Dr. McKoy is considered by many as the leading thinker and practitioner in the area of inclusive and equitable entrepreneurial ecosystems and economic development planning and finance. He is a seasoned professional in community and economic development, policy, government, finance, corporate, and nonprofit leadership. Dr. McKoy is a former banking executive with Central Carolina, National Commerce and Suntrust Banks. From 2010-2012 Dr. McKoy served in the North Carolina Governor’s Cabinet as Assistant Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Commerce. He has also served on numerous appointed economic development boards and commissions from the local to the federal. In both the public and private sectors, he has led and managed teams with oversight of billions of dollars of public and private sector capital. Throughout his career, he has engaged in the investment and development of hundreds of inclusive development projects in communities in areas of infrastructure, affordable housing, construction, nonprofit engagement, human services, sustainable community and economic development, and small business. He continues to advise local governments and officials on inclusive economic development strategies across the United States and globally, as well as advising private sector and philanthropic sector clients.
Dr. McKoy currently holds appointments and academic affiliations with several universities including North Carolina Central University School of Business, Kenan Flagler School of Business at UNC-Chapel Hill, Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy and the Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity, and Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. He is a past entrepreneurship Fellow of the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise, as well as a former Aspen Institute Scholar. He holds a BSBA from UNC-Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School, a Master’s in Policy and Leadership from Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment, and PhD from the University of North Carolina’s Department of City and Regional Planning with a concentration in economic development and entrepreneurship. Dr. McKoy serves on dozens of community and philanthropic boards. He is frequently interviewed for and quoted in national, regional and local press outlets.