ED Now

IEDC’s 2023 Annual Conference will be held next month in Dallas. A few of our conference speakers shared some exciting economic development projects happening in the region.

The City of Tucson Office of Economic Initiatives launched a free workforce development program in 2022 to address the skill gap in the industrial sewing trades. The program, named AZ Stitch Lab, is offered by a partnership between the City of Tucson, the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, Moonshot, and Sonoran Stitch Factory. Erica Yngve, president and CEO of Tucson-based Sonoran Stitch Factory, was working to meet the needs of commercial clients from around the world wanting to produce materials made in the U.S. With business growing Yngve needed more workers to meet the demand, but at the time there were only 1,770 sewing machine operators in all of Arizona. Sonoran Stitch Factory happens to sit in the heart of a neighborhood that was already a ...

Earlier this month, IEDC President and CEO Nathan Ohle hosted U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves as part of IEDC’s Economic Development Sessions. These sessions serve as fireside chats between Ohle and leading economic development officials, thought leaders, and experts. Ohle and Graves analyzed several issues surrounding current economic challenges as a result of the pandemic, including infrastructure, supply chains, workforce availability, and the system’s capacity to innovate. They also discussed building more resilient economies to combat climate change. Graves pointed out that these problems have demonstrated the system’s lack of capacity to innovate, but reveal a unique opportunity to change those ...

Carol A. Minor, MBA, EDFP, ABPA, EDP—manager of entrepreneur services for the Hillsborough County Department of Economic Development, and center director of the Florida SBDC at Hillsborough County—is part of the second cohort of certified Entrepreneurship Development Professionals. IEDC’s EDP credential is designed to build capacity for those supporting entrepreneurship in their communities, and demonstrates the skills and expertise to lead communities through entrepreneurship-led economic development (ELED). Why did you decide to pursue the EDP credential? I have worked with small businesses and entrepreneurs for more than 30 years providing lending, pre- and post-loan technical assistance, and professional business ...

As we emerge from the pandemic, cities are entering a period of deep economic uncertainty and adjustment. Over the past two years, low-income neighborhoods have experienced disproportionate health impacts, disparities in small business aid distribution, and inadequate schooling and digital access for students. Unless major structural changes are made at all levels of government and across sectors, we run the risk of a lost decade in which racial wealth disparities are greater and neighborhoods are worse off.

IEDC board member and former restaurant owner SeonAh Kendall has worked in public service for more than 10 years, and is currently senior economic manager for the City of Fort Collins, Colorado. Kendall recently talked to ED Now about building transformational relationships, addressing language and cultural barriers, finding your voice, asking for help, focusing on communities, fostering a sense of belonging, and resetting our goals.

IEDC's Accredited Economic Development Organization (AEDO) program recognizes organizational excellence in the areas of internal and external operations, structures, and procedures. This series profiles newly accredited AEDOs, putting some of economic development's highest-performing organizations in the spotlight. This edition: City of Dallas Office of Economic Development.

This week’s Take Action Against Racism in Economic Development webinar, Community-Rooted Economic Inclusion, focused on what the future economic development looks like through the lens of equitable community development. The discussion followed the release of the Brookings Bass Center for Transformative Placemaking’s Community-Rooted Economic Inclusion Strategic Action Playbook. Using targeted data and local knowledge are key to creating a layered community and economic development plan. The playbook encourages a multidisciplinary approach to building wealth and opportunity in underinvested places through a step-by-step methodology calling for cities to: Find a convener organization that will build capacity by linking ...