The Leading Ladies of Economic Development®

Kaycee Bunch
  • 4.4 (7)
  • Business
  • Updated Biweekly

This podcast is a safe place for female economic development professionals to share stories, insights, and challenges of the economic development industry. We hear from women leaders across the country about their careers in ED and how you can apply their experiences to your own economic development career goals.

  1. 2d ago

    Marketing with a Wink: How Surprise, Arizona Attracts Retailers │Jeanine Jerkovic, CEcD

    Marketing with a Wink: How Surprise, Arizona Attracts Retailers │Jeanine Jerkovic, CEcD In this episode of the Leading Ladies of Economic Development podcast, Kaycee Bunch welcomes Jeanine Jerkovic, CEcD, Economic Development Director for Surprise, Arizona. Jeanine discusses her career journey into economic development, including her international experiences and her recent last-minute trip to Taiwan tied to the semiconductor supply chain. She shares how humor, creativity, and community connection have shaped Surprise’s award-winning marketing campaigns and helped attract retailers and restaurants like Whole Foods and Cheesecake Factory. Jeanine also explores how resident feedback and retail surveys informed the city’s strategy, as well as Surprise’s next chapter focused on placemaking, mixed-use development, and job growth. She reflects on navigating the challenges surrounding a proposed DHS detention facility and the lessons she’s learned about leadership and public service. In this episode, we explore: Creative city marketing strategies and how humor can help attract retailers and build community pride. The power of listening to residents through social media and retail surveys to shape economic development efforts. Lessons in leadership, placemaking, and navigating complex public-sector projects Quotable: “  So maybe this is encouraging for any economic developer going through a tough moment; there's a Maya Angelou quote that every storm runs out of rain, and it's so true, your passion for your community just has to keep going.” Resources and Links Connect with Jeanine Jerkovic on LinkedIn Mission: Cheesecake Video City Declares KALE EMERGENCY Video Surprise Arizona Economic Development YouTube Special Guest: Jeanine Jerkovic, CEcD.

  2. Sep 4

    Building Legacy Communities Through Global Thinking and Inclusive Growth │Tracye McDaniel

    Tracye McDaniel, strategic advisor at TIP Inc. and IEDC’s Chief Growth and Strategy Advisor, joins host Kaycee on the Leading Ladies of Economic Development podcast to discuss what drew her to economic development, shaped by community leadership in Waco and 17 years in the Texas governor’s office working with five governors. McDaniel shares how global exposure informs local strategy, advising rural communities to start with regional collaboration, and highlights the Rio Grande Valley’s transformation through anchor investments like SpaceX and the Port of Brownsville. She explains leadership as clarity, curiosity, and engagement, and distinguishes influence as trust-based relationships beyond titles, emphasizing proactive inclusion of missing voices. The conversation covers long-term “legacy” planning, community concerns around data centers, and her contribution to The Cost of Cool on who benefits from growth, with workforce development framed as an underutilized asset and “secret weapon” for inclusive economic impact. In this episode, we explore: how global perspective, regional collaboration, and anchor investments can transform communities and create long-term economic opportunity. Tracye’s approach to leadership, building trust, engaging missing voices, and creating alignment beyond titles or traditional power structures. “The Cost of Cool” to workforce development, Tracye discusses how communities can ensure growth is inclusive, equitable, and benefits the people who call them home. Quotable: “ When you're in this trajectory of growth, we don't ask the question of who is this growth for and who is it going to displace?” Resources and Links Connect with Tracye McDaniel on LinkedIn Bridge Bedford (TN) - Shelbyville 2075: Legacy in Motion—An Investment Blueprint • TIP Strategies The Cost of Cool: Austin's Tech Growth and the People Left Behind (Kenneth E. Montague Series in Oil and Business History): Roberts, Jon, McDaniel, Tracye, Echeverri-Carroll, Elsie L., Johnston, Evan, Todd-Goynes, Jennifer: 9781648433832: Amazon.com: Books Special Guest: Tracye McDaniel.

