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Allie Bennett
Manager of Economic Development and Member Services at Northeast PowerAllie Bennett is the Manager of Economic Development and Member Services at Northeast Power, a transmission electric cooperative serving member-distribution cooperatives in northeast Missouri and southeast Iowa. Allie was born and raised in Monroe City, Missouri. She attended college at the University of Missouri and achieved her bachelor’s degree in agriculture. She has also earned her master’s and doctorate degrees in administration. In 2016, Allie began her electric cooperative career at Macon Electric Cooperative as the Marketing and Communications Manager. In 2020, Allie joined Northeast Power in her current position, providing value-added services to the member-distribution cooperatives served by Northeast Power and working in coordination with local, statewide and national economic development organizations to collaborate on a number of efforts.
*All bios are submitted by speakers.
Shad Burner
Principal at KBS Group, LLPShad Burner is a Principal with KBS Group, where he serves as the CEO of Southeast Missouri Regional Economic Development, Inc. SEMO REDI is a newly redeveloped organization readying a proactive and collaborative regional effort to create a more vibrant economic future for southeast Missouri.
Prior to this, Burner served on the leadership team of the Missouri Department of Economic Development where he led the development of a new division with 20+ team members, oversaw a budget of $650M, and led the creation of nine new grant programs. Governor Mike Parson appointed Burner to serve as the Missouri Designee to the Delta Regional Authority in 2021.
Burner is a Certified Economic Developer, a 2022 graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School Executive Education program, and a 2020 Delta Leadership Institute graduate. He lives in Cape Girardeau with his wife, Layne, and daughters, Kaydence and Lennon.
*All bios are submitted by speakers.
Carolyn Chrisman
Owner at Chrisman Consulting LLCDr. Chrisman owns and operates Chrisman Consulting, LLC, which is a strategic consulting firm focused on economic development planning and research, target industry analysis, marketing, and other facets to help communities, utilities, municipalities, and all entities working on economic development.
Recently, Carolyn worked 11 years as the Executive Director for Kirksville Regional Economic Development, Inc., a 501c3 public private partnership. Her main job entailed working on business retention and expansion and business attraction. She worked with the major industries in town and was also a leader for workforce development, which included training, housing, childcare, and all facets affecting the workforce. Additionally, she served as the Executive Director of the Missouri Rural Enterprise and Innovation Center, and was the Center Director for the Small Business Development Center. Her works included small businesses, stage 2, start-ups, and tech related companies.
Carolyn has received numerous awards for her work in economic development including: MEDC Business Retention and Expansion of the Year, MEDC Professional Economic Developer of the Year, Ingram’s 50 Missourians You Should Know, DCI’s Top 40 Under 40 for Economic Development, plus OBP’s Rural Spirit Award, to name a few.
Carolyn has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Truman State University; a Master of Arts in Education from Truman State University; a Master in History from UMSL; and a Doctorate of Education from William Woods University. She is an Economic Development Finance Professional as well. Carolyn is the President of MEDC, the Past President of the Greater Missouri Leadership Foundation, a statewide women’s leadership organization, and has also been President of the Kirksville Kiwanis Club, was a member of the Kirksville Area Chamber of Commerce Board, and serves in her local church. Most recently, she graduated from the Agricultural Leaders of Tomorrow (A LOT) Class XIX.
Carolyn is married to Jason Chrisman and they reside in Kirksville. They have four children, boys ages 10 and 8, girls ages 6 and 4.
*All bios are submitted by speakers.
Mark R. Coulter
Attorney at Rouse Frets White Goss Gentile Rhodes, P.C.Mark has significant experience in public law, economic development, government affairs, transportation, public-private partnerships (P3). Prior to joining the law firm, Mark served as General Counsel for the Port Authority of Kansas City, Missouri (Port KC) for over a decade where he was a key contributor in building Port KC into a highly regarded organization with more than $26 billion in incentivized projects utilizing Chapter 68 bonds. Mark served as attorney of record for Port KC for the formation of the first Kansas City Streetcar Transportation Development District (TDD) along with the Kansas City Streetcar Authority. He advanced the adoption of the Advanced Industrial Manufacturing Zone (AIM Zone) program which will fund critical infrastructure and attract well-paying jobs in Kansas City. Utilizing the AIM Zone, Mark also was instrumental in securing the relocation of the USDA Economic Research Service for Kansas City, Missouri. His work includes the organization, vision, and execution of a large-scale P3 intermodal facility currently underway, a role he continues to support at the firm as outside counsel. Mark is active in legislative affairs including work to update tax and incentive laws that will serve as funding mechanisms for port authorities across Missouri. He also regularly serves on industry panels to share his insight and experience on matters of public law and finance.
