In mid-August, Uconda Dunn, vice president of business development, and Maria Satira, director of marketing and communications, attended the Southern Economic Development Council (SEDC) Annual Conference. This year, the conference took place in San Antonio, Texas from August 14-16 and focused on reimagining business.
More than 300 economic development professionals attended the conference and heard from speakers in various sectors. Satira spoke on a panel about digital marketing efforts and how an effective plan can help an economic development organization stay resilient.
Satira, second from left, answers an audience question about marketing and public relations after her presentation. (Photo Credit: Southern Economic Development Council, 2022)
"It was an honor to speak at the Southern Economic Development Council's Annual Conference in San Antonio about resiliency efforts for economic development organizations,” said Satira. “Marketing and communications plans play a big part in economic development and I was excited to highlight some of the techniques that have worked for our organization."
The session, titled, “Reimagining Your EDO - What does a resilient Economic Development Organization look like?” examined what exactly makes an economic development organization resilient. The panelists shared their experiences facing this challenge head-on and been directly involved in diversifying their agency to better meet the issues of today and tomorrow. Satira, along with three other speakers, gave participants clear examples, best and emerging practices, and the opportunity to discuss what resiliency and reimagining look like for them.
Dunn also engaged with site selection experts and other economic development leaders about best practices and initiatives that can be deployed to develop sites and buildings.
Dunn asks a question to site selection consultants during a presentation about site and building development. (Photo Credit: Southern Economic Development Council, 2022)
“Having a platform to ask questions during expert discussions about economic development in America’s southeast region is not only helpful for our community but also insightful,” shared Dunn. “Hearing advice and takeaways from these professionals allows us to reflect on our local challenges and figure out new ways that we can address issues such as lack of sites and buildings.”
Dunn and Satira heard from speakers such as Jorge Ayala of the U.S. Economic Development Administration; Jessica Breaux, manager of economic development for Amazon.com; Jay Garner of Garner Economics, and Matthias Beir of TBIC.
To learn more about SEDC 2022 and the conference agenda, click here. Next year, SEDC will host its 2023 conference in Williamsburg, Virginia.