  3. Aug 28

    From CEO to Coach: Authentic Leadership Strategies for Women in Male-Dominated Workplaces │Dr. Tina Yerkes

    In this episode of Leading Ladies of Economic Development, Kaycee sits down with Dr. Tina Yerkes, an executive strategist, leadership mentor, speaker, and founder of Transformative Leadership Consulting. Tina left leadership to start a consultancy and write a book focused on helping women navigate workplace bias in male-dominated environments. Drawing on 30 years of experience—being talked over, dismissed, and denied proper titles despite her authority and education—she says she realized the problem is systemic, though change will take time. While waiting for organizations to catch up, she emphasizes mentors and individualized strategies that allow women to succeed without shrinking themselves or pretending to be someone else. In this episode, we explore: Why she argues the root problem is systemic and women still need practical, individualized strategies to succeed while organizations catch up—without shrinking themselves or becoming someone they’re not. How self-awareness and authentic leadership reduce stress and build confidence, based on her experience that changing herself didn’t change how she was treated. Tools and methods to reconnect with authenticity, including using the DISC 4D assessment to understand natural leadership style, stress responses, and develop strategies that prevent burnout. Quotable: “ I had seen the same thing happen everywhere to women and to myself, and I just had had enough." Resources and Links Connect with Tina Yerkes on LinkedIn https://www.amazon.com/Change-System-Not-Women-Leadership/dp/1639082069 I Was Told to Shrink. I Chose to Fight Instead. Special Guest: Dr. Tina Yerkes.

  4. Aug 7

    From Lab to Launch: Democratizing Tech Transfer in Kentucky │Kayla Meisner

    In this episode of Leading Ladies of Economic Development, Kaycee interviews Kayla Meisner, MEng, CLP, executive director of Kentucky Commercialization Ventures (KCV), a statewide technology transfer and commercialization initiative housed within the Kentucky Science and Technology Corporation (KSTC). Meisner shares how an undergraduate internship at the University of Louisville’s tech transfer office shaped her career and explains how KCV was launched in 2020 as a public-private partnership to support technology transfer and research capacity at Kentucky’s non-R1 institutions and KCTCS. She discusses KCV’s role in advancing multi-institutional tech transfer models, including collaboration with Tennessee that helped inspire TTAC, and highlights successes such as startup formation (Bumped Up Labs and Eastern Scientific), SBIR/STTR wins, and an NSF EXLENT-funded KCV–NKU Invent program that provides virtual commercialization training and paid internships. Lastly, Meisner urges economic developers to build IP literacy, leverage regional assets, and collaborate rather than compete. In this episode, we explore: How Kentucky Commercialization Ventures (KCV) is expanding technology transfer and commercialization opportunities across Kentucky’s regional universities and KCTCS through a statewide, collaborative model. How tech transfer turns university research into real-world impact, why intellectual property (IP) matters for economic development, and the often-overlooked work behind bringing innovations to market. Success stories from Kentucky, including startup launches, SBIR/STTR funding wins, and the NSF-funded Invent Fellowship, which provides commercialization training and paid internships for students. How partnerships across institutions—and even across state lines—are helping democratize access to innovation resources and strengthen Kentucky’s talent pipeline. Practical advice for economic developers on building intellectual property literacy, leveraging regional strengths, and collaborating to accelerate innovation-driven growth. Quotable: “ Kentucky ideas will solve Kentucky problems, and Kentucky's problems are the world's problems.” Resources and Links Connect with Kayla Meisner on LinkedIn Home | Kentucky Commercialization Ventures Kentucky Science & Technology Corporation | KSTC NSBE | National Society of Black Engineers AUTM | The Nonprofit Leader in Technology Transfer About NSF Engines - Regional Innovation Engines | NSF - U.S. National Science Foundation GAME CHANGE – Advancing carbon centric circular economy technologies for advanced manufacturing solutions (KY, TN) Tennessee Technology Advancement Consortium (TTAC) - LaunchTN Home - LaunchTN Keyhorse Capital FLC | Home Launch Tennessee leads new national study to unlock heartland innovation, backed by Kauffman Foundation grant - LaunchTN NCInnovation | Putting Innovation to Work for All of North Carolina Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) | NSF - U.S. National Science Foundation EPSCoR Jurisdiction Websites - Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) | NSF - U.S. National Science Foundation BumptUp – For a healthy pregnancy & postpartum journey. Innovator Spotlight: Dr. Jason Marion on Using Intellectual Property to Advance Water Quality Innovation Experiential Learning for Emerging and Novel Technologies (ExLENT) | NSF - U.S. National Science Foundation Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Northern Kentucky University, Greater Cincinnati Region Innovation Fellowship | Kentucky Commercialization Ventures KCV Launches Startup Internship Program in Partnership with NKU Welcome | Kentucky Intellectual Property Alliance (KYIPA) United States Patent and Trademark Office Special Guest: Kayla Meisner, MEng, CLP.

