Julie Meyer Wright has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation since 1997. EDC is the premier business development organization for the greater San Diego region, involved in marketing, public policy, and direct assistance to companies.

In 2004, EDC received the Global Innovator award from CoreNet Global, the world's premier association for corporate real estate and related professionals. In 2003, the U.S. Department of Commerce awarded EDC its Excellence in Economic Development Award for "Enhancing Regional Competitiveness."

From 2004 to 2006 Ms. Wright served on the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board Task Force on Math-Science Education. In 2003, Ms. Wright served on gubernatorial candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger's Economic Recovery Council.

Ms. Wright was named Director of the Year for Not-for-Profit boards and Director of the Year for Companies in Transition by the Corporate Directors Forum. In 2004, Ms. Wright was named one of the "Women Who Move the City" by San Diego Magazine. In 2002, she received the "Women of Distinction" award from Soroptimist International. In 2001, she received Junior Achievement's San Diego Hall of Fame Lifetime Laureate Award and the San Diego Business Journal's Women Who Mean Business Award. In 1998, she was one of San Diego Magazine's "50 People to Watch." Wright was named California Leader of the Year by Leadership California in 1996 and the nation's Outstanding Secretary of Commerce by the Biotechnology Industry Organization in 1995.

Prior to coming to San Diego, Ms. Wright served as California's first Secretary of Trade and Commerce and a member of Governor Pete Wilson's Cabinet from 1991 to 1997. She led the Administration's wide-ranging business climate reforms and built a new Agency that expanded the state's international role and presence, opening five new overseas offices. Prior to her time in Sacramento and San Diego, she spent 25 years in executive marketing and public affairs positions in the private sector, including 14 years with TRW Inc., now a part of Northrop-Grumman.

Ms. Wright holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminology from the University of Maryland. She has completed the Stanford University Advanced Management College, the Stanford Financial Seminar, and a special program on competitiveness at Harvard University.