Larry L. Pelton, president of the Economic Development Council of St. Lucie County, leads the EDC with a committed strategic vision to further recruit and develop science and technology clusters and help construct a new economy that supports multiple scientific and educational advancements. He is an industry leader with an acute understanding of partnerships that help our community thrive.

A veteran business leader with over 20 years of economic and business development experience in Florida, Mr. Pelton played a leadership role in the team that recruited Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Science to St. Lucie County.

Pelton had been in private consulting-practice with developers and companies prior to being named president by the EDC. Pelton served as president of the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County for 15 years, and was instrumental in helping attract the Scripps Research Institute to the region. During his term as head of Palm Beach County’s Business Development Board, more than 350 companies announced relocations or expansions to Palm Beach County, creating approximately 32,550 primary and 25,400 secondary jobs. In addition to Scripps, Pelton was instrumental in recruiting such leading companies as W.R. Grace & Co. and Wackenhut Corp. Pelton began his career as manager of downtown development for the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce, and later was a recruitment and business development executive for ITT Land Corporation and for several leading banking organizations.

Candace S. Walker, vice president, an experienced business person with an extensive background in business development in the biotechnology industry, is responsible for business development activities, business recruiting strategies and marketing, including management of existing recruiting programs.
Walker was most recently program manager for Scripps Florida in Palm Beach County, where she oversaw day to day operation of the institute and managed its community and education outreach programs.

Prior to joining Scripps Florida in 2003, Walker was manager of business programs at Epicyte Pharmaceutical, a Scripps spin-off company, where she was involved in both business development and project management of the company’s first pharmaceutical product. Earlier, she spent eight years as administrative manager for two labs in the Scripps Research Institute’s department of cell biology.

She holds an MBA from San Diego State University, and an undergraduate degree from the University of Missouri at Kansas City.

Candy Marlow, assistant vice president, is focused on business retention and expansion for existing industries in the county and EDC membership relations.
Candy has been an integral part of the organization since 2003 and came to the EDC from Massachusetts with an eclectic background including more than ten years at CPS Direct, a full-service marketing communications company and more than a dozen years as a floral designer in a family-owned florist business.

Jackie L. Bylsma, executive assistant, is responsible for providing administrative support to the President, preparation and management of EDC meetings and management of day-to-day administrative operations. Prior to joining the EDC, Jackie provided executive-level administrative support to leaders in Florida and Washington, DC real estate industry for ten years and spent fifteen years at a nuclear non-profit trade association supporting the CEO.