GIS Planning CEO Anatalio Ubalde Awarded Fellow Member Status by the International Economic Development Council

For Jeff Finkle, President of the IEDC, this award comes as no surprise: "I have had the pleasure of working with Anatalio over many years and consider him a friend. He has revolutionized the internet advancements in our industry, and remains a dedicated and passionate member of the economic development community. He has been a tireless champion for IEDC as a board member and instructor for our professional development trainings. I look forward to even greater accomplishments from him in the future."

In addition to serving as a member of the Board of Directors at IEDC, Mr. Ubalde is a previous recipient of the IEDC Outstanding New Economic Developer of the Year Award. In the past he has accepted the CoreNet Global Economic Development Leadership & Accomplishment Award for GIS Planning, and has received awards from the Council for Urban Economic Development, American Economic Development Council, CALED, and the American Planning Association. Mr. Ubalde was also featured in the U.S. Department of Commerce "Innovative Local Economic Development Programs" publication.

According to Honorary Committee Member Judy McKinney Cherry, "as Chair of the selection committee I can attest that the nominees for the IEDC Fellow Member award were exemplary this year and Anatalio's nomination clearly stood out. His deep and thorough, hands-on experience in economic development coupled with his creativity, leadership and energy have brought him the recognition he richly deserves and has earned. There is no question that Anatalio possesses all the attributes a successful business leader and professional economic developer requires to stay ahead in this competitive environment."

Fellow Member Edward Nelson agrees, saying that "being a past Chairman of the Board, I have witnessed tremendous growth and commitment to the Economic Development profession by Anatalio. His contribution of promoting the application of GIS and Economic Development has been outstanding and I am sure he will continue to be an asset to the profession."

Mr. Ubalde's work with GIS Planning and his revolutionary achievements in online geographic information systems and economic development have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, BusinessWeek, Forbes, and Inc. magazine, to name a few.

As a highly sought-after thought-leader on the subject of economic development Internet and GIS strategies, he has presented on these subjects throughout North America, Asia and Europe. Mr. Ubalde has been a keynote speaker and presenter for IEDC, Stockholm Challenge, Bremen Initiative, Texas Economic Development Council, California Association for Local Economic Development, Mid-American Economic Development Council, Southern Economic Development Council, Oklahoma Economic Development Council, Oregon Economic Development Association, American Planning Association, and many other organizations.

For Honorary Committee Member Ron Kysiak, "Anatalio represents where the profession of economic development is going through the creative use of new technologies matched with a great deal of marketing savvy. He has a great future ahead of him as he continues to contribute to economic development's best practices in site location and marketing."

Mr. Ubalde is the author of numerous publications including the 2008 book Economic Development Marketing: Present & Future, and articles in Economic Development America, Economic Development Commentary, and the Canadian Economic Development and Technology Journal. Before co-founding GIS Planning he worked in local economic development with a focus on downtown revitalization, waterfront redevelopment, business attraction/expansion, business retention, and site selection assistance.

In addition, Mr. Ubalde is a sixteen-time United States Master's Diving National Champion, an All-American, and in October of 2009 won four bronze medals at the World Masters Games in Sydney, Australia in springboard and platform diving. He has a Masters degree in City Planning from the University of California at Berkeley.

Click here to see a video of the award ceremony, including a short compilation of Mr. Ubalde's career achievements.