’s research and policy operations. Before joining NCOE, he served as Vice President for Policy and Programs at Business Executives for National Security (BENS). Dr. Pages has also held several positions in government – most recently, as the first Director of the Office of Economic Conversion Information (OECI) at the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA). In this position, he helped lead efforts to assist communities affected by military base closings and defense plant shutdowns. He has also worked on Capitol Hill and as an analyst for the Congressional Research Service.

Dr. Pages regularly speaks across the country on issues of community and economic development. He has served as a trainer for leading business, government and economic development organizations, and has led over 125 workshops on innovative economic development strategies. He has also served as an official advisor to the White House Conference on Small Business, and has testified before Congress on numerous occasions. Several foundations have funded his work, and in 1998, the Rockefeller Foundation selected him as one of 24 national “Next Generation Leaders.” He is a Senior Fellow at the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness, the RUPRI Center for Rural Entrepreneurship, and serves on the Arlington County (VA) Economic Development Commission and the Alexandria/Arlington Workforce Investment Board.

He has written and published widely on business trends, economic development, technology policy, and national security policy. His publications include the book, Responding to Defense Dependence, and more than sixty reports and journal articles. His work has been featured in national and international media outlets including The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, Inc. Magazine, Entrepreneur Magazine, USA Today, and National Public Radio.

Education, Honors, and Certifications:

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