616-786-2500 Our Team
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Dean F. Whittaker, Founder and President
Dean Whittaker is founder, president and CEO of Whittaker Associates, where he creates, invents, learns and teaches as he assists on projects as a coach/advisor to the team, using his 30 years of experience in economic development and industrial/commercial real estate. He participates in strategic planning, capitalization, and staffing decisions and represents the company in public speaking engagements and training sessions. He also mentors economic development professionals and entrepreneurs one-on-one.
Dean’s background includes managing three local chambers of commerce, and serving as a field staff person and managing director of Industrial Development for the State of Illinois. He also served as the director of the Indiana Economic Development Academy and director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Resources and Applied Research at Ball State University. In addition, he has taught applied information technology for economic development for 23 years at the Economic Development Institute.
In 1987 Dean founded Whittaker Associates, Inc., to serve the business intelligence needs of economic development organizations and commercial/industrial real estate firms. Dean has written several articles and book chapters, and gives presentations on the change nature of work, targeted marketing tactics and strategies, and using business intelligence to state development associations, professional groups and organizations.
Jami Miedema, Research Analyst
Since April 2005, Jami has been a part of the Whittaker Associates team. As a research analyst her responsibilities include gathering and examining company information, industry trends, and growth patterns to provide business intelligence to professionals in the business services, real estate, and economic development fields. With information and technology changing at a rapid pace, she has discovered new and innovative ways to conduct research.
Jami also maintains the company financials, manages office procedures, and contributes to and compiles our monthly newsletter, the Whittaker Report. In addition, she has assisted with several presentations and webinars put on by Whittaker Associates, most notably presenting material at the Holland Chamber of Commerce’s tech talk and the Economic Development Institute.
Jami received her bachelor’s degree in finance from Grand Valley State University, where she was a member of the Seidman Investment Portfolio Organization.
Vidhan Rana, Research & Project Manager
Vidhan joined the Whittaker Associates team in January 2008 as a research intern and currently serves as the research and project manager for the company. Vidhan’s primary responsibilities include gathering and analyzing data on targeted companies to predict corporate behavior and using statistical analysis to improve the company’s lead identification process. Vidhan also manages relationships with clients by working to understand their research needs and delivering reports and lists as needed.
In his capacity at Whittaker, Vidhan has worked on over 30 different projects. He recently co-authored a study on emerging trends in the renewable energy industry and carried out a targeted lead generation project focusing on the industry. He also worked on a project to attract high-tech American companies to a state in Germany and a project to attract corporate headquarters to a city in Florida. He has also worked on several real estate projects, helping create targeted marketing lists for special use properties.
Vidhan is a Summa Cum Laude graduate of Hope College, with degrees in economics and management. He grew up in Kathmandu, Nepal, where he finished high school before moving to the United States in the fall of 2004.
