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Johnna Reeder is President & Chief Executive Officer of the Regional Economic Development Initiative (REDI) Cincinnati. Johnna was named to her current position in April 2014, previously she was the Vice President of community relations and economic development for Duke Energy. Prior to joining Duke Energy, Johnna led community relations, government affairs and foundation giving for Citi Corporation in Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio.

Johnna is active in community and service organizations, currently serving on the Board of Directors for the Cincinnati Museum Center, Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame, Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber of Commerce, Greater Cincinnati Foreign Trade Zone, Northern Kentucky Tri-County Economic Development Corporation, the United Way of Greater Cincinnati, University of Cincinnati Research Institute and is a member of the Cincinnati Women’s Executive Forum. Johnna has also received numerous recognitions such as a Woman Worthy of Note by the Kentucky Lane Report, a Top 20 Woman to Watch by the Cincinnati Enquirer, an Outstanding Woman of Northern Kentucky and a Cincinnati Business Courier 40 Under 40.

Johnna graduated from Thomas More College with a Master’s in Business Administration and a Bachelor of Arts in communications with a minor in English from the University of Memphis and is also a graduate of Oklahoma University’s Economic Development Institute.

Brien Thorstenberg is the Senior Vice President of Economic Development at the Tulsa Regional Chamber of Commerce.  Brien leads the effort for an 11 county region comprised of 29 regional partners in Northeast Oklahoma and works in close collaboration with the Workforce and Education Department of the Tulsa Regional Chamber to meet the workforce needs of the region’s targeted industries.

Prior to joining Tulsa Chamber, Brien was the Vice President of Economic Development where he was responsible for the successful management of all primary job creation and capital investment projects. Brien was the project lead on the successful recruitment of the Macy’s Order Fulfillment Center to Tulsa County. This project (the largest in the Tulsa Region since 2004) with a $170 million capital investment employed 1500 people in a $1.3 million state of the art fulfillment center.

Brien is involved in a number of statewide, regional and local economic development organizations: Oklahoma Governors Economic Development Marketing Team, Oklahoma Economic Development Council, Oklahoma Department of Commerce Foreign Direct Investment Team, Tulsa Futures Regional Partnership and Southeast Oklahoma Regional Economic Development.

Brien received his Bachelor of Science degree in management and economics from Oklahoma State University and his Masters of Business Administration in management from Southeastern Oklahoma State University.

Greg Canfield has served as secretary of the Alabama Department of Commerce since July 2011, making the former businessman and state lawmaker from Vestavia Hills the state’s top-ranking economic developer. Greg also serves as chairman of the Alabama Economic Development Alliance, an organization set up to implement Accelerate Alabama, the state’s strategic growth plan adopted in 2012 that targets 11 key sectors for expansion opportunities. Since Greg has taken the helm, economic development activities in Alabama has resulted in capital investment exceeding $13 billion and nearly 56,000 announced new jobs.

Greg began his career in sales with Purolator Corporation, a Fortune 500 company. At Purolator, he served both as Regional Administration Manager and Southeastern Regional Sales Manager. Greg later served as a National Account Manager for Transus Freight Systems, overseeing territory from Alabama to New Jersey.

Greg was elected to the Alabama House of Representatives in 2006, serving for nearly five years. In January 2011, he became chairman of the House’s Commerce & Small Business Committee. Alabama Governor Robert Bentley appointed Canfield as director of the Alabama Development Office (now Commerce) on July 18, 2011.

Greg graduated from Huffman High School in Birmingham and attended the University of Alabama and UAB, where he earned a finance degree.

Joe Max Higgins, Jr. is currently the Chief Executive Officer at the Golden Triangle Development Link. Joe is responsible for consolidated efforts of The Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development for Columbus-Lowndes County and directs the Economic Development Efforts for Oktibbeha and Clay Counties in Mississippi. Joe’s main responsibilities include organization of public/private partnerships that strategically position the community to take advantage of growth opportunities, financial management of an annual budget of 2.3 million dollars and the management of a staff of ten. During Joe’s tenure in Lowndes County, his efforts have resulted in the commitment and or creation of over 5,600 direct manufacturing jobs and over $4.4 billion in capital investment.