  5. Jul 10

    Building HUUB: Connecting Small Businesses to the Right Resources │ Jenny Poon & Chelsea Smith

    In this episode of the Leading Ladies of Economic Development, Kaycee talks with leaders Jenny Poon & Chelsea Smith from HUUB, the digital platform that helps cities and economic development organizations centralize resources, funding, training, and community support to help small businesses start, grow, and thrive. Jenny and Chelsea share their paths from entrepreneurship to economic development and explain how their experiences navigating disconnected small-business resources led them to create HUUB, a digital platform launched during the pandemic to connect entrepreneurs with the right support. They discuss early challenges like relying on scattered online information and the importance of “one right person” in changing a business trajectory, shaping HUUB’s focus on vetted experts and tactical help. HUUB partners primarily with municipalities, often alongside chambers, nonprofits, and other ecosystem organizations, and offers one-on-one advising, an on-demand learning library, community board, aggregated funding and events, and ecosystem mapping—automating tasks that economic developers often do manually and providing continuity when staff turnover occurs. They emphasize equitable outreach through translation, UX design, demographic tracking, and representation among advisors, and note lessons from product development and from resisting traditional startup pressures, while urging greater technology investment and more thoughtful AI use. In this episode, we explore: How Jenny and Chelsea’s entrepreneurial journeys and frustration with fragmented small-business resources inspired them to create HUUB, a platform that connects entrepreneurs with trusted support, funding, and expertise. How HUUB partners with municipalities and ecosystem organizations to centralize advising, learning, funding opportunities, events, and resource mapping—reducing manual work, improving continuity, and making it easier for small businesses to find the help they need. How intentional design, multilingual access, diverse advisors, and thoughtful use of technology and AI can expand access to resources and create stronger, more inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystems. Quotable: “ And that's the key thing that I kept seeing over and over as an entrepreneur. It just takes one person, one right person, to completely change your trajectory as a business owner.” Resources and Links Connect with Jenny Poon on LinkedIn Connect with Chelsea Smith on LinkedIn HUUB - Economic Development Tools for Small Business Support Tools | HUUB - Economic Development Tools for Small Business Support Special Guests: Chelsea Smith and Jenny Poon.

  6. Jun 26

    From Rural Roots to Regional Impact: Anne Tyler Morgan on Law, Leadership, and Economic Development

    In this episode of Leading Ladies of Economic Development, Kaycee welcomes Anne-Tyler Morgan, Member at McBrayer and Chair of the firm's Economic Development Practice Group. Anne-Tyler shares how growing up in rural Kentucky, riding alongside her developer father, sparked a lifelong passion for public policy, law, and community development. She discusses her unconventional path from in-house counsel to private practice, the evolution of economic development law, and the critical role legal strategy plays in helping communities attract investment and create opportunity. Anne-Tyler also offers thoughtful insights on leadership, mentorship, resilience, and what it means to be a woman leading in traditionally male-dominated spaces. From housing policy and workforce development to regional collaboration and community engagement, this conversation highlights the people, partnerships, and purpose behind economic development in Kentucky. In this episode, we explore: Why successful projects depend on collaboration among attorneys, government leaders, economic developers, utility providers, consultants, and community stakeholders working toward a shared vision. Bringing legal counsel into projects early can help identify risks, structure incentives, navigate approvals, and save both time and money throughout the development process. Anne-Tyler emphasizes the importance of listening before speaking, respecting institutional knowledge, and trusting intuition when leading teams and making decisions. Housing availability, workforce development, tax policy, and regional cooperation are increasingly important factors in creating thriving communities and sustaining long-term growth. Quotable: “ I hope that a few generations from now, someone can point to a company and say, ‘My granddaddy worked there,’ and know that I had a small part in making that possible.” Resources and Links Connect with Anne-Tyler Morgan on LinkedIn Lexington Lawyers, Louisville Kentucky Attorneys | McBrayer PLLC Anne-Tyler Morgan | Lexington, KY Healthcare and Campaign Finance Lawyer: McBrayer PLLC Special Guest: Anne-Tyler Morgan.

