Courtney D. Pogue, CCIM, CEcD, CRE, is the Senior Director of the Equitable Developer Academy for the National Development Council (NDC).  Before joining NDC, Courtney was the Director of Economic and Community Development for Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County, Tennessee, where he managed issues related to affordable housing, workforce development, and small business and entrepreneurship.  Before Nashville, Mr. Pogue was the Director of Economic Development for the City of Dallas, Texas.  As the Director of Economic Development in Dallas, Mr. Pogue managed a department that fostered more than $2.8 billion in private investment and 15,000+ job commitments.  Additionally, Mr. Pogue manages the following programs for the City of Dallas: tax increment financing, new markets tax credits, Section 380 economic development, tax abatement, and small business development. Additionally, Mr. Pogue oversaw 35 employees and an operational budget of $9 million.  Before joining the City of Dallas, Courtney was Clayton County, Georgia's Director of Economic Development.  As the Director of Clayton County, GA, Mr. Pogue implemented Clayton County’s (population of 300K; home to the world’s busiest airport) 2013 Economic Development Plan, resulting in the improvement of the County’s overall economic vitality: higher per capita income, reduced unemployment, expansion of the labor force and increased household income. He assessed the viability of potential transactions based on financial feasibility and economic impact modeling. 

Before joining Clayton County, Mr. Pogue served as the Deputy Director of Economic Development for Cook County, the 2nd largest county in the country, where he managed various economic development initiatives and programs.  Courtney’s role with Cook County includes managing the $30 million BUILT in Cook Loan Program and reviewing all commercial property tax incentives administered by the County. During his time at Cook County, Mr. Pogue and his team fostered more than $400MM in private investment, which supported more than 5,000 job commitments. 

Before joining Cook County, Courtney was the founder and president of the Waterworks Group, an economic development and real estate advisory services firm based in Chicago, IL, focused on urban real estate development.  Since 2003, Mr. Pogue has worked on more than $500 million in commercial and residential development projects.  Overall, Mr. Pogue has successfully assisted clients in obtaining more than $150 million in public subsidies, which have included Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC), Tax Increment Financing (TIF), and New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC) along with other public financing sources and incentives.  Before forming his company, Mr. Pogue worked at the First National Bank of Chicago, the City of Chicago, the Department of Planning and Development, and Cohen Financial.  

Courtney is a licensed managing real estate broker in the state of Illinois, a Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM), a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional (LEED AP), and a Certified Property Manager (CPM).   He is affiliated with the Urban Land Institute (ULI), the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), the Commercial Institute of Real Estate Investment (CCIM), the International Economic Development Council (IEDC), the Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM), and Lambda Alpha International, Ely Chapter. 

Courtney was awarded a Counselor of Real Estate (CRE) designation by the Counselors of Real Estate (CRE) in 2020 and is a Certified Economic Developer (CEcD) by the IEDC. Additionally, he holds the EDFP and HDFP designations from the National Development Council (NDC). Mr. Pogue also holds an MBA from the University of Notre Dame and a BBA in Finance from Howard University.