Whittaker Report
Blog & Podcast

Organizations Also Need to Plan for the Unplanned
Last month, Jami Gibson had an excellent article on how emergency preparedness is critical for individuals and families. It got me thinking about how important emergency preparedness is for economic development organizations (EDO’s). Over the past 15 years, Iowa has...
Recent Podcasts
Whittaker Associates Podcast Episode 16 An Interview with Ed Sitar, Senior Manager of Economic Development at ComEd
May 11, 2022 • 00:32:47
Ed Sitar, Senior Manager of Economic Development at ComEd. Ed oversees the company’s large business customer retention and expansion strategy to grow key industries in northern Illinois. Ed is a 28-year company veteran who has worked closely with Illinois municipalities, and regional and state economic development organizations. Ed holds…
The Whittaker Report Podcast Episode 15 - An Interview with Jim Alexander, Senior Vice President of Attraction AllianceSTL of Greater St. Louis, Inc.
Feb 22, 2022 • 00:22:30
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…
The Whittaker Report Podcast Episode 14 An Interview with Kate McEnroe Founder of Kate McEnroe Consulting
Jan 24, 2022 • 00:31:19
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…
The Whittaker Report Podcast Episode 12 An Interview with Maureen Donohue Krause, President and CEO of the Detroit Regional Partnership
Nov 23, 2021 • 00:24:20
In the episode, Maureen shares with us her perspective on the economic development profession having served in leadership roles at local, regional, and state positions. She assumed her current position as President and CEO of the Detriot Regional Partnership in July of 2020. She describes leading her team that is…
The Whittaker Report Podcast Episode 11 An Interview with Jon Roberts, Managing Director TIP Strategies, Inc.
Sep 9, 2021 • 00:56:26
Jon Roberts, Principal and Managing Partner at TIP Strategies, Inc. share with us his thoughts regarding remote work and its long-term impact on the residential, commercial, and industrial real estate market. In the interview, Jon also discusses the importance to economic development of resilience in view of climate change.
The Whittaker Report Podcast Episode 10 - An Interview with Greg Wathen, CO-CEO Evansville Regional Economic Partnership
Aug 27, 2021 • 00:29:50
Greg Wathen, CO-CEO, Evansville Economic Regional Partnership shares with us his experience as their region transitions from multiple organizations engaged in different aspects of economic development to one organization focused on a common mission, vision, and purpose. In the interview, Greg explains the value of their regional approach to economic…
The Whittaker Report Podcast Episode 9 - An Interview with Judie Scalise: Strategic Economic and Real Estate Development
Jul 5, 2021 • 00:31:08
Judie Scalise, Founder, and Principal of ESI Corporation share with us trends taking place in economic and real estate development in the pre-planning phase and the economic impact and feasibility analysis. Judie shares with us the lessons learned in her 30 years of working with a broad base of clients…
The Whittaker Report Podcast Episode 8 - An Interview with Aaron Brossoit: Storytelling with Virtual Realty
May 28, 2021 • 00:26:19
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…
The Whittaker Report Podcast Episode 7 - An Interview with Tim Cowden: Regional Economic Development
May 26, 2021 • 00:26:14
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…
The Whittaker Report Podcast Episode 6 - An Interview with Bethany Miller: The Benefits of Inclusion
Apr 29, 2021 • 00:22:14
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…
Recent Posts
Goal Setting Using the “Better-than-Nothing” Approach
A couple months ago, I set a lofty goal for myself to be completed by April 1st of this year. Needless to say, that date came and went with me only slightly advancing beyond the starting point. I’ve been in that position many times, and as the date approaches, I...
Agile
This month I began learning more about Agile, which is the idea of frequent iterations and continually improving a process by quick turnaround times. As I was working my way through a definition of Agile, I suddenly realized that that is exactly what Ed Morrison has...
Planning for the Unplanned
For over a month, we’ve been watching atrocities unfold in Ukraine. As millions of people fled their homes and country, they had little time or space to grab much more than a small bag of essentials. While it may be unlikely that we ever see that kind of humanitarian...
A.G.E.
While sitting in the waiting room at the orthopedic surgeon, I had a conversation with an older gentleman who said he was suffering from an illness called A.G.E., and I was thinking I can relate to that! I was waiting for an appointment to discuss my joint replacement...
What is Truth?
Podcasts, for me, are a great way to learn. One of my favorites is called Philosophize This, hosted by Steven West. In his podcast, West tells us the story of thinkers who have tried to make sense out of this crazy world. In a recent episode, he tells us of Karl...
The Truth Machine
One of the books I read recently is titled, The Truth Machine: The Blockchain and the Future of Everything, by Michael J. Casey and Paul Vigna. It is about how blockchain, our shared digital, verifiable ledger page, traces and verifies transactions and, in the...
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The Adventure Continues
For those who may have missed it, last month’s article described my pending knee replacement. On April 11th, I underwent surgery to replace my right knee. What I learned in the process of this phase is that it takes an army of people to support this effort. First and...
Organizations Also Need to Plan for the Unplanned
Last month, Jami Gibson had an excellent article on how emergency preparedness is critical for individuals and families. It got me thinking about how important emergency preparedness is for economic development organizations (EDO’s). Over the past 15 years, Iowa has...
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