Podcasts

Jim Alexander, Senior Vice President of Business Attraction for AllianceSTL of Greater St. Louis. Inc. shares with us the exciting story of the new National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA) $2 billion campus in St. Louis that is under construction.  The 99-acre site will house over 3,600 workers interpreting geospatial information from satellites for the US Department of Defense and other federal agencies. The project is designed to support the Region's diversity, equity, and inclusion mission.  Through the collaboration of workforce development organizations and educational institutions, a talent pipeline is being created to provide a diverse workforce with the skills needed.  

Kate is the founder of Kate McEnroe Consulting, a sole proprietorship founded in 1993 as a location selection and economic development consulting firm. Her MBA is from The  Wharton School. Her background in corporate management positions gives her a solid foundation and the skills to sustain an evolving consulting practice for over 25 years. By sharing direct insights and offering flexible approaches from on-site consultations to virtual training, Kate can ensure that communities, companies, and individuals understand their strengths and their options, and are better equipped to take immediate action to improve their place in the world. Kate is an expert in coaching economic development organizations through designing high-impact business cases for workforce assets, deploying marketing resources, and applying data visualization principles to the task of marketing places.

Aaron Brossoit is CEO and a founder at Golden Shovel Agency, a firm specializing in communications for economic development. He has led the creation of communication tools and services currently supporting over 200 economic development organizations across North America.  In this episode, Aaron describes the current state of the application of virtual reality in community storytelling and a glimpse into what's next in the form of augmented reality.

Tim Cowden, President, and CEO of the Kansas City Area Development Council share with us how he has successfully created a collaborative regional organization that encompasses 18 counties in two states. In addition to a strong team, and engage investors, the KCADC is intentional in its collaboration efforts.  This intentionality has enabled the KCADC to be recognized as one of the top regional economic organizations in the country.

In this episode, we will hear from Bethany Miller, Vice President of Business Development at the Greater Houston Partnership about her presentation at the International Economic Development Council Leadership Summit on the Benefits and Opportunities that being an inclusive community provide. She describes the efforts at the Houston Partnership to work with their private sector and their partner economic development organizations to provide equal opportunity to their increasingly diverse workforce and the role that mentorship and other initiatives play in creating a welcoming community.  Bethany shares her vision for the future of economic development as one that continues to addresses the issues of equality and inclusion and how she wants to be part of creating that future.

During this interview, Gene DePrez, Managing Partner of Global Innovation Partners takes us along on the 35-year career path that led him to take a unique approach to global corporate location strategy. In it, he begins by understanding the corporate culture and the overall corporate business strategy. Once he understands their goals and objects, he considers how the location of the business can be used to support the company in achieving its corporate objectives.