Dwayne Gathers was appointed to the Board of Commissioners of the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles (CRA/LA) by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and approved by the Los Angeles City Council on September 9, 2010.

Dwayne Gathers is President and Chief Executive Officer of Gathers Strategies, Inc., an independent strategic business consulting firm which provides a range of professional services to private and public sector clients in the areas of business development, government relations and international trade and investment. 

Prior to founding Gathers Strategies, Dwayne served as Regional Manager for the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC), directing the LAEDC’s business attraction, expansion and retention efforts over a diverse region, encompassing a substantial portion of the City of Los Angeles.  He advised and assisted a wide range of mostly smaller to medium sized businesses on issues affecting their ability to succeed—including site selection, land use, tax incentives, business taxes, access to capital, government regulations, and workforce training and development.  In performing his responsibilities, he collaborated with other business organizations, city agencies and government officials on economic development policy and regulations affecting the overall business climate of the region.  Dwayne is a graduate of the Leadership Southern California Class of 2007 and served on the Workforce Investment Board for the City of Los Angeles.  He currently serves on the board of directors of the International Visitors Council of Los Angeles and served on the Business Tax Advisory Committee for the City of Los Angeles.  Dwayne was most recently appointed by the Mayor of Los Angeles, and confirmed by the City Council, to serve on the Board of Commissioners of the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles.

In addition to Dwayne’s extensive business and economic development experience in Los Angeles, he developed an extensive background in international affairs, trade and business development.  He led an international trade development consulting practice, based in San Francisco, working with smaller to midsized companies and foreign trade development clients, including such organizations as the Mauritius Industrial Development Authority and the Export Promotion Council of Kenya.  Appointed by the Governor of California, he opened and managed the State of California’s Office of Trade and Investment in Johannesburg, South Africa from 1995 to 2000.  Previously, he served as Special Assistant to the Assistant Secretary for African Affairs at the U.S. State Department in Washington, D.C.

Dwayne began his professional career in finance, serving in the Energy & Minerals Division of Chemical Bank in New York City and later joining the Private Banking Group of National Westminster Bank USA.

A graduate of Deerfield Academy (1980) in Massachusetts, Dwayne has served as a member of the Executive Committee of the Alumni Association and on its Board of Trustees.  He graduated from Dartmouth College (1984) with an A.B. in Economics and Government.