The New Jersey State Senate has approved Gov. Jon Corzine's nomination of nonprofit executive and Trenton resident Taneshia Nash Laird to the Urban Enterprise Zone Authority.  Nash Laird, 38, is the Executive Director of the Trenton Downtown Association.

The UEZ Authority is a nine member panel composed of five public members plus the state treasurer; the commissioner of the department of community affairs; the commissioner of the department of labor; and the executive director of the New Jersey Commerce Commission (formerly the chief executive officer and secretary of the New Jersey Commerce and Economic Growth Commission) who serves as the Chair. The UEZ program was created in 1983 to foster an economic climate that revitalizes designated urban communities and stimulates their growth by encouraging businesses to develop and create private sector jobs through public and private investment. The Authority receives and evaluates funding proposals from designated UEZs; annually certifies to the state treasurer amounts to be paid from the Enterprise Zone Assistance Fund to support approved projects; and submits an annual report to the Governor on the effectiveness of enterprise zones.

In Trenton, Nash Laird is is spearheading TDA's comprehensive initiative to promote the arts, cultural resources, heritage including historic preservation, and natural resources to enhance civic pride, develop tourism, attract business investment and increase economic growth and development in the Capital City region.

Prior to joining TDA in 2006, Nash Laird was the director of the division of economic development for the city of Trenton.  She has worked in real estate development and owned a New York City-based marketing consultancy.  She was recently selected as a Fellow of the Delaware Valley Regional Network of the Environmental Leadership Program.  Each year, in each of its three regional networks, ELP provides training, project support, and networking opportunities to a peer network of talented and diverse individuals engaged in environmental and social change work.  She is also a member of the Mercer Regional Chamber of Commerce's Young Business Leaders Council class of 2008.  In 2006 Nash Laird received the Network Journal Magazine's 40 Under Forty Award for her achievements in business and community development.

Contact:
Taneshia Nash Laird
609.393.8998 x11
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