President & CEO Keith Sellars Honored by Washington Business Journal with Top Minority Business Leader Award
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Washington DC Economic Partnership’s President & CEO Keith Sellars Honored by Washington Business Journal with Top Minority Business Leader Award
February 20, 2015 (Washington, D.C.) – The Washington, DC Economic Partnership (WDCEP) President & CEO Keith Sellars was recognized by the Washington Business Journal as a top DC Minority Business Leader at a special event held at the Ritz Carlton in downtown Washington, D.C. The annual event recognizes the Greater Washington region’s top minority business owners and leaders highlighting and honoring the entrepreneurial drive, creativity and success of selected honorees.
The Washington, DC Economic Partnership is a public-private partnership dedicated to promoting business opportunities throughout the District. During Sellars’ nine years at the WDCEP, he has undertaken attracting retail and restaurants to the District of Columbia and managed business development programs for the organization. He has successfully led initiatives that have attracted both national and local retailers to the District of Columbia including Target, Best Buy, Harris Teeter, Trader Joe’s, Apple, Whole Foods and Costco, as well as playing a significant role in developing the structures that have made the WDCEP a successful organization.
“I am beyond honored to be recognized as a Minority Business Leader in Washington, D.C.,” says Keith Sellars. “The District of Columbia is an incredible, dynamic, diverse, and vibrant city that I am proud to be a resident of and a business leader in – I love not only being able to watch it grow, but to have been an integral part of that growth.”
Sellars’ professional career includes 13 years with Whole Foods Markets, the country’s largest natural foods supermarket where he opened and managed stores throughout the United States, including California, Texas, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Carolina and Washington, DC. Sellars’ experience also includes working with The Rappaport Companies of McLean, Virginia, where he managed a shopping center portfolio of more than 700,000 square feet in and around the Washington metropolitan region.
His professional associations include the International Council of Shopping Centers, Urban Land Institute, DC Building Industry Association, Leadership Sanctuary, African American Real Estate Professionals (AAREP) and International Economic Development Council. He received his BA degree in Public Administration and Geography from North Carolina Central University and is a graduate of the Real Estate Apprenticeship Program (REAP).
About Washington, DC Economic Partnership (WDCEP)
The Washington, DC Economic Partnership (WDCEP) is a 501(c)(3) organization aimed to promote economic development and business opportunities for Washington, D.C. and enhance the city’s economy through jobs creation, increased tax revenues, retaining existing businesses, and attracting new businesses. The WDCEP facilitates economic development through business attraction and business retention programs and activities including site location assistance, educational seminars and workshops, networking and relationship building events, and serves as a key resource for DC economic development information. The WDCEP publishes several reports throughout the year including the DC Development Report, DC Doing Business Guide, and Neighborhood Profiles. For additional information, please visit www.wdcep.com.