Dr. I. Angelov Farooq is a Partner at The Omnius Group, a Southern
California based Sustainable Development firm.
He is also the Founding Director of the UC Riverside Center for
Economic Development & Innovation. Dr. Farooq is a Lecturer at UC
Riverside School of Business Administration.
In 2015, Dr. Farooq was elected to a 4-year term as a Governing Board
Member of the Riverside Unified School District (RUSD). RUSD has an
operating budget of almost $500 million and governs 50 schools.
His project on revitalizing neighborhoods is the subject of a regional PBS
documentary called SOS: Sustaining Our Society. Dr. Farooq's work has
been profiled by media such as The Huffington Post and the USC Price
School of Public Policy. He has been a featured speaker at conferences
for a variety of distinguished institutions including the Federal Reserve
Bank of San Francisco and the US Department of Housing & Urban Development.
In 2013, Dr. Farooq was appointed by Governor Jerry Brown on the California Workforce Investment
Board. He currently serves as a member of the Green Collar Jobs Council and the Increased Skills and
Credential Attainment committee. Dr. Farooq has served as an appointee of the Riverside County Board
of Supervisors on the Workforce Development Board since 2007.
In 2015, Dr. Farooq was appointed by California’s Chief Financial Officer, Controller Betty Yee, on her
Council of Economic Advisors to shape comprehensive tax reform for industries and individuals in the
State.
Dr. Farooq serves as the Chief Advisor for an economic development initiative (Inland SoCal Link)
between the City of Los Angeles and the Counties of Riverside/San Bernardino. The initiative attracts
advanced industries, foreign direct investment and the promotion of exports to the region. The project
has been designated by the Governor’s Office of Business & Economic Development as an Innovation
Hub.
Dr. Farooq was elected to membership of the Pacific Council on International Policy, is a member of the
USC Price Athenian Society and Rotary International. He is a Founding Board Member of ExCITE
Technology Incubator. ExCITE is a public-private partnership to foster an innovation ecosystem that
conducts technology transfer/commercialization.
Dr. Farooq was a featured expert in the 2009 Emmy Award winning production for "Instructional
Programming" called "Understanding Chemistry in Our World" and the specific segment called "Energy
Makes Things Happen."
Dr. Farooq received his Bachelor's Degree from the University of California at Berkeley, his Master’s
Degree from the University of Southern California and Doctorate of Policy, Planning and Development at
USC also. Dr. Farooq’s favorite hobby is to travel and he has visited 27 countries that span 6 continents.