*All bios are submitted by speakers.
Mark Dawson
Economic Development Director of Greater Clinton Area Chamber of CommerceMark Dawson serves as the Economic Development Director for the Greater Clinton Area Chamber of Commerce. This position with the City of Clinton provides the attraction, retention, expansion functions as well as advisor to city staff and Henry County governments on various development related needs. He has over 36 years’ experience in economic development and has served rural communities, fast growth suburban communities and most recently retired from EVERGY after a 19 year career as a regional utility economic development manager in 2019. Mark was instrumental in the creation of the Missouri Certified Sites Program and serves on the statewide advisory board. He also has served on the Missouri Economic Development Council Board of Directors (MEDC).
During his time in the economic development profession, he has assisted over 350 firms with their business needs that resulted in over 3,500,000SF of manufacturing & warehouse space and over 1,000,000SF of retail. He also created the first community-based website in the KC region in 1993. He has assisted in the development of several industrial parks, a river port, shopping centers, adaptive reuse of former manufacturing space and underground industrial park. He also developed the first Virtual Dynamic Building Program in the State of Missouri.
Mark holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Southeast Missouri State University. He is a 1988 graduate of Heartland Basic Economic Development Course and achieved his CEcD accreditation from IEDC in 2004. He has received many awards during his career including Lifetime Achievement Award in Economic Development from Missouri Governor Blunt in 2006, Affiliate Member of the Year from Missouri Economic Development Council in 2015, and Outstanding Achievement Award from Sedalia/Pettis County EDC on his work as a utility project manager for the NUCOR Steel Mini-mill project in 2018.
*All bios are submitted by speakers.
Rob Dixon
Senior Director, Economic, Community and Business Development of Ameren MissouriRob Dixon serves as the Senior Director of Economic, Community, and Business Development for Ameren Missouri. In this role, he leads the strategy and implementation of Ameren Missouri's efforts to help drive economic growth and business development in partnership with the communities we serve.
Prior to joining Ameren, Rob served in Missouri Governor Mike Parson's Cabinet, leading the state Department of Economic Development. During his tenure, Rob successfully led one of the largest reorganizations in state government history, improving Missouri's economic and workforce development outcomes, and he was responsible for leading Missouri's economic recovery efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rob has served in executive leadership positions with various organizations focused on economic, community, and workforce development at the local, regional, and state levels, including as President/CEO of the Missouri Community College Association and the Executive Vice President of the Springfield Missouri Chamber of Commerce.
Rob is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who served in Afghanistan immediately after 9/11. He holds a master's degree in public administration from Missouri State University and a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Missouri – St. Louis.
*All bios are submitted by speakers.
Tom Dworetsky, AICP
Vice President & Director of Research at Camoin Associates- Session #1: Regional Partnerships: SEMO REDI’s Approach to Developing an Industrial Site Market Analysis
- Session #2: Economic Development How to? How to Generate Leads and Successfully Market Your Community
Tom’s role at Camoin Associates focuses on harnessing the power of data to uncover economic development opportunities and measure the results of strategic implementation. As leader of Camoin Associates’ Data Team, he is well versed in a broad array of economic data sources and methodologies that get to the core of critical research questions and produce insights that lead to action.
Having analyzed dozens of distinct industries across the economy, Tom is adept at leveraging industry research to inform strategic planning initiatives. He has led and completed a variety of supply chain studies, economic and fiscal impact analyses, and real estate analyses. His work has included quantifying the impacts of complex policies and plans, building pro forma financial models for large development projects, and conducting regional and site-specific market analyses for a range of communities and land use types.
As a certified planner with experience in real estate and land use planning, Tom brings expertise for tackling challenges in communities with unique market conditions and land use patterns. He has a special interest in strategies for downtown revitalization and the positive economic impacts that reinvigorating historic town centers can have on communities. Taking a data-driven approach, Tom has advanced innovative, community-specific initiatives to spur revitalization through redevelopment, business attraction, adaptive reuse, and other creative methods.
