Dave Murray

Background

About Dave Murray

For the past 20 years I've been committed to designing creative solutions for economic development in at-risk communities. Put me on a team that believes in an idea that others think is impossible, and I'm happy. Especially motivated when I get to help promote workforce innovation, affordable housing or ecological stewardship. I earned a B.S. in Construction Management and started out as an estimator and project manager for federal highway projects up in Alaska, then for retail construction in Southern California. Some of my more rewarding work in the construction industry has been coordinating planning and entitlements for high-density mixed-use infill development, or taking on the occasional historic home for architectural reconstruction. In 2005 I was asked to recruit and train a management team for a business my wife Mel was running at the time, a custom hand-knotted carpet company located in historic Tibet. We moved to northern India in 2010 and spent most of the next decade in Asia, establishing two additional manufacturing businesses, plus a non-profit that has helped launch another 21 ventures. We currently make our home in Harlem, NYC, just a few blocks north of Central Park. Mel helps run a business accelerator in midtown. I take on product and project design work on a contract basis and serve as the development director for our non-profit in India.