Penman of M.J. Peterson named BERC interim pres.

According to mayor Byron Brown, Dennis Penman has agreed to serve as interim president of the Buffalo Economic Renaissance Corp. (BERC), which was unanimously approved by the board. "Dennis Penman is a respected, highly experienced and accomplished leader in our region's development community," said Brown. "I'm very pleased that he has agreed to serve as interim president of BERC and I'm confident he'll bring his widely admired professionalism and skill to this important leadership position. He knows well the development opportunities and challenges in Buffalo, particularly from the vantage point of small and medium-sized businesses, and he has a demonstrated an ability to achieve positive outcomes on a broad range of development projects." Penman is executive VP of M.J. Peterson real estate, LLC and has been responsible for the firm's new investment opportunities and he has coordinated financial aspects of construction and development projects throughout the region. The firm has no business currently before the city. He has also served two years as chair of the Erie County Development Agency and is vice chair of the Buffalo Urban Development Corp. "Operating as vice chair at BUDC under the leadership of mayor Brown, I expect to bring the same level of success to my new role at BERC," said Penman. "I am pleased to have the full support of the mayor and the BERC board to improve the agency's overall delivery of economic development services and to provide the much needed opportunity for job growth and investment in the city." In 2000, Penman was appointed to the Congressional Millennial Housing Commission, which between 2000 and 2002 worked with HUD and Congress to create a national housing strategy for the first decade of the 21st Century.