Tom holds a Master’s of City and Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Bachelor’s of Science in Business Administration from Boston University. He has an AICP certification from the American Planning Association.
*All bios are submitted by speakers.
Paul Eisenstein
Senior Director of Business Operations at Missouri Department of Economic DevelopmentPaul Eisenstein is the Department of Economic Development’s (DED) Senior Director of Operations. Paul supports DED’s Director’s Office and oversees DED’s strategy, financial operations, and human resources functions. Paul has been with DED since 2017.
Paul earned his Bachelor’s from Saint Louis University and his Executive MBA from Washington University in St. Louis. Paul is a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt and a graduate of the Missouri Chamber’s Leadership Missouri class of 2023.
*All bios are submitted by speakers.
Cathleen Flournoy
Vice President of Business Recruitment at Missouri Partnership
Brian Grace
Partner at Nexus Group- MEDC Public Policy Agenda Overview and Legislative Update
- Session #8: Preparing for a Legislative Hearing – An Interactive Mock Legislative Hearing
Brian began working in Missouri politics at the age of 19. He worked for a Jefferson City lobbying firm for three years while attending the University of Missouri. Upon graduation, he went to work for Matt Blunt’s gubernatorial campaign. He then served Governor Blunt as Policy Director at the Department of Economic Development. He left the Blunt Administration at the end of 2007 to begin his lobbying career. He served as a Principal for ten years at the global law firm, Dentons.
In 2018 Brian co-founded Nexus Group – a full-service government affairs firm headquartered in Jefferson City.
Brian is one of the most sought after and accomplished lobbyists in Missouri. He specializes in quarterbacking large, complex lobbying initiatives that span all facets of the Legislative and Executive branches. He also has an expertise in the creation and implementation of tax incentives for business development, job creation, and infrastructure development.
Recognitions
“Legislative Session Winners,” The Missouri Times, 2020, 2022
"The 100+ List," The Missouri Times, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019
"40 Under 40," St. Louis Business Journal, 2014
"St. Louis Character," St. Louis Business Journal, 2013
"Pro Bono Challenge," The Missouri Times, 2013
"30 Under 30," St. Louis Business Journal, 2008
*All bios are submitted by speakers.
Cally Hardy
Manager of BNSF Railway’s Certified Sites Program at BNSF RailwayCally Hardy is the Manager of BNSF Railway’s Certified Sites Program within the Economic Development department. With over 11 years of experience at BNSF, she leads efforts to certify rail-served industrial sites, partnering with communities and site owners to drive economic development. Cally holds a degree in Psychology from the University of North Texas and is a third generation railroader. She resides in Fort Worth, TX, with her husband Shane and their two daughters.
*All bios are submitted by speakers.
JH
Janelle Higgins
VP, Marketing & Communications at Missouri Partnership
Steven S. Johnson
Steven S. Johnson Consulting, LLCSteve Johnson led economic development initiatives for nearly 40 years, retiring at the end of September 2022 as President of AllianceSTL, the private sector business attraction organization for greater St. Louis. Immediately prior to AllianceSTL, he served as President and CEO of Missouri Partnership, a public-private economic development partnership that leads business recruitment in Missouri from 2015 – 2019.
Prior to Missouri Partnership, Steve’s economic development experience included guiding the St. Louis Regional Chamber’s economic development initiatives, as well as leading business attraction for the Kansas City Area Development Council and chambers of commerce in Mobile, Alabama and Jefferson City, Missouri, his hometown.
Steve and his wife, Sharon, live in the far western suburbs of St. Louis and have four children and seven grand-children.
*All bios are submitted by speakers.
Ben Jones
Director - Economic Development of City Utilities of Springfield, MissouriBen is employed as the Director – Economic Development for City Utilities of Springfield and is a proud graduate of Leadership Springfield Class #37. He has 27 years of Economic Development experience, starting in his hometown of Montgomery City near St. Louis. In 2006 he moved to Lebanon, Missouri to lead their Economic Development effort; in 2011 Ben began his career with City Utilities. He holds the certification of “Economic Development Finance Professional,”, is a past-President of the Missouri Economic Development Council, and in 2000 was named Missouri’s “Economic Development Professional of the Year.”
