PORT TOWNSEND, Wash., June 2026. Eleven advisors graduated from the second cohort of EDC Team Jefferson's Recompete Business Advisor Training Program on June 16, 2026, at the EDC Team Jefferson offices in Port Townsend.
The Business Advisor training graduates bring professional backgrounds ranging from agritourism and micro-farming to financial services, healthcare, real estate, technology, and nonprofit leadership. Many are business owners themselves. Through participating advisors, businesses in Jefferson and Clallam counties can access up to five free advising sessions. Business owners interested in working with an advisor can view advisor profiles and request a session at: edcteamjefferson.org/business_advising_services. More about how business advising works at the EDC is available at: edcteamjefferson.org/news_advising-works.
The training program is funded through the Recompete Pilot Program, a federal initiative administered by the U.S. Economic Development Administration to connect residents of Clallam and Jefferson counties to skills training and living-wage local jobs. EDC Team Jefferson serves as a sub-awardee to Peninsula College on the five-year grant, which, in addition to training business advisors, also supports South Jefferson County economic development and county-wide workforce coordination. More information about the Recompete Pilot Program is available at recompetewa.org.
Justine Wagner, formerly of the Clallam APEX Accelerator program, and a graduate of the first business advisor cohort in December 2025, was the instructor. Phoebe Reid manages the program for EDC Team Jefferson.
Cohort II's graduates join five advisors from Cohort I, bringing the program's total to 16 trained advisors toward a goal of 25 under the grant. A monthly Community of Practice will continue to support advisors as they begin working with local businesses.
EDC Team Jefferson will launch Cohort III in Clallam County later this year with a new instructor. Details will follow in a separate announcement.
EDC Team Jefferson is the state-designated Associate Development Organization for Jefferson County under contract with the Washington State Department of Commerce. The organization serves as a sub-awardee to Peninsula College on the federally funded Recompete Pilot Program, which builds workforce capacity and connects residents of Clallam and Jefferson counties to skills training and local jobs. More information is available at edcteamjefferson.org.