Prior to assuming this role, Joe was the Owner of the Higgins Group, where he operated a consulting company specializing in environmental, planning, community and economic development services. He also served as the Director of Economic Development and Chief Executive Officer of the Paragould Greene County Chamber of Commerce.

Joe was awarded the 40 Under 40 Arkansas Business, the National Rural Economic Developer Association Leadership Award (Economic Developer of the Year) and is very involved with professional organizations in his field.

He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in geography/urban and regional planning from Arkansas State University. Joe also attended the Community Development Institute at the University of Central Arkansas and the Institute for Organizational Management at the University of Notre Dame.

Jill McCarthy is the Senior Executive for Corporate Attraction for the Kansas City Area Development Council (KCADC), a role she was just promoted to. Jill has 24 years of experience in economic development – specializing in regional business recruitment efforts for KCADC across multiple disciplines. Jill has worked comprehensively in assisting customer/shared service centers, advanced manufacturing, distribution/ecommerce, data centers and other operational projects. Jill specializes in assisting companies and consultants considering a KC metro location (urban, suburban or rural) through extensive briefings, demographics, site visits and facilitation of incentives. A few of Jill’s successes include: Dex Media, OptumRx, TriWest Healthcare Alliance, Magna, Martinrea Intl, Littler, 1&1 Internet and U.S. Bank.

Prior to assuming this new role, Jill was the Vice President for Business Development for the Kansas City Area Development Council, a job she held for almost 18 years. Jill was also the Director of Economic Development at Shawnee Economic Development Council.

Jill is the commissioner of the Johnson County Airport Commission, a member of the ULI Kansas City Advisory Board, a member of U.S. Senator Moran’s Kansas Service Academy Selection Board and Co-Chair of the communications committee for Crew KC.

Jill received a Bachelor of Science degree in management and human resources from MidAmerica Nazarene University and a Business Management degree from Indiana State University.

Tim has been the Executive Director of the Grant County Economic Growth Council since 1984. As the Growth Council’s initial director, Tim has been responsible for developing the organization’s mission and overseeing its development. During his tenure, the Growth Council has participated in attracting 22 diverse new manufacturers such as furniture, plastic lids manufacturers, and an ethanol plant as well as participated in over 2.5 billon dollars worth of modernization and expansion projects in the last 12 years.

Prior to joining the Growth Council, Tim was Director of Planning and Development of Harvey, Illinois; Assistant Director in the City of South Bend, Indiana; Redevelopment Commission and a Planner with the Area Plan Commission of St. Joseph County, Indiana, and the City of Elkhart. Tim is a Past President of the Indiana Economic Development Association, Northeast Midwest Leadership Council and a past member of the Indiana Small Business Development Center advisory board. Currently Tim is a member of the board of directors of the Junior Achievement of Grant County, Community Corrections of Grant County and Indiana Statewide Certified Development Corporation.

The projects Tim has worked on have garnered national recognition by the National League of Cities, National Association of Counties, Site Selection Magazine and Mid America Economic Development Council. In 2008, Tim received an Honorary Secretary of Commerce award from the Indiana Economic Development Corporation. Governor Mitch Daniels bestow a Distinguished Hoosier Award in 2009.

He has been a speaker at the Center for Automotive Research’s prestigious Management Briefing Seminar, as well as for the National Council for Urban Economic Advance Training Seminars, National Association of Counties, Indiana Association of Cities and Towns, Indiana Association of Counties, and other regional organizations.

Tim is a graduate of Indiana University.

Randy Thelen, the Greater Omaha Chamber’s senior vice president of economic development, is responsible for developing and implementing Chamber initiatives to support the growth of new business in Greater Omaha – and help existing businesses thrive and expand. He also leads the day-to-day operations of the Greater Omaha Economic Development Partnership, the Chamber’s one-stop center for economic development that covers six counties in the eastern Nebraska-southwest Iowa region.

