Patrick Quinton, Executive Director for the Portland Development Commission, is responsible for the overall leadership and management of the city’s economic development and urban renewal agency. Under Quinton’s direction, PDC is pursuing an ambitious economic development strategy which sets the goal of creating the most sustainable local economy in the world.

Prior to his current position, Quinton served as PDC’s Business and Industry Team Manager, helping to land high profile Portland employers and playing a critical role in the formation of the Portland Seed Fund. Prior to leading the B&I team, Quinton managed the 402-acre North Macadam Urban Renewal Area on Portland’s South Waterfront.

Quinton joined PDC in January 2008, following 19 years in the banking and commercial finance industries. Quinton spent eight years at Textron Financial Corporation providing financing to small and mid-sized companies in various industry sectors, including health care, energy, technology and telecommunications. Quinton also spent eight years at ShoreBank Corporation, where he specialized in financing small businesses and promoting economic growth in underinvested neighborhoods. He worked for the federal government on two occasions; he started his career at Housing and Urban Development staffing housing finance programs, and later worked for Treasury helping to establish the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund to invest in banks and other institutions that specialize in economic development and community revitalization.

Quinton earned a bachelor’s degree in Government from Dartmouth College and a Masters in Public Policy from the University of Chicago.