Ben holds a Master of International Business from Saint Louis University and a Bachelor of Science in Business & Public Administration from Columbia College.
Ben served his country in the United States Army, spending two years on active duty at Ft. Bragg, NC, and 6 years in the Missouri National Guard. He was honorably discharged in 1992 as a Sergeant at the end of his tour.
Ben has two grown daughters, both married, who live in the St. Louis area. He also has three granddaughters and three grandsons. Ben and his wife Carmen are active in their church, like to travel, and both enjoy St. Louis Blues and MSU Ice Bears hockey.
*All bios are submitted by speakers.
Crystal Jones
Executive Director of Perry County Economic Development AuthorityCrystal Jones is the Executive Director of the Perry County Economic Development Authority and is tasked with leading economic development efforts for Perry County and the City of Perryville. Crystal completed her PCED certification in 2017 and the MoCED certification in 2022. She has held economic development positions throughout southeast Missouri, including regional roles with the Ozark Foothills Regional Planning Commission and Southeast Missouri State University.
*All bios are submitted by speakers.
Marcie Lawson
President/CEO of Sikeston Area Economic Development, Corp.
Tori McNiff, MPA
Project Manager at Camoin Associates- Session #1: Regional Partnerships: SEMO REDI’s Approach to Developing an Industrial Site Market Analysis
- Session #2: Economic Development How to? How to Generate Leads and Successfully Market Your Community
Tori is passionate about finding solutions to complex problems by being creative, collaborative, and engaging diverse stakeholders. She has a background in public administration, economic development, and marketing. Prior to working for Camoin Associates, Tori managed and worked with three different economic development authorities and enjoys industry analysis and real estate development projects.
She has experience managing publicly owned industrial properties, building community partnerships to support workforce development, and developing and executing business retention and expansion (BRE) programs. Using her data and analytical skills, Tori has also led and implemented business marketing and attraction efforts nationally and abroad.
*All bios are submitted by speakers.
Megan Miller
Attorney at Gilmore & Bell, P. C.- MEDC Public Policy Agenda Overview and Legislative Update
- Session #8: Preparing for a Legislative Hearing – An Interactive Mock Legislative Hearing
Megan E. Miller is an attorney with the law firm Gilmore & Bell, P.C., and operates in their Kansas City office. Ms. Miller was admitted to the Missouri Bar in 2015. She received her B.S. degree in Agricultural Economics, Emphasis in Public Policy & Communication (cum laude) from the University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri in 2012 and her J.D. (cum laude) from the University of Missouri – Kansas City School of Law in 2015, where she served as a staff member of the UMKC Law Review and Managing Editor of The Urban Lawyer. Megan practices both general municipal finance and economic development law and serves many different political subdivisions throughout the state of Missouri. She currently serves as the Chair of the Public Policy Committee for MEDC.
*All bios are submitted by speakers.
Kaylee Paffrath
President/CEO of Moberly Area Economic Development Corporation (MAEDC)
Doug Rasmussen
CEO + Managing Principal of Steadfast City Economic & Community PartnersDoug Rasmussen is an entrepreneur, thought leader, and mediator with 25 years of experience in the real estate and economic and community development industries. Throughout his career, Doug has worked with entities nationwide, including municipalities, government agencies, real estate developers, community development corporations, and nonprofits. His experience working with people from diverse backgrounds has given him the unique ability to navigate complex business and interpersonal issues, foresee long- and short-term trends, and manage risks.
In 2019, Doug founded Steadfast City, an innovative firm that weaves together government, business, real estate, social, and philanthropic sectors. He and his team engage in site selection, negotiate economic incentives, engage communities and residents, develop fund strategies, and mediate industry conflicts. Doug’s mediation expertise further enhances his ability to resolve disputes, facilitate collaboration, and ensure that diverse interests are aligned to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes. With his brand of hard-working expertise and steadfast commitment, Doug delivers maximum value to any initiative he serves.
*All bios are submitted by speakers.
Thomas Redd
AVP, Economic Development at EDC of St. Charles County
Benjamin Vickers
Manager of Business Development at Springfield Area Chamber of CommerceBW