September 10, 2025 – Small Nation Founder and CEO Jason Duff will serve as a keynote speaker at the Ohio Community Development Corporation Association (OCDCA) Annual Conference, taking place September 17–19 at the historic Dayton Arcade in downtown Dayton.

This year’s conference theme, GEM: Grow, Empower, Mobilize, invites participants to think like entrepreneurs in their communities, organizations, and personal lives. The event is recognized as Ohio’s premier gathering for community development corporations, nonprofit leaders, and partners working to strengthen neighborhoods and economies across the state. New this year, the conference will open with a Microbusiness Development Summit, a full day dedicated to small business, entrepreneurship, and the ecosystems that support them.

Duff will headline the Thursday keynote lunch: Historic Activation – Unlocking Assets, Empowering Communities. The session, set inside the Dayton Arcade rotunda, will highlight how small and mid-sized cities can transform historic assets into drivers of economic growth and community vitality.

In his spotlight talk, Duff will share the story of Bellefontaine’s downtown transformation, where Small Nation has led the revitalization of more than 56 historic properties, recruited dozens of new businesses, and positioned the community as a destination for food, retail, and entertainment. He will demonstrate how activating historic buildings can attract investment, support entrepreneurs, and create thriving districts outside major metropolitan areas.

Following his remarks, Duff will join Kristina Scott of the Downtown Dayton Partnership, David Williams, Board Chair of Heritage Ohio, and John Gower, urban designer at CityWide Development. Together, they will connect Bellefontaine’s success to the Arcade’s redevelopment in Dayton, offering strategies that communities of all sizes can apply.

“Historic buildings are not just relics of the past, they are assets that can be repurposed to power a community’s future,” Duff said. “When we invest in activating these spaces, we create opportunities for entrepreneurs, preserve local identity, and lay the foundation for long-term growth.”

For more information about the Ohio CDC Association Annual Conference, visit www.ohiocdc.org.