  7. Jun 5

    Amplifying Gender Equity: A Visionary Path Forward│Gretchen Hunt

    In this episode of Leading Ladies of Economic Development, Kaycee sits down with Gretchen Hunt, Director of the Office for Women for the City of Louisville, Kentucky. As a lawyer, advocate, and lifelong champion for gender equity, Gretchen has spent more than two decades improving outcomes for women, families, and communities across Kentucky. From advancing workplace policies and leadership development programs to reimagining public spaces through the lens of safety and inclusion, Gretchen shares how Louisville is taking a practical approach to creating a more equitable city. She also discusses the hidden impact of caregiving responsibilities, the importance of supporting women's economic participation, and why meaningful change starts with addressing systems—not just individuals. Along the way, Gretchen offers powerful insights on leadership, wellbeing, and finding balance in a world that often asks women to carry more than their share. In this episode, we explore: Why women are frequently the first to feel the effects of challenges related to housing affordability, childcare access, healthcare, and workforce participation. Childcare, eldercare, and support for people with disabilities are essential systems that enable individuals to participate fully in the workforce and community life. Policies that promote safety, flexibility, parental leave, and leadership opportunities don't just benefit women—they create healthier workplaces and stronger communities for everyone. The concept of an "opposite world"—activities that allow us to disconnect from work and reconnect with ourselves. She shares why making time for personal restoration isn't a luxury but a necessity for long-term effectiveness and wellbeing. Quotable: “Women really are the barometer of whether an economy is working or whether a city is working. If women are struggling with housing, childcare, safety, and economic opportunity, those are community issues. They're just being felt most acutely by women." Resources and Links Connect with Gretchen Hunt on LinkedIn Office for Women | LouisvilleKY.gov City Hub and Network for Gender Equity WD2026 – Women Deliver Bogotá Care Blocks - Observatory of Public Sector Innovation Care Blocks: recognized by the OECD as a global example of social innovation | Bogota.gov.co Parks Alliance of Louisville LOUMED & Office for Women Night Walk Home | Equimundo What happens when a city takes women’s unpaid work seriously? | Vox Designing Safety, Building Belonging Special Guest: Gretchen Hunt.

  8. May 22

    Building Trust and Transformation in Greater Freeport, Illinois │Andrea Schultz Winter & Nicole Haas

    In this episode of the Leading Ladies of Economic Development, Kaycee talks with leaders Andrea Schultz Winter & Nicole Haas from the Greater Freeport Partnership to explore how collaboration, communication, and community-driven strategy are reshaping regional economic development in northwest Illinois. Andrea Schultz and Nicole Haas share how their unexpected career paths led them into the field and ultimately back to the region, where they now help guide a merged organization that brings together economic development, tourism, Main Street, and chamber functions under one collaborative model. They reflect on the evolution of the organization since its formation in 2018, including the challenges of aligning four legacy entities, building trust with members, and establishing a unified vision during a period that included both organizational transition and the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this episode, we explore: A deep dive into the merged organizational model combining economic development, tourism, Main Street, and chamber functions—and how trust and communication drive it. Strategies for talent attraction and retention, including “come home” campaigns, employer-driven workforce personas, and partnerships addressing childcare and housing. Downtown revitalization efforts like the Recast City cohort and Downtown Unlocked initiative focused on activating underused spaces and supporting small-scale manufacturing and housing. Quotable: “Change is built at the speed of trust.” Resources and Links Connect with Andrea Schultz Winter on LinkedIn Connect with Nicole Haas on LinkedIn Greater Freeport Partnership Website Come Home Campaign - Greater Freeport Partnership Freeport Selected to Participate in National Program for Downtown Revitalization and Economic Resilience - Greater Freeport Partnership Special Guests: Andrea Schultz Winter and Nicole Hass.

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4.4
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This podcast is a safe place for female economic development professionals to share stories, insights, and challenges of the economic development industry. We hear from women leaders across the country about their careers in ED and how you can apply their experiences to your own economic development career goals.

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