America's Jobs Team

“There was never a night or a problem that could defeat sunrise or hope.” – Bernard Williams Schools are back in session and what better way to kick off a new school year than with an America's Jobs Team episode that focuses on toolkits, data, inclusion, equity, and plenty of activity! What tools do you […]

“When you speak to companies about attracting and retaining talent, we often say that you can find a diverse workforce, and you can scale in the Toronto region. You can find your talent here and as hopefully the company continues to grow and be successful, you can find people here to do that.” -Michael Keoshkerian […]

“You get to see the community change daily. Myself and my staff get to impact the community whether it's working with our commission or working with state leaders.” –Cal Wray What is your region and community best known for? When you first hear Augusta, Georgia, your mind may automatically resort to the iconic Master's tournament. […]

“We exist to ultimately drive forward strategic initiatives, diversify the economy, and to raise the quality of living for everyone. We're trying to make peoples lives better in our community.” -Danielle Casey How did you first get involved in economic development? Danielle Casey's unconventional path towards this industry came about after her previous experience in […]

Development is about transforming the lives of people, not just transforming economies. – Joseph E. Stiglitz What would you say your purpose is within economic development? For Desa Burton, changing the lives of those within her community through job opportunities has been the focus of her organization. Zip Code Wilmington focuses on providing quality software […]

“Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success.” – Henry Ford What would you say your economic development superpower is? Jason Giulietti describes his as the power of team, and he takes pride in playing a leadership role on his. Currently serving as President at Greater San Marcos Partnership, Jason […]

“Economic development is all about connecting, networking, and relationships.”  -Christina Frank Have you ever considered taking a leap of faith in your career? For Christina Frank, economic development wasn't quite in her sights as she began her career in social work after college. Despite her untraditional path towards economic development, this “leap of faith” has […]

“The ultimate resource in economic development is people. It is people, not capital or raw materials that develop an economy.” – Peter Drucker What began as a small two-page business plan has developed into something spectacular. Jennifer Owens CEcD, President of Lakeshore Advantage, joins Carla Sones on America's Job Team Podcast. She reflects on her […]

“Economic development is a great profession. It's one where you do make lifetime friends” –  Jim Staton Have you ever built a long-lasting friendship through a working relationship? Carla Sones welcomes in good friends Chris Schastok and Jim Staton to share their experiences and how they met through economic development. Chris Schastok, Executive Vice President […]

“Trust is something that is built. Everybody has to come to the table being willing to bring their best to an event but also be prepared to flex in and out of roles.” – Carla Sones When you bring site consultants or others into your community, what is your why? Why are you doing this […]

“I'm obsessed with giving the audience something they don't see coming.” —Jordan Peele Economic development is heavily focused on relationship building. And with relationship building comes event after event. Here at Consultant Connect we often get asked, how do you find the cool and memorable venues and moments that make all the difference? In this […]

“Great thing take years to build.” —Sam Juraschka In economic development, the pace of work can be grueling. Because we're often operating in a short-term mindset due to full project pipelines and shorter timelines on projects, it can feel counter-intuitive to stop and think about the long term strategy of your organizations work. What are […]

Amazon has created more jobs in America in the last decade than any other company. With such a level of job growth, it's only natural that the company has built an internal economic development team with its own strategy around doing developmental project work. How does economic development strategy differ when operating on behalf of […]

“It is not so much about what life hands you, but what you do with what you get.” –Idowu Koyenikan Sometimes lessons are learned the hard way, and those tend to be the lessons that shape our leadership habits from that point forward. Whether it's a lesson from a time where we assumed we knew […]

“The world is messy. There are ambiguities. People who do really good stuff have flaws.” –Barack Obama Few words in society these days illicit as much emotion as the phrase “cancel culture.” With its roots of originating as a tool for marginalized communities to assert their values against public wrong-doings, cancel culture in many ways […]

“In an age where everything and everyone is linked through networks of glass and air, no one is an island. One thing is for sure: no organization can succeed in a world that is failing.” –Don Tapscott Creating growth and prosperity in our communities is work that has to be done alongside others. When economic […]

“Economic development is a team sport. We are only successful when we can work with, collaborate, empower and guide others in a common direction.” –Jonas Peterson Despite significant hurdles like ever-increasing costs of materials, labor shortages and supply chain challenges, the project pipelines have been overflowing the last few years. While most communities have experienced […]

“There is immense power when a group of people with similar interests gets together to work toward the same goals.” –Idowu Koyenikan You've undoubtedly seen those articles with “Best Places to…” or “Top Metro for…” lists. Maybe your community was on the list. Maybe you aspire to be on such a list. But what is […]

“The ultimate form of intrinsic motivation is when a habit becomes part of your identity. It's one thing to say I'm the type of person who wants this. It's something very different to say I'm the type of person who is this.” –James Clear How can you create productive habits to sustain your energy and […]

“We think that powering through the grind builds our capacity more over time when really it has the opposite effect: it leads to burnout.” –Gretchen Slenk Did you decide to create some new habits as part of a resolution for 2022? Now that it's mid-February, are you still sticking strong to your intention? If you […]

“Competition makes us faster, collaboration makes us better.” –Unknown Economic development is a fiercely competitive industry. When we battle it out against other communities to win more and better jobs for our communities, it's easy to get sucked into fighting mode. Yet, at the same time, collaboration is key to driving the work forward and […]

“It was a tough decision to move; in Phoenix I was able to drive around  and see the impact of my years invested first-hand. But I was ready for a new challenge.” –Mitchel Allen With a huge move under his belt in 2021, Mitchel Allen is ready for 2022 and all it has in store. […]

“There is virtue in work and there is virtue in rest. Use both and overlook neither.” –Alan Cohen Coming out of 2020, we thought there couldn't be a wilder year. Coming to the close of 2021, we might have been wrong! All signs point to a busy year leading to another busy year. How are […]

“Great things in business are never done by one person. They're done by a team of people.” –Steve Jobs We all know that one coworker that you can count on for anything. As soon as you need help you automatically think of them. But what is it that makes that person such a team player? […]

“If you can think of the project through a different lens, there is often a way you can leverage a non-traditional tool to fit the project you're working on.” –Joe Agostinelli The cost of materials and goods for projects is a topic we are all too familiar with right now. It often seems that incentive […]

“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for.” –Barack Obama As this year comes to a close and a new year looms, lots of people are thinking about new year's resolutions, setting goals for next year, and working on strategies […]

“The biggest part of learning anything is taking your ego out of it. Nobody has all of the answers.” –Heather Ennis Gathering knowledge and building expertise are cornerstones of the work economic developers do. We have to be lifelong learners, always keeping abreast of new developments and trends within industries. So how can you continue […]

“What we know matters but who we are matters more.” –Brené Brown Before you click away, stick with us for just a minute; we know that the word “vulnerability” can alienate people quickly. When we are talking about needing to be more vulnerable in our professional lives, we don't mean sitting around in a circle […]

“Buffalo, as a whole, has been involved in supporting the entrepreneurial ecosystem and its innovation for a long time.” –Kim Grant Why should economic development organizations implement a strategy for supporting entrepreneurs? Can these efforts make a difference in attracting talent? And if so, what elements should be part of the support network for start-ups? […]

“Confidentiality and transparency are not mutually exclusive, but rather they are two sides of the same coin.” –Thomas de Maiziere In business these days, there is an ever-increasing amount of conversation around transparent relationships. And for good reason; employees working for companies with high levels of transparency report higher engagement and commitment, as well as […]

“Most economic development leaders have something to say and are good people to say it within their communities; they're trusted entities. It's important to be able to communicate clearly about where you stand and what the focus is.” –Kenny McDonald Project announcements are happening left and right in most communities, and one thing that can […]

“Maturity is humility. The mature person need not experience the satisfaction of ‘I told you so.'” –Ann Landers As economic developers, we often have an inkling about the direction our communities need to be moving way before it becomes mainstream knowledge. Sometimes, we spend years attempting to teach community partners about impending developments and needs […]

“The shift facing our community and communities across the nation means economic developers must be agile and cultivate assets, like workforce, policy and brands, like never before. “ –Emily Jerkins How are research professionals becoming increasingly vital to economic development work? Why is their time and effort foundationally critical to understanding regions and guiding future […]

“Don't let perfection be the enemy of productivity.” –Alice Boyes We've all been there. A big project is due, the pressure is mounting, you have the whole thing basically ready to go but it's missing a few of those final details. There's a hard deadline looming for the whole deliverable, and yet you can't seem […]

“When I look at the people that I admire most, that are further along in their career, that's what I want to be to other people one day.” –Taylor Kielty Is there an attribute to your project process that makes you stand out? Are you gaining success because of a strategy that you believe in? […]

“As you grow older, you learn a few things. One of them is to actually take the time you've allotted for vacation.” –John Battelle We hear more and more about employee burnout from the companies we work with. So why are so many days of time off going unused? On this episode, Faye Davis talks […]

“I am at my best when I'm bowling with the guardrails down.” –Courtland Robinson Do you give due credit to the people around you? Are you intentional about the people you surround yourself with professionally? How can you put yourself in a position to learn about the people you want to? Today, Faye Davis talks […]

“You have to take opportunities as they come to you.” –Karla Moran Sustainability is gaining momentum all over, and the corporate world is no different. How does that influence attraction work from a utility perspective? What demands do incoming businesses have with regard to renewables? And how does that play out in a place like […]

“If you want to target talent, you need to customize what your region's strengths are for the type of people you're trying to attract. I firmly believe that the jobs will follow the talent.” –Michael Harvey Walmart, Tyson Foods, JB Hunt. Number 4 on the “Best Places to Live” list by US News. One of […]

“Training the labor force to meet the future needs is now more important than ever.” –Eileen Cai Workforce. Chances are that this will come up in industry-related conversation within five minutes. And for good reason; communities everywhere are putting their best and brightest brains together to attempt to solve the labor shortage. So what does […]

“I worked passionately both personally and professionally to support the flag change along with economic developers from across the state. We have a lot of work to do to better our state, but this change was a big step in the right direction and an accomplishment that will be felt for generations to come.” –Mitch […]

“The goal is to build relationships. Both site consultants and economic developers are hungry for relationships with one another, not just learning from one another but really feeling connected.” –Carla Sones Are you traveling to a site consultant's market soon? What are the rules of engagement around inviting site consultants for a meal while on […]

“Rather than feeling bad about limited resources, the conversation became about forming partnerships to create more opportunities for a rural county.” –Cathy Knapp Economic development can look vastly different for rural areas; often, the local organization is a one-person shop. Challenges around needing to prioritize time for projects with office management tasks can be huge […]

“Site consultants want to come out and build relationships and learn. As you're planning your visit, it's really important to think about what the goal is of the tour.” –Carla Sones So, you're thinking about inviting some site consultant friends to learn more about your region. Do you know where to start? Have you thought […]

“The regions that can adapt to change by producing the next generation of talent, along with addressing equity and inclusion, will have more balanced and prosperous economies.” –Chris Camacho Economic recovery is on a fast track, and the greater Phoenix area is running full steam ahead. Having recovered over 80% of the jobs lost in […]

“Having experience in most of the roles I now oversee, I have become a player-coach to my team.” –Jayson Knott How will your experiences today play into your future? Have you ever tried to reframe your perception of your role today in terms of how the skills you're learning now will shape the career path […]

“Economic development, at its best, brings people together” –Quentin Messer, Jr. Do you step into opportunities with enthusiasm and passion? Do you allow your unique attributes to play into your daily leadership and work? On this episode, Carla Sones talks with Quentin Messer, Jr. about personal qualities that drive you professionally. Quentin lets us in […]

“Celebrate what you want to see more of.” –Tom Peters Do you consider yourself a ‘deal junky'? Does your adrenaline kick in when that RFI shows up? Do you feel the excitement at every ribbon cutting? Today, Faye Davis talks with Carla Sones about keeping momentum going after wins. We all know the feeling of […]

“I like being able to see the change that were making, one job at a time, in our community and the impact that makes.” –Cristina Paredes How do you creatively bring in other companies to partner with your strategy efforts? When you're working on an initiative, do you try to involve your whole community? Do […]

“Leadership is an action, not a position.” –Donald McGannon Do you ever find yourself looking to a coworker for leadership or advice on a project? Do you see yourself stepping into that role for your teammates? As economic developers, we often find ourselves in roles of authority that shift with project needs. Today, Faye Davis […]

“Performance and partnerships, I think, are the most important for any profession.” –Brandon Simmons Do you remember the energy and passion that drew you into economic development? Do you bring that energy into relationships that attracts businesses and partnerships to you? Do you still have the competitive endurance to run the marathon of economic development? […]