"If you feel you can make an impact, then go for it. If you don't then go for it anyways. The worst thing that can happen is you make no impact which means things are exactly the same as before you came. There is nothing to lose except maybe a bit of your pride, but plenty of us didn't even have that to begin with."
Get to know Charles
How long have you worked in economic development?
A little under one year.
How did you enter the economic development profession?
I had two crazy jobs back-to-back that gave me much trial and tribulation along with frustration and grief. Then, out of nowhere, as I was just beginning to seek a new role, I was interviewed and hired to step into this new role of economic development analyst. In other words, entering economic development was a stroke of chance where all of the abject suffering, unfairness, pressure, discomfort, and misery of my previous work experience focused me like concentrated light through a magnifying glass to do well in this new endeavor. A loathsome set of experiences shaped me to bring a unique set of skills to help my department make the right decisions for our city as I had been so sharply acquainted with so many of the wrong ones in previous roles. It turns out personal suffering, difficulty and hardship can seem in some instances like fate when you look back. This in short is how I ended up in this profession and I hope to carve a slice of heaven both for myself and the citizens for whom I work and get paid by.
What is your favorite thing about working in economic development?
Being able to be creative in how problems are addressed. In other words, the freedom to be creative.
Tell us about the community or organization you represent.
I believe my department reflects my community pretty well. It punches above its weight and sometimes below it out of mercy. The people are generally good hearted, and family oriented, which I know is cliche. However, the cliche in my community is so cliche you could call it a touché. And that is a good thing. People really do care about their families here. People very much are seeking a better life, and we are even more acutely aware of that fact as we are situated on the Mexican border. The almost sacred and religious devotion to build a better life is so alive that it almost has visible color, and not even one color at that. It is multi-chromatic. There is also a fundamental decency here that is in short supply these days. There is a commitment to public safety and community which many people feel has disappeared in many places. For that I am grateful.
What makes your community a great place for business and people to thrive?
It is safe and hospitable. It grows in ways other than pure financial or economic metrics. The financial and economic metrics rest upon a whole host of intangibles. A sense of safety, community, trust, common decency, honesty, integrity, truthfulness. Those things that reside up above in some nether realm that can't be measured on a graph or chart. They can only be felt and enjoyed. My community has those in a plentiful quantity that can't be quantified or measured. These things are in abundance here and can only be felt by that sense that isn't a sense. That makes us a great place to grow and do business and for people to thrive.
Tell us about your favorite place/thing to do in your community.
I'm the wrong person to ask this question. I am introverted and don't like doing anything outside of my cocoon. What I can say is I appreciate that I can go out to a park, read a book, walk my dog, window shop, walk around at 2 AM when I can't find the land of nod and do it all without needing police intervention unlike some other paces. They know who they are.
If you had a message to those considering a career in economic development, what would it be and why should they enter the field?
I don't have one. But if I had one it would be something like "don't listen to people with messages. If you feel you can make an impact, then go for it. If you don't then go for it anyways. The worst thing that can happen is you make no impact which means things are exactly the same as before you came. There is nothing to lose except maybe a bit of your pride, but plenty of us didn't even have that to begin with."
Share your favorite quote or the best piece of advice that has helped to guide your professional development.
"No man goes before his time - unless the boss leaves early." Groucho Marx
What does economic development mean to you?
Unrolling or revealing the full potential of households/individuals as related to their financial and innovative endeavors.