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From The Ground Up: Feat. Jill McCarthy of the Kansas City Area Development Council

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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.

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From The Ground Up: Feat. Tim Eckerle of the Grant County Economic Growth Council

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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.

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From The Ground Up: Feat. Randy Thelen of the Greater Omaha Chamber

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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.

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From The Ground Up: Feat. Misti Martin of the Cherokee Office of Economic Development

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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.

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From The Ground Up: Feat. Broderick Green of JAXUSA Partnership

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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.

 

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From The Ground Up: Feat. Adriana Cruz of the Greater San Marcos Partnership

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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.

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From The Ground Up: Feat. Alicia Hutchings of the Kansas Department of Commerce

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Alicia Hutchings has been with the Kansas Department of Commerce for over eight years and currently serves as the business recruitment project manager. In this role, Alicia manages site location and business recruitment projects for the state of Kansas.

During Alicia’s time with the Kansas Department of Commerce, she has worked with over 260 companies, creating more than 21,000 jobs in Kansas. Successful projects include Amazon.com; Meadowlark Dairy Nutrition, LLC; Kiewit Energy Group, Inc.; Epiq Systems, Inc.; Hoefer Wysocki Architects, LLC; Hostess Brands, LLC; The Coleman Company; and Excel Industries, Inc.  In Alicia’s time with the Kansas Department of Commerce, she has also successfully worked on the headquarter relocations of BATS Trading and WireCo World Group, Inc. among others.

For the past 16 years, Alicia has worked at the state and local level in both Texas and Kansas in various aspects of economic development. Her experience in economic development  includes marketing, research, business park management and business attraction and retention efforts.  While working in the private sector, Alicia was the co-creator and vice president of sales for the EcoDev Tracker.

Alicia holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Kansas, and is a graduate of Leadership Lawrence and the Economic Development Institute at the University of Oklahoma.

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From The Ground Up: Feat. Lisa Rivera Skubal of the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber

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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.

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From The Ground Up: Feat. Grady Fitzpatrick of Greater New Orleans, Inc.

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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.

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From The Ground Up: Feat. Bill Adams of Tennessee Valley Authority

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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.

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