Webinar Recordings Library

Join us for this webinar to learn more about the Certified Texas Economic Developer (CTED) program. The CTED is a partnership between the TEDC and Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service, and is Texas’ first and only professional certification for economic development. The CTED is the highest distinction of knowledge and credibility for Texas-based economic development practitioners. It is an expert-led, peer-driven certification program for active economic development professionals with curriculum tailor-made and unique to Texas.

To learn more about the CTED program click here 

Presenters: In Partnership with the Council of Development Finance Agencies (CDFA)

Panelists:

• Brendan Heil, Bricker Graydon
• Ryan McCormick, Lone Star PACE
• Brendan Buttimer, Reinvestment Fund 

Texas is filled with rural communities and small towns that are also in need of financing strategies. These areas face unique development financing challenges and needs such as downtown revitalization, food systems, infrastructure and energy finance. A number of creative and important financing tools exist to assist rural and small town development, and this webinar will explore the cutting-edge strategies driving development in the state, and how to access them.

Join the TEDC and the CDFA for this informative webinar on how to access funding for rural economic development.

Moderator: James Grogan, Managing Director, FTI Consulting

Panelists:

• Christine Allen, Director of Workforce Development and FTZ-260, Lubbock Economic Development Alliance
• Josh Griffith, Managing Director, Hillwood and Development Manager, FTZ-96
• Rina Lawrence, Manager-Economic Development, Port of Houston

Unlocking Opportunities -- Navigate the Texas FTZ Landscape with Expert Insights! Join us to explore the latest FTZ updates, emerging customs trends, and strategic marketing approaches for FTZs. Discover advocacy focal points, best practices, and effective communication strategies to drive economic growth and engage stakeholders.

Presenter:

• Chuck Vanderbilt, Regional Business Liaison, Employer Engagement and Community Outreach, Texas Workforce Commission
• Seth Green, Regional Business Liaison, Office of Employer Initiatives, Texas Workforce Commission
  

This webinar is FREE to TEDC members!

Economic development starts before bringing businesses to your communities. Your community must be attractive to both the business and the talent that will make the business run. TWC’s Employer Engagement and Community Outreach team has several grant-funded training programs to help you grow your talent pipeline and to help your local businesses upskill their existing employees to aid in your business retention. The economies of your communities are only as healthy as your workforce. 

FREE to TEDC members

Presenter: Tom Hucker, Senior Consultant, US Department of Energy Loan Program Office

In this webinar, Tom Hucker will describe the hundreds of billions of dollars in financing available from the LPO office for energy-related projects including renewable energy, battery storage, hydrogen, nuclear, building renovation, EV charging, biofuels, critical minerals & mining, and more.
Join us for this informative webinar presentation to learn how to access funds for energy-related projects in Texas to support your economic development efforts.

Presenters:

• Lacey Beasley, Retail Strategies  link to bio
• Elliott Cook, Retail Strategies  link to bio

Join us for an interactive session on how a retail-focused economic development strategy can breathe life into rural areas and foster business growth while revitalizing existing physical assets.

In this engaging discussion, we'll dive into the significance of nurturing both downtown and national retail corridors as catalysts for economic vitality and how 2024 economic factors are impacting retail in rural markets. Gain inspiration from real-world case studies of successful projects in Texas, illustrating the concrete advantages of prioritizing retail-driven growth.

Learning Objectives:

1.    Understanding the Rural Retail Renaissance: Investigate the ever-evolving retail landscape and its pivotal role in shaping the economic vitality of communities, whether large or small.

2.    Maximizing Rural Spaces: Discover effective strategies for rejuvenating rural downtown areas, including methods to create catalyst projects based on existing physical assets.

3.    Capitalizing on National Retail Corridors: Learn the essential elements behind the development of thriving national retail corridors and their positive impact on bolstering the economic well-being of rural regions.

This session will provide attendees with valuable insights, practical tools, and a deeper understanding of why cities should embrace