Former city manager now interim head of Solano EDC
August 25 2021Daily Republic By Matt Miller
FAIRFIELD — Former Fairfield City Manager Sean Quinn has been named the interim president-CEO of the Solano Economic Development Corporation.
Solano EDC President-CEO Bob Burris is transitioning to a new role with a statewide organization known as Rural County Representatives of California. He will serve as the deputy chief of economic development.
“I am excited to help the Solano EDC find a new president and CEO, keep the current projects and programs moving forward and work with the private and public sectors to help our businesses, bring jobs and investment to Solano County,” Quinn said by email.
Quinn has been a consultant with the Solano EDC since July 2014. He has served as a consultant in many roles, such as with municipal government, economic development, planning and housing.
He served for a time as the interim city manager of Fairfield in 2019, after retiring as city manager in 2014.
Quinn has also served as director of Community Development for Fairfield, beginning in 1995, where he oversaw current and long-range planning, economic development, redevelopment, affordable housing, the Housing Authority, housing rehabilitation, neighborhood services and publicly owned housing.
He is the past president of the Solano Land Trust and of the California Association for Local Economic Development, a past board member of California City Management Foundation, a Golden Bear Award recipient for outstanding leadership in economic development for the state of California, Public CEO’s Public Official of the Year 2010, and was the Fairfield-Suisun Chamber of Commerce’s Citizen of the Year 2010-11.
Quinn serves on the Board of Directors of First Northern Bank, Paradise Valley Estates and the Fairfield Community Services Foundation, and on advisory boards for Napa/Solano Habitat for Humanity and Solano Land Trust. He is also an Air Mobility Command civic leader.
“I fully understand the role of interim president and CEO,” Quinn continued by email. “I was the project manager for Moving Solano Forward II and as the Solano EDC starts Moving Forward III, I have a good working knowledge of all seven cities and the unincorporated county. I have served on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of the Solano EDC and understand the organization.”
Quinn reiterated that he will strictly be “working as the interim and will not apply for the full-time position,” and will hold the position for a short time.
“I look forward to finding a highly qualified candidate for the permanent full-time position,” he wrote.
Burris served as president-CEO of the EDC since January 2018. Before leading Solano County’s economic develop activities, he was deputy director and executive vice president of the Sacramento Area Commerce & Trade Organization, also known as SACTO, where he spent 15 years on its leadership team.
“This was a really hard decision to make. We have a fantastic staff and everyone that I have worked with in Solano has been tremendous,” Burris said by telephone. “I’ve done a lot with this organization. Sean is a rare talent and will be a fantastic leader of the next few months.”
Burris led the marketing and business attraction team for the entire capital region at SACTO. He is a college lecturer whose writing was often published in business publications. He was the voice of SACTO at domestic and international economic development conferences.
He also began his career at an associate with EPS, an economic and planning consultant group, before going to work as a manager for Grubb & Ellis Co., a real estate brokerage firm.
Burris will, through his position with Rural County Representatives of California, work as an advocate developing infrastructure, rolling out broadband and transitioning economic development in rural counties throughout the state.