seCTer’s injection of $2.5 million into the regional economy through funding for entrepreneurs and established businesses was among the highlights shared during the agency’s 2025 Annual Meeting in December.
Executive Director Paul Whitescarver told the capacity crowd of municipal, business, tribal, and non-profit leaders that the distribution through loans and grants represented a 78% increase from last year. Funding was distributed through the seCTerRise grant program and Boost Loan program.
These funding mechanisms help kickstart new businesses and support established businesses seeking to grow.
On the municipal side, Whitescarver noted that seCTer members benefit from a wealth of data programs, including JobsEQ, Arc GIS and a new offering in 2025, Placer.ai. These are in addition to Statebook, which provides access to comprehensive economic market data relative to the region’s Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy produced by seCTer staff every five years as mandated by federal funding agencies.
Whitescarver also highlighted seCTer’s community involvement through participation in strategic efforts, including the Eastern Workforce Investment Board and the Board’s Eastern Connecticut Advanced Manufacturing Alliance and Healthcare Partnership. seCTer also adds its expertise to the SECT Childcare Collaborative, the Eastern Connecticut Defense Industry Community Partnership, the Connecticut Port Authority, Sparks Maker Space, Thames River Heritage Park, Submarine Force Museum Library/Historic Ship Nautilus, the newly formed Connecticut Blue Economy Coalition, and TECHCONN.
Additionally, seCTer partnered with regional Chambers of Commerce to provide access to Artificial Intelligence workshops.
Marisol Herrera, State Director of CT APEX Accelerator, a seCTer partner agency that helps business owners understand and navigate the government and tribal contracting process, reported that her team assisted in driving more than $87M in government contracts to the eastern part of the state alone.
Keynote speaker Ray Gabriel, Vice President of Strategic Operations at General Dynamics Electric Boat, provided updates on the submarine manufacturer’s employment and production schedules. Gabriel said EB needs to increase staffing from its current level of approximately 25,000 to 33,000 within the next few years to enable production of 12 Columbia-class submarines through the 2030s.
Gabriel also highlighted the defense contractor’s role as a significant community partner. noting that in addition to providing economic benefits as the region’s largest employer, its employees contributed $2 million in donations and 125,000 pounds of food to various social service agencies.
Kevin Brown, who wears two economic development hats as seCTer Board Chair and President and Executive Director of Norwich Community Development Corporation, was named Member of the Year by the Connecticut Economic Development Association (CEDAS), during its Annual Meeting and Best Practices Awards Ceremony in October.
“The Member of the Year Award recognizes a CEDAS member who has exhibited leadership in the economic development profession or within the organization. The award focus is on the implementation of an initiative demonstrating real results and outcomes in the past year,” according to award criteria.
“While it’s an honor to be recognized by my peers statewide, this award is really a testament to the work of the NCDC staff and to all of the progress we’ve made together with business owners and municipal leaders in Norwich,” Brown said.
Brown leads the Norwich Revitalization Program focused on rehabilitating vacant space to attract new business, and funding building code corrections and exterior repairs to help retain existing businesses.
Brown and his NCDC staff are also responsible for American Rescue Plan Act-funded programs to build out large-scale projects.
Thus far, Brown has overseen seven major development projects of $1 million or more, which resulted in 370 jobs and more than 460,000 square feet of commercial space activation. These projects represent more than $78 million in total investments, with a 21:1 ratio of private to public funding.
In the small-business sector, the NCDC’s work has led to the establishment of 19 small businesses that created 116 jobs in more than 90,500 square feet of formerly dormant commercial space. This work represents $5.4 million in overall investment, with a 2:1 ratio of private to public funding.
Two regional business leaders were voted onto seCTer’s Board of Directors during the 2025 Annual Meeting on Dec. 10.
Megan Gilbert, Vice President of the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern CT, and David Quinn, Founder of Quinn Brand Strategy and a longtime marketing strategist in the region, each were elected to three-year terms.
They join a 28-member Board representing expertise across a broad range of business and community entities, including various levels of government, educational institutions, regional Chambers of Commerce, sovereign native American tribes, regional organizations, non-profits, and private businesses.
“With partnerships across all elements of the communities we serve, our Board members have proven to be invaluable resources for all aspects of the seCTer mission,” said executive director Paul Whitescarver. “We are fortunate to have such qualified, engaged individuals working with us.”
