With over 30 years’ experience analyzing economic and community development policies, Charlie Bartsch has re-affiliated with the Northeast-Midwest Institute as a Senior Fellow to contribute part-time to strengthening the Institute’s Revitalizing Older Cities Program.
Mr. Bartsch most recently served as Senior Advisor for Economic Development to the Assistant Administrator at the US Environmental Protection Agency, where he focused on site revitalization and community recovery, and took a leading role in developing the White House Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership (IMCP) initiative. He also coordinated EPA’s participation in inter-agency efforts such as Promise Zones and Strong Cities-Strong Communities (SC2). He has published extensively on the topics of brownfield reuse, housing development, state voluntary cleanup programs, and manufacturing modernization, among others. Before joining the EPA, Mr. Bartsch was a Vice President at ICF International. Prior to that, he was a Senior Policy Analyst for Economic Development at the Northeast-Midwest Institute, from 1985 until 2006, where he was instrumental in the evolution of the brownfield issue from its emergence in the early 1990s through passage of program authorization legislation promoted by the NE-MW Congressional Coalition in 2002.
Announcing the appointment, Dr. Michael J. Goff, President and CEO at NEMWI, stated “Charlie Bartsch is a leading voice in the fight against brownfields since the term’s inception in the early 90’s and has decades of experience working with Congress and across several federal agencies. We are confident that a national authority on brownfields will be a strong asset to the Institute’s work on revitalizing older cities. Having worked at the Northeast-Midwest Institute for 20 years up until the 2000’s, Mr. Bartsch knows the Institute’s mission well, and it’s fantastic to have him back in this exciting role.”
Mr. Bartsch is excited to re-enter the non-profit world, with its opportunities to think outside the box. “I am looking forward to working with the Institute and its partners in helping cities develop and carry out innovative strategies to address both the challenges they face as well as the opportunities they can cultivate.” At the Institute, he hopes to help organize briefings and conduct research on topics such as brownfield reuse and manufacturing. He believes that it is a great point in time to advance policy, and NEMWI is in a great position to do so.
Mr. Bartsch can be reached at cbartsch@nemw.org