About
Creating a State of Investment.
Opportunity Alabama is an economic development organization focused on transforming Alabama’s communities through public and private investment in physical spaces and places. We help communities leverage diverse funding sources for projects and initiatives that improve quality of place and re-energize local economies. Founded in 2018, OPAL has been cited as a national leader in OZ-based economic development by Forbes Magazine and the New York Times and attracted over $5M in national philanthropy and federal funding since its inception. We work with developers, property owners, economic development professionals, local community leaders, and investors to support projects that move communities forward with new workforce housing, market rate housing, mixed-use development, historic revitalization, industrial development, and more. Our goal is to improve economic resilience and quality of place for all of Alabama’s communities.
Our Team
PDAP Team
OPAL Fund Team
Comms Team
Board of Directors
Myla Calhoun
Vice President, Birmingham Division, Alabama Power Foundation
Greg Barker
President & CEO, Economic Development Partnership of Alabama
Anoop Mishra
Vice President & Regional Executive, Birmingham Branch, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
Wendi Boyen
Executive Vice President, Government & Institutional Banking, Regions Bank
Larry Lewis
President, ProjectXYZ
Tony Smoke
Senior Vice President, Marketing & Economic Development, Alabama Power
Corporate Structure
Operating as a non-profit parent company, OPAL runs technical assistance programming and a benefit corporation subsidiary (OPAL Investments, BC), which raises and invests capital into our statewide network of real estate deals.
The ALTogether Coalition was developed to bring statewide entities together to collaboratively address the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on local economies and generate actionable strategies for their recovery. The work of this coalition is made possible through a generous Economic Adjustment Assistance grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration.
The Community Growth Accelerator (CGA) is OPAL’s flagship program through this initiative. The following partners are critical to the success of CGA and are providing additional services and programs to communities as part of their work through the Altogether Initiative.
Main Street Alabama – Main Street Alabama is a 501©(3) organization focused on bringing jobs, dollars, and people back to Alabama’s historic communities. Economic development is at the heart of this statewide organization’s efforts to revitalize downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts. Main Street Alabama is the state coordinating program of Main Street America and utilizes the proven Main Street Four-Point Approach to help communities organize themselves for success, create vibrant public spaces through design, promote their districts, and enhance their economic base.
MSA provides the following services for Designated Main Street Communities through the ALtogether initiative:
- Incremental Redevelopment Planning
- Real Estate Development Planning
- Small Scale Manufacturing Training
- Community Market Snapshots
- Ongoing support for all Designated Main Street Communities, Aspiring Main Street Communities, and Network communities
The Economic Development Partnership of Alabama – EDPA is a private non-profit organization funded by more than 60 Alabama companies, whose mission is to attract and retain world-class talent across a broad spectrum of interests and industries, support and inspire both existing industry and innovative/emerging companies (whether home-grown or transplanted), expand existing businesses, and be the trusted source for data on key economic drivers and insights for Alabama economic development stakeholders. EDPA is providing the following services through the ALtogether initiative:
- Alabama Business Intelligence Center – Alabama Business Intelligence Center (ABIC) generates actionable data insights for the recruitment and retention of Alabama businesses. The first comprehensive statewide research hub of its kind, ABIC proactively mitigates risk and identifies opportunities for targeted business growth and development with the goal of securing new investment throughout the state.
- Alabama Launchpad Business Assistance – Started in 2006, Alabama Launchpad is the state’s most active early-stage seed fund investor, driving innovation and job growth through startup competitions and ongoing mentoring for Alabama entrepreneurs. In 2022, after almost $6 million invested into 110 companies, EDPA hosted its first sponsored cycle, with a focus on social impact. Each of the finalist companies included a focus on a public benefit as part of their for-profit business plan.
Business Council of Alabama – BCA is Alabama’s chamber of commerce whose purpose is to improve the business climate across the state. BCA has been a coalition partner from the start; during COVID, they provided a series of technical assistance services to businesses experiencing negative impacts from the pandemic, and have supported and promoted the work of the ALtogether coalition and driven our strategic decisions about programming that impacts their membership ever since.