The board of directors of the Dan River Business Development Center announced the hiring of Linda Hutson Green as the organization’s President. Green worked with the original planning committee for the DRBDC and served with the original Board of Directors for the formative six years that included the building’s construction and initial tenant placement.

She will fill the position vacated in March by Michael Tentnowski, after he accepted a position as the executive director of the Physical Science Institute at New Mexico State University .

“We are very pleased to recruit Ms. Green to the DRBDC position,” commented Board Chairman Sherman Saunders. “Her knowledge and experience for innovative ways to support young businesses will ensure the success of DRBDC’s tenants, and encourage the development of entrepreneurs in our region.”

Green, a local native, will join the DRBDC on July 1, 2004 from Virginia ’s Center for Innovative Technology, where she currently serves as Managing Director for Entrepreneurship and Federal Funding. She serves as program manager for CIT’s network of entrepreneurship centers and manages CIT’s Federal Funding Assistance Program, providing small technology businesses support in seeking research grants and government contracts through outreach events and consultation services. These programs were managed in conjunction with the Small Business Administration’s Federal and State Technology Partnership Program and the Defense Logistics Agency’s Procurement Technical Assistance Program. Green also serves as Executive Director of the Governor’s Virginia Research and Technology Advisory Commission.

Ms. Green joined CIT in 1989 as Southside Virginia’s Technology Transfer Agent and then served as CIT Regional Director in the Danville, Lynchburg, Martinsville areas, wherein she provided direct assistance to technology based businesses. She subsequently served as Industry Director for Advanced Manufacturing. Prior to joining CIT, Ms.Green spent thirteen years in the manufacturing sector as a quality engineer for Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company in Danville. She has also served as an adjunct faculty member for Averett University and Danville Community College, and has co-authored various publications with Duke University, the Center for Creative Leadership, the Technology Transfer Society, Virginia Manufacturers Association and Lead’s International Consulting Firm. Green has served as an award evaluator for state and federal programs, including NSF, and NIST.

Green chaired the U.S. Senate Productivity and Quality Award Board for Virginia, and served on the National Coalition for Advanced Manufacturing’s Advanced Manufacturing Leadership Council. Additional involvements include Virginia’s FIRST Program with NASA, the Business Technology Center at Virginia Tech, Southern Piedmont Technology Council, West Piedmont Regional Alliance, and the Regional Center for Applied Technology and Training. She served as Campaign Director for Pittsylvania County's United Way, and as President to Riverview Rotary, Pittsylvania County Chamber of Commerce and Leadership Southside.

Linda is a Certified Quality Engineer and ISO Lead Auditor, with an M.B.A. from Duke University 's Fuqua School of Business, a B.S. from Averett College (University), and a Certificate in Quality Control from Danville Community College . She and her husband Wayne reside in Dry Fork, Virginia.

The City of Danville and Pittsylvania County jointly established the DRBDC to facilitate the development of technology and light manufacturing businesses. Over the past three years the 30 K square foot facility has been instrumental in the creation of more than 60 jobs for the region.

Statistics compiled by the United States Small Business Administration show that more than 33% of start-up businesses fail within their first year, while up to 80% of small businesses fail in the first five years of operation. However, companies who begin in an incubator built around the concept by which the DRBDC was planned, reverse the trend with an 80% success rate. More than 80% of center tenants become profitable within a three-year period after entering an incubator and more than 87% relocate into private commercial space near the incubator from which they graduate.

The Dan River Business Development Center is a joint venture with local funding provided from Danville and Pittsylvania County . Green’s responsibilities will include operations of the business development center to facilitate the creation of new businesses locally. She will work to develop an educational and support network for services which complement existing and emerging industry’s needs through a comprehensive set of value-added business development center programs that enable entrepreneurs to succeed.

DAN RIVER BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER - creating an environment for the provision of a comprehensive set of value-added business programs, services and educational opportunities that enable entrepreneurs to succeed.