Board leaders are Chairman Kevin Brown, President of Norwich Community Development Corporation; First Vice Chair John Godin, Retired, GE Capital; Second Vice Chair Amanda Kennedy, Executive Director, Southeast Connecticut Council of Governments; Treasurer Sandra L. Allyn-Gauthier, First Selectman, Town of Preston, and Secretary Catherine Young, Retired, General Aviation Airports Business Development, Connecticut Airport Authority. The full list of seCTer Board members is here.
seCTer brought its brand of Shark Tank to eastern Connecticut in 2025 when it developed its Ledge Light Launch Pitch Competitions for area entrepreneurs.
Initiated by seCTer Economic Development Specialist Kait Ferrero and embraced by Board members who served as judges, the series awards each winner $7,500.
The competitions are helping to expand outreach efforts and raise awareness about seCTer’s programs among young entrepreneurs.
The inaugural Ledge Light Launch was held in June at Tox Brewing in New London followed by one in October at Epicure Brewery in Norwich. Both breweries are recipients of seCTer funding.
seCTer Board members Catherine Young and Maria Hanna agreed to serve as judges along with other local business leaders.
“We’ll continue the Ledge Light Launch series in 2026 based on the response to these first two pitch competitions,” said Executive Director Paul Whitescarver. “It’s another good way for us to get out in the community, and the breweries provide a relaxed atmosphere for some serious business.”
Stay tuned for news about seCTer’s first 2026 Ledge Light Launch Pitch Competition planned for early March.
Developing a national model for defense industry, community collaboration
General Dynamics Electric Boat is at the heart of the regional economy in Southeastern Connecticut, and it could soon be at the heart of a national model for collaboration between the defense industrial base and local communities when it comes to addressing opportunities and challenges.
What started as a roundtable discussion over the winter between local leaders and the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation in the Department of Defense resulted in the creation of a pilot program and finally the formation of the Eastern Connecticut Defense Industry Community Partnership. Leaders from various organizations and the municipalities of Groton, New London, Ledyard and Waterford have been meeting since January to identify challenges and develop solutions.
In other words, while Southeastern Connecticut has long benefited economically from hosting one of the nation’s premier defense contractors, it also faces problems that naturally occur from hosting such a major employer.
As Executive Director of the Southeastern CT Enterprise Region, the area’s federally designated economic development agency, the kind of collaboration this partnership seeks to create is heartening. While we at seCTer are charged with developing a strong, resilient economy, we do not approach that mission in a vacuum.
Every five years, seCTer updates the region’s Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy to provide a framework for developing “the flexibility needed to adapt to both macro- and micro-economic conditions, and to fully utilize the region’s unique advantages to maximize economic opportunity for its residents.”
If a major employer such as Electric Boat were to express interest in locating to the region today, we would convene area leaders and discuss everything from preferred locations to infrastructure needs for both the entity and the community.
Housing, child care and parking are among the top challenges facing the region based largely on Electric Boat’s need to continue increasing its workforce to meet the U.S. Navy’s demand for submarine production and overhaul (or maintenance) work.
The Department of Defense, through its Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation, wants to learn from this pilot project how best to work through these and similar issues in communities across the country that also host large employers in the defense industry supply chain.
This is not an easy mission, as we are working in reverse. Electric Boat has existed since the early 20th century and has grown in a footprint bordered by neighborhoods that preceded it and the Thames River.
As mentioned previously, economic development on a large scale today is well planned, with consideration for the infrastructure needs — from transit to family amenities — of both the major employer and the community.
Although this pilot project is working from a reverse-engineering approach, it is a step in the right direction with local and statewide leaders cooperating in the process.
In addition to Electric Boat executives, leaders of the municipalities previously mentioned, the group includes representatives from United Way, the Southeastern CT Council of Governments, UConn-Avery Point, Eastern CT Workforce Investment Board, Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development, and consultant groups with expertise in improving relationships between the defense industry and communities — PM Consulting in Connecticut and Sparks Policy Group in Washington, D.C.
So what does success look like if we accomplish our mission?
We will have improved collaboration between Electric Boat and the region’s communities, provided balanced community and company solutions, and provided an environment in which Electric Boat and similar manufacturers across the country will be able to modernize and expand to meet the nation’s defense needs while also improving local infrastructure and services.
Paul Whitescarver is the Executive Director of the Southeastern CT Enterprise Region (seCTer), a retired U.S. Navy Captain and former Commanding Officer of U.S. Naval Submarine Base New London.
We had the good fortune of working with four talented interns from the University of Connecticut over the summer.
They were all involved in a wide range of tasks and projects that helped each of us further the seCTer mission of fostering growth and vitality in southeastern Connecticut. Their enthusiasm and extra horsepower will be missed!
Jacob Schlessel, a Statistical Data Science and Economics major, served as a Data & Content Writing Intern. Jacob authored numerous blog posts for seCTer’s website, helping to communicate key insights on regional economic development. He also assisted with data collection and analysis of vacant storefronts and business types across the region, supporting efforts to better understand economic trends, and contributed to translating data into clear, accessible content for the community.
Simon Gadille, a Computer Science student at UConn, served as a Digital Operations & Web Intern. Simon played a key role in seCTer’s first business pitch event, supporting staff and participants to ensure a successful inaugural event that we can now replicate on a regular basis. Simon also collected and organized data on town assets and resources, helping strengthen seCTer’s regional economic development database, and contributed to website development and digital operations by updating content, improving functionality, and assisting with performance tracking.
Divyesh Paladugu, a Computer Science major, served as a Software Development Intern. In that role, he applied his software engineering expertise to both front-end and back-end development to create innovative digital solutions that improve usability and performance, and to build workflow automations to improve organizational efficiency by streamlining internal processes. Divyesh also developed creative, interactive dashboards for seCTer’s website to turn complex data into user-friendly visualizations that enhance community access to information.
Pratham Kapadia, a Cognitive Science student, was our Website Development & Content Intern. He updated the seCTer website to ensure it is more user-friendly, accessible, and relevant for businesses and community stakeholders. Pratham applied principles of UX/UI to create a more engaging online experience, and provided timely updates of content and resources to help keep information accurate and responsive to community needs.
Save the date for seCTer’s annual meeting at noon, Dec. 10, at the Norwich Inn and Spa.
We are excited that Ray Gabriel, Vice President of Strategic Operations for General Dynamics Electric Boat, will join us as the featured speaker.
Ray will discuss the recently established Eastern Connecticut Modernization and Resiliency Pilot project, a partnership with the Department of Defense Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation.
This pilot program is intended to establish a national model for collaboration between large defense contractors and the communities in which they are located. Through this initiative, leaders from various organizations and the municipalities of Groton, New London, Ledyard and Waterford, have been meeting to identify challenges and develop solutions to a wide range of infrastructure and social issues ranging from traffic and parking to housing, education, and daycare needs.
We’ll send invitations soon, and we hope to see you there!
seCTer is participating in a Department of Defense pilot project intended to create a roadmap for cooperation between large defense contractors and the communities in which they are located.
With a focus on General Dynamics Electric Boat’s role in the region as the largest employer and largest driver of housing and infrastructure needs, the Eastern Connecticut Modernization and Resiliency Pilot is looking at the benefits and challenges of hosting such a large employer. Housing, childcare, and parking are among the top challenges facing the region.
This project stems from an initial conversation between the Defense Department’s Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation and leaders from Groton. Once the pilot was envisioned, the effort was expanded to include the additional municipalities of New London, Ledyard, and Waterford, and representatives from United Way, the Southeastern CT Council of Governments, UConn-Avery Point, Eastern CT Workforce Investment Board, Connecticut Office of Manufacturing, and the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development. Two consultant groups with expertise in improving relationships between the defense industry and communities are overseeing the project, Patricia Meyer of PM Consulting in Connecticut, and Erin Sparks of Sparks Policy Group in Washington DC.
Given seCTer’s mission to develop a strong, resilient economy, we look forward to contributing our data and staff resources as needed to assist in this important regional effort to improve the business and quality-of-life environment for workers and their families. To read Executive Director Paul Whitescarver’s op-ed in support of the pilot, and published by The Day, click here.
With AI at the forefront of most business conversations today, seCTer was proud to support ‘Navigating the AI Landscape: a Hands-On Workshop,’ presented by the Mystic Chamber of Commerce in May.
Speaker Mike Lannen, founder of Eternity, helped attendees “cut through the noise and learn how to use AI in day-to-day work.”
Lannen provided a primer that allowed his audience to better understand the basics of AI, how to use it effectively and securely, how to use ChatGPT with more effective prompts, and how to create an AI assistant.
This event continued seCTer’s efforts to elevate our brand throughout the region as a provider of entrepreneur support services across a broad spectrum in addition to our non-traditional funding resources.
Once again, seCTer is proud to support the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut by sponsoring prizes for the Chamber’s annual Entrepreneur Academy.
This eight-week program is designed to provide “aspiring and early-stage business owners with the practical tools and expert guidance needed to navigate the real-world challenges of launching and scaling a venture,” according to the Chamber.
Weekly sessions focus on a different aspect of business development and feature local experts in each area of focus. Finalists are selected for a live pitch competition judged by local business leaders, and the top three ventures will receive cash awards of $2,000 for first place, $1,500 for second, and $1,000 for third. Judging is based on the clarity of the business model, growth potential, and presentation.
The Academy started Sept. 9 and runs through Oct. 28.