James C. Kelshaw has been appointed as CAN DO director of economic development, CAN DO President Kevin O’Donnell announced.

As director of economic development, Kelshaw will oversee and plan CAN DO’s economic development initiatives and most importantly, procure funding for business clients and CAN DO infrastructure projects. He will also assume the operation of the Community Association for New Business Entrepreneurship (CAN BE), an entrepreneur development program at the Greater Hazleton Business Innovation Center in Valmont Park.

Through CAN DO’s business financing program, Kelshaw will consult with clients seeking funding to locate or expand their new or existing businesses within Greater Hazleton. He will also oversee CAN DO’s Area Loan Organization (ALO) program, which provides low-interest state loans for businesses throughout Luzerne County.   Eligible uses for the loans include but are not limited to building acquisition or construction as well as loans for machinery and equipment. 

Kelshaw will also direct the operations of CAN BE, CAN DO’s business incubator program that helps local entrepreneurs in starting and continuing successful businesses.

“The incubator program is a natural outgrowth of CAN DO’s economic development activity, and we feel that economic development and business incubation go hand in hand as we work to bring new businesses and jobs to Greater Hazleton,” Kelshaw said.

At CAN BE, he will replace Executive Director Jack St. Pierre, who is retiring effective Dec. 31.

“Jack has provided great leadership at CAN BE since 2006 and we look forward to Jim’s contributions to our incubator program. As part of our strategic planning process, CAN DO is working to develop an entrepreneurial ecosystem toward which Jack and Jim have already contributed great ideas,” O’Donnell said.

Kelshaw will continue the popular “Start Your Own Business” seminar series initiated by St. Pierre and expand the series to provide assistance to businesses after they launch. He also plans to leverage CAN DO’s partnerships to provide additional services to tenants at the incubator and other small businesses in the Hazleton area.

Kelshaw, who holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in finance from King’s College, has 20 years of experience in the banking industry. He has worked closely with Small Business Development Corporations and has handled all aspects of U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) lending. He has taught classes in entrepreneurship at the college level, participated in and conducted seminars for startup businesses and was a frequent judge in business plan competitions.

He said, “I have always been excited about working with small businesses and providing assistance to help them grow. My goal is for the CAN BE incubator to continue to grow and thrive in bringing new industry and jobs to Hazleton. I want to assist in creating a friendly business environment and making the area more receptive to new ideas and growth of small businesses.”

Kelshaw noted that CAN DO is recognizing changes in the community’s economy, saying, “We are developing the means to add a focus on retail, food service and other businesses that reflect the area’s employers in addition to manufacturing.”