Trainer: Sheldon Bartel, CEcD, EDFP, RHDFP, Field Director and Trainer, Grow America
Learn With Sheldon In: ED 101 – Economic Development Finance, ED 201 – Business Credit Analysis, ED 202 – Real Estate Development Finance, and Economic Development Credit Analysis. Favorite Course: ED 202 – Real Estate Finance
“All the plans for economic, housing, and community development mean nothing if you don’t have financing in place. GA economic and housing development finance training gives you tools and knowledge to apply public and private financing to proposed development projects so they can occur.” – Sheldon Bartel
Career-changing training for positive impact
Earlier in his career, when Sheldon Bartel sent one of his employees to complete Grow America’s Economic Development Finance Professional (EDFP) program, he noticed something remarkable upon her return.
“Her confidence in her ability to do the job and her skills just went through the roof,” Sheldon recalls. “I realized then that I was missing something without this training, so I went through the Grow America program, too.”
While his employee went on to a career as a successful loan officer, that experience also put Sheldon on a path to becoming one of the country’s leading experts in economic and community development—and one of Grow America’s most experienced trainers.
Since becoming a trainer with Grow America in 2011, Sheldon has helped hundreds of development professionals learn from his practical knowledge and experience, combined with the organization’s industry-leading training methodologies.
Challenge: Filling critical knowledge gaps
Sheldon understands firsthand the knowledge gaps that new economic development professionals face. “With so many different government programs at every level, you can only learn so much in school,” he explains. “Once you’re in the field, you have to find learning opportunities that give you a deep understanding of the realities of economic, housing, and community development.”
“It’s important to realize that the principles of underwriting and credit analysis really don’t change that much, whether it’s for small business, real estate, or community facilities,” Sheldon says. “But the environment around it changes and knowing how to deal with that is critical for success. That’s what we teach.”
Key impacts: Tangible results, active adaptability, lasting connections
As an instructor, Sheldon has taught hundreds of students for Grow America directly and on behalf of partner organizations, like the International Development Council.
What makes Grow America courses stand out? According to Sheldon, it’s the application of real-life experience:
- Tangible results: “What I love about Grow America’s training courses is the tangible impact. For example, the real estate courses teach you skills that you can put to use as soon as you complete them. Everyone sees real estate development happening. We drive by vacant land today, six months later there’s infrastructure going in, and in a year there’s a facility. We can see that change happening in front of us—and it’s a result, in many ways, of the skills that economic and community development professionals learn with Grow America.”
- Active adaptability: “A good training program teaches you more than just what’s necessary today or for a specific situation—it teaches you how to actively adapt to challenges. That’s what Grow America’s training provides—the skills and tools to be nimble, thorough, and thoughtful when creating solutions in a changing environment.”
- Lasting connections: “I love hearing from students in the months and years after they’ve taken our courses. They stay connected to us and to the other professionals they meet and the benefits are impactful and lasting. It’s great to see how they’re deploying what they learned in their communities and organizations and we’re always here to help when they need to talk through challenges, ideas, and opportunities.”
Grow America trainings: Skills for lasting impact
As Sheldon points out, although the challenges facing economic and community development professionals today are significant, Grow America equips you with the tools you need to navigate them and move forward with newfound confidence to create positive change.
To learn skills that will have a lasting impact on your community and your career, take a look at Grow America’s training programs and register for upcoming courses today.