John Fernandez
Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development
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(Courtesy Photo)
Fernandez is a former two-term mayor who now runs the Economic Development Administration (EDA), an agency within the Commerce Department that distributes millions in grant money to promote innovation and job creation in economically distressed parts of the U.S.
Among the numerous government agencies that promote economic growth, only the EDA is focused on creating jobs on a collaborative, regional basis. Much of the EDA's financial resources are devoted to the creation of nonprofit science parks that bring together entrepreneurs, researchers and professionals under the banner of a common industry. The EDA firmly believes that a regional approach to economic development can turn an area's competitive strengths into sustained job creation.
- Alma Mater: Indiana University, B.S.; Indiana University, M.P.A.; Indiana University School of Law, J.D.
- Spouse: Karen Howe Fernandez
- Web site
Fernandez is a first-generation American who grew up in "a typical middle class family" in Kokomo, Ind. His parents climbed the ladder to economic security in the U.S. after fleeing Spain; his father found steady work in the auto industry, and his mother became a nurse.
Fernandez spent his college years at Indiana University and earned a B.S., an M.P.A. and a law degree in quick succession. After clerking for a member of the Indiana Supreme Court, he entered private practice as an attorney in the litigation group of Bingham Summers Welsh & Spilman.
The EDA was one of the many beneficiaries of the stimulus bill passed shortly after President Obama took office in 2009. The $787 billion bill set aside $150 million in funding for the development agency to spend on economic projects already in the pipeline.
According to Fernandez, by September 2009, the EDA had allocated the stimulus funding as follows:
All the members of the EDA team are ultimately accountable to Commerce Secretary Gary Locke. Fernandez's right-hand man at the EDA is Brian McGowan, the deputy assistant secretary of commerce for economic development.
Fernandez knows the members of Indiana's Senate delegation - Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) and Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) - from his days serving as Bloomington's mayor.
Fernandez has donated more than $10,000 to political candidates over the years, according to Federal Election Commission Records.
- DeAgostino, Martin, South Bend Tribune, "State hopeful capitalizes on headlines," October 13, 2002
- Peterson, Patrick, Florida Today, "Work starts on jobs plan," May 28, 2010
- Testimony, House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, May 26, 2010
- Testimony, Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, July 29, 2009
- Testimony, House Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee, March 10, 2010
- Testimony, Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, July 29, 2009
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