Previously, Randy served as president of Lakeshore Advantage, a private, non-profit economic development organization dedicated to economic growth on western Michigan’s Lakeshore. While there, he earned the Medalist Award, which is Michigan’s highest economic development honor. The longtime economic developer is also an entrepreneur who, along with two partners, owns a company that designs and produces accessories for the truck cap industry—hinges, latches, handles and a patented power locking system.

Randy received a Master of Arts in applied economics from New York’s Binghamton University in 1996. He and wife Christa have four children – Ryan, Lauren, Kiersten and Trevin.

Misti Martin currently serves as the president of the Cherokee Office of Economic Development in the Greater Atlanta Area. Misti is a native of Georgia and has been in the Chamber and Economic Development field since 1991. In 2004, Misti was named as the President of the Development Authority of Cherokee County, now known as the Cherokee Office of Economic Development.

Prior to assuming her current role, Misti served as President & CEO of the Newton County Chamber of Commerce in Covington, Georgia. She also worked for the Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce & Development Authority and the Carl Vinson Institute of Government at the University of Georgia.

Misti has held numerous positions on state boards for Chamber and Economic Development organizations and served as Chair of the Georgia Economic Developers Association in 2012. She became a Certified Economic Developer by the International Economic Development Council in 2000 and is a 2005 Graduate of Leadership Georgia.  Misti was featured as one of Georgia Trend Magazine’s “40 Under 40” in 2011 and as a “Notable Georgian” in 2012 and 2013.

Misti earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in management from the University of Georgia and a Master of Business Administration from Troy University. She is also a graduate of University of Oklahoma’s Economic Development Institute (EDI) as well as the Institute for Organization Management at the University of Georgia.

Broderick Green serves as the senior director of business development for JAXUSA Partnership. In this role, he focuses on the expansion and relocation of the Health and Life Sciences and IT industries in Northeast Florida.

Prior to assuming this role, Broderick was the Deputy Chief of Staff for council member Arnie Fielkow in the City of New Orleans. He has been named to the national “40 Under 40” Rising Stars in Economic Development list and the 40 Under 40 by Jacksonville Business Journal.

Broderick holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from The University of New Orleans. As an avid sports and music fan and “foodie,” he enjoys reading and spending time with his wife and young son.

 

Adriana Cruz is the president of the Greater San Marcos Partnership, a regional economic development organization working on behalf of the city of San Marcos, Hays and Caldwell Counties, established to encourage economic growth in the heart of the Austin-San Antonio corridor.

With more than 20 years of leadership experience in economic development and marketing at the state and regional level, Adriana leads the organization’s efforts to diversify and strengthen the economy through high quality jobs and investment by implementing a comprehensive multi-year economic development strategic plan. As part of this strategy she promotes the region across the U.S. and abroad. Most recent accomplishments for GSMP are the announcement of more than 2,300 new jobs and over $225 million in investment including Amazon’s newest fulfillment center (1,000 jobs) and EPIC Piping, the world’s largest pipe fabrication facility under one roof (600 jobs).

Prior to assuming this role, Adriana was the vice president of global corporate recruitment for the Austin Chamber of Commerce, where she was project lead in high profile corporate relocations and expansions including Apple, Facebook, eBay, Hanger Orthopedic, Samsung and LegalZoom. Adriana served for four years leading the statewide effort to promote Texas as a location for jobs and investment in Governor Rick Perry’s Economic Development and Tourism Office.

In January 2016, she was appointed by Governor Abbott to the Texas Economic Incentives Oversight Board to review the efficiency of Texas’ incentive programs. Adriana also serves on numerous boards including the Foreign Trade Zone of Central Texas, University Federal Credit Union, United Way of Hays County and Texas State University’s STAR Park Commercialization Advisory Council. In 2014, Adriana was named a finalist in the Austin Business Journal’s Profiles in Power: Central Texas Women of Influence Award.

Adriana holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing from The University of Texas at Austin.