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DIALOGUE STARTER Danya Perry leads the conversation around growth by JESSIE AMMONS RUMBLEY
R
aleigh is growing—that’s old news. The new news is that Danya Perry wants to be sure the growth is fair. The New Bern native planted his roots in Raleigh after graduating from N.C. State in 1998, and he’s the first-ever Director of Equitable Economic Development for Wake County Economic Development (WCED), a pro58 | WALTER
photography by EAMON QUEENEY
gram of the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce. Perry’s charged with adding thoughtful layers to our city’s evolution: corporate inclusivity, citizen mobility and workforce diversity. “We are going to be on the right side of history and we’re going to be comfortable being uncomfortable,” he says. “That’s where we’ll see growth.” Perry’s post is the answer to years
of data tracking by the WCED, which mapped Wake County using a U.S. Census Bureau index that measures poverty, unemployment, housing and education. The results were clear: not all community members have benefitted from, or been able to participate in, the county’s economic growth. A strategy to create economic inclusivity is necessary. And the man for the job is not an economist
