Greg Barker
President
Economic Development Partnership of Alabama

Greg Barker was named president of the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama in June 2020. Greg came to EDPA from Alabama Power Company, where he started in 2002 as an economic development project manager and was later named vice president of Economic and Community Development. He also held positions as senior vice president, Business Development and Customer Support, senior vice president, Marketing and Economic Development, and executive vice president, Customer Services. Greg’s career has also included experience in local and regional economic development, serving as president of the Calhoun County Economic Development Authority and as executive vice president of the Metropolitan Development Board in Birmingham. Greg graduated from Mississippi State University, where he was named an Alumni Fellow of the College of Arts and Sciences in 2018. He also attended the Institute for Organizational Management at the University of Georgia and the Economic Development Institute at the University of Oklahoma. In 2010, he was the first recipient of the Dave Echols Distinguished Service Award, presented by the Alabama Development Office (now the Alabama Department of Commerce) for exemplary work in economic development. He is a member of the International Economic Development Council (IEDC), the Southern Economic Development Council (SEDC), the Utility Economic Development Association (UEDA), and the Economic Development Association of Alabama (EDAA). He also serves on the boards of directors for Opportunity Alabama, the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Development Council, the Bill L. Harbert Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and Innovation Depot. He is a 2008 graduate of the Leadership Alabama program.

Veronica Crock
Senior Project Manager
Alabama Department of Commerce

Veronica Crock is currently a Senior Project Manager with the Alabama Department of Commerce. She has served in this position for more than 3 years working with hundreds of projects during this tenure. Crock previously served as the president of the Ozark-Dale County Economic Development Corp. in the region that houses the U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence/Fort Rucker and numerous aerospace companies. She also served as president of Grow Southeast Alabama, an 11-county organization that promotes industrial growth and job creation across the region. Before starting her career in economic development, Crock served as dean at Enterprise State Community College and the Alabama Aviation College, where she collaborated with economic development organizations, local governments, and educational entities to establish a solid workforce development background. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University, a master’s degree from Troy University, and completed doctoral research at Alabama State University. She is a graduate of the Applied Economic Development Honors Program at the University of Alabama and the Intensive Economic Development Training Institute at Auburn University.