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Lisa Rivera Skubal has been an economic development practitioner for over two decades. As the vice president of economic development for the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber, Lisa is responsible for leading staff and programs dedicated to business recruitment and retention, talent recruitment and business and economic information delivery for the Cedar Valley of Iowa.

Prior to her current position, Lisa served as the Director of Marketing for the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber and former Cedar Valley Economic Development Corporation. Before moving to the Cedar Valley, she was a project manager and marketing specialist with the former Quad City Development Group and Corridor of Opportunities Regional Group in Illinois.

Lisa is a certified economic developer and past recipient of the 20 Under 40 award from the Waterloo/Cedar Falls Courier. Lisa is past chair of the Cedar Valley Regional Marketing Partnership, past board member of the Cedar Falls Main Street Member and Illinois Quad Cities YWCA and past president of the Waterloo Jaycees. Lisa is a current member of the International Economic Development Council and Professional Developers of Iowa.

Lisa holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and a Master of Science degree in Community Development from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. She also graduated from the University of Oklahoma Economic Development Institute in Norman, OK.

Grady Fitzpatrick joined Greater New Orleans, Inc. in 2011 as vice president of business development. In this role, Grady markets the 10-parish Southeastern region of Greater New Orleans working to attract new jobs and investment in areas such as corporate headquarters, software, digital media and advanced manufacturing.

Previously, Grady held the position of senior business development manager of economic development for the Metro Atlanta Chamber. Grady carried out all aspects of site selection for competitive domestic and international business recruitment projects. Grady successfully recruited over 15 domestic and international companies to Atlanta, representing over $300M in new capital investment and over 2,500 new jobs for Atlanta. Grady also worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers in sales and business development, XO Communications and Discovery Communications.

Grady is an active member of the Young Leadership Council of New Orleans and the Louisiana Industrial Development Executive Association.

Grady received his Bachelor of Science degree in Communications from Boston College and completed his Master of Business Administration with a concentration in real estate at Georgia State University.

Bill Adams has been with TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority) for over 12 years. He is a senior target market specialist for transportation-related manufacturing (OEMs), special projects and product development initiatives. Most notable has been the TVA Certified Megasites Program, which has contributed to the creation of approximately 6,000 direct jobs and $5.3 billion in capital investment. Bill is a team leader for TVA Economic Development’s Product Development Division, and serves as a primary target market specialist for large-scale projects, like OEM automotive assembly.

Before joining TVA Economic Development, Bill was employed with the Mississippi Development Authority from 1994 to 2003, serving as a recruitment specialist for the automotive industry.

Bill is a member of the International Economic Development Council and various state economic development councils and automotive manufacturer associations.

Bill is a graduate of Mississippi State University, where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in political science and holds a Master’s degree in public policy and administration. Bill is also a graduate of the University of Oklahoma’s Economic Development Institute and is a certified economic and community developer.

Beth Doughty has been the executive director for the Roanoke Regional Partnership for over eight years. She manages a $1.2 million economic development program for a seven-locality, urban-suburban-rural region. Beth oversees a program of work designed to attract people, jobs, money and ideas to the region. Beth’s responsibilities include marketing strategy, connecting business with resources for expansion and location, organizational management and fundraising.

Prior to joining the Roanoke Regional Partnership, Beth was the president of the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce. Beth was responsible for the operations of the 1,400 member business organization with an annual budget of $1.1 million. Beth’s operating units included the small business development center, leadership development and governmental relations. Beth was also responsible for the management of $2 million in assets of nonprofit real estate development foundations. Beth managed the business political action committee and an organization of the region’s largest employers.

Beth has lectured on economic development at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Virginia Tech, Roanoke College and was a visiting lecturer for the Mellon Foundation in the Czech Republic.

Beth is a graduate of the University of Virginia and a past president and a cardinal of the Virginia Economic Developers Association.

Greg HeadshotGreg Wathen serves as president and CEO of the Economic Development Coalition of Southwest Indiana. Since March of 2007, his leadership has helped garner over $2.8 billion in investment, over 3,500 jobs and $74 million in state and federal grants for the region. In 2015, Greg’s collaborative efforts saw Indiana’s Great Southwest named one of Indiana’s first Regional Cities and being awarded $42 million in state funding to help create projects to attract talent to the region.

Not only has Greg helped create Southwest Indiana into a national brand, he has helped steer projects such as worldwide appliance giant Haier America to place its first research and development tech center in Evansville.

Prior to his work at the Coalition, Greg worked as the executive director for the Perry County Development Corporation and was public affairs manager for the Greater Louisville Economic Development Partnership.  He also managed the Greater Louisville Media Information Center, an independent news service bureau which assisted international, national and regional media in dealing with stories about the Greater Louisville area.  In 1999 and 2001, he was part of a five-member U.S. team who taught the first tertiary and advanced economic development courses in New Zealand.

A graduate of Indiana State University, Greg is accredited in Public Relations by the Public Relations Society of America and held the position of president for the Bluegrass Chapter of the PRSA. He is a past president and served on the board of directors of the Indiana Economic Development Association, a statewide economic development organization with more than 400 members.

David RumbargerDavid Rumbarger has over 30 years of economic development/existing industry and Chamber of Commerce management. Since August 2000, David has served as president and CEO of the Community Development Foundation of Tupelo, Mississippi. Under his leadership, Tupelo/Lee County has experienced exceptional growth. David’s most recent recruit, Grammer Inc. USA, employs 650 individuals. In December 2008, David successfully led a team to retain the 1,200 jobs at Cooper Tire and Rubber Plant. David played a pivotal role in locating Toyota’s Corolla Plant in North Mississippi; that plant now employs 2,000 with over one billion dollars of capital investment.

Previously, David worked for The Alabama Department of Community and Economic Affairs, the largest economic development agency in the state; North Carolina Power & Light and Energen.

Tupelo/Lee County ranked #4 in the nation for projects in 2015. David’s leadership was recognized in 2008 for the SEDC Project of the Year. He has received the designations of Top Ten Developer by Triangle Business Journal in 1997, Top 40 under 40 by Mississippi Business Journal in 1995, Hattiesburg Sales and Marketing Executive of the Year in 1995, Top Young Developers by Expansion Management Magazine in 1995 and Top 20 Area Development Partnership by Site Selection Magazine in 1994.

David graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from Auburn University, holds a Master of Science in Economic Development from the University of Southern Mississippi and a Management Certificate from Duke University.

Wade Goodsell is a Director of Business and Investment Attraction at the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, an organization that he has been with for the past 2 years. He leads the state’s site selection and corporate real estate outreach efforts in the recruitment of companies to Wisconsin, partnering extensively with local and regional economic development organizations as well as the Governor and Lt. Governor’s offices. Additionally, Wade serves as a single point of contact for site selectors and consultants alike, while also overseeing Wisconsin’s Certified Sites Program, which in its 5 years has drawn over $240M of capital investment into 8 of the state’s 15 certified development-ready sites.

Prior to Wade’s current position, he was Manager of Membership and Government Relations with the State Chamber of Commerce.

Wade is a member of the Wisconsin Economic Development Association, the International Economic Development Council, CoreNet’s Chicago Chapter, NAIOP, CARW and the Industrial Asset Management Council, where he serves as a volunteer on the Member Relations Committee.

Wade received his Bachelor of Arts degree in business marketing and leadership studies from Bethel University.

Rob O'BrianRob O’Brian is the President of the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce, where he has focused on economic and community development for 21 years. Rob is well respected statewide as a visionary and a leader with enormous economic development success. Rob is known to bring big results to small and medium-sized markets that are mixed with rural and urban geographies.

Prior to joining the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce, Rob was the president of the Warsaw Area Chamber of Commerce, the vice president at Muncie Chamber of Commerce and a news director with WBST. He was also positioned as past-President of the Chamber of Commerce Executives of Missouri. Additionally, Rob O’Brian was a member of Governor Blunt’s State Government Reform Commission and was instrumental in writing the Enterprise Zone and Quality Jobs Act legislation.

His civic and business activities include President of the Joplin Business and Industrial Development Corporation and Vice-President of the Joplin Industrial Development Authority. He also serves on the regional Medical School Alliance and Connect2Culture boards. State-wide, Rob O’Brian is a current Board Member of the Hawthorne Foundation, the private-sector foundation supporting economic development. He is also a Board Member and Past-President of the Missouri Economic Development Council and a Board Member and Past-President of the Missouri Economic Development Financing Association.

Rob received his Bachelor of Science degree in telecommunications and journalism from Ball State University. Rob is a Certified Economic Developer (CEcD) through the International Economic Development Council (IEDC).

Jerry Mallot is executive vice president of the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce and president of JAXUSA Partnership, formerly Cornerstone. Jerry directs a staff of 12 in the areas of business development, international, workforce and research. Jerry led the formation of a seven-county economic development program to expand high wage jobs in northeast Florida. During his tenure, Jacksonville has seen its greatest number of new and expanded companies, as well as new jobs created, in the city’s history.

Prior to coming to Jacksonville in January of 1994, Jerry was senior vice president of the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce and executive director of the Tampa Bay Partnership, a six-county regional economic development program. Jerry served as Mayor Alvin Brown’s economic development advisor in 2011 and 2012.

Jerry is a member of the Executive Advisory Board of Jacksonville University School of Business, THE PLAYERS Council, Community Connections and the Gator Bowl Association. He is a past president of Leadership Jacksonville and the Florida Economic Development Council, as well as the World Trade Center Association of Florida. Jerry has served on the Board of Enterprise Florida, the Florida Association of Colleges and Universities, Visit Jacksonville and the World Affairs Council.  He has been named the Economic Development Professional of the Year in both Florida and Kansas. He has won awards such as the Northeast Florida Business Hall of Fame, Ultimate CEO by Jacksonville Business Journal and Florence Davis Community Achievement Award from Community Connections.

Jerry received a Bachelor’s degree in business and a Master’s degree in economics from Wichita State University. Jerry has also earned the Certified Economic Developer and Certified Chamber Executive designations.

Brett DoneyBrett Doney has 29 years of experience in community economic development and public/private partnerships. As President and CEO of the Great Falls Development Authority in Montana, Brett is responsible for implementing the organization’s strategic plan, marketing the Great Falls region, managing the staff team and strengthening relationships with investors and partners.

Prior to joining Great Falls Development Authority, Brett was president of Enterprise Maine. Brett is the past director of the International Economic Development Council, the treasurer at NeighborWorks Great Falls, the director of Montana Economic Development Association and the past president of the Great Falls Rotary Club. Brett has earned his Certified Economic Developer credentials and a CoreNet Global Senior Leader Corporate Real Estate (SLCR).

Brett received his Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the University of California, Santa Barbara, his Masters of Public Policy in business government relationships from Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government and his Economic Development Institute degree from the University of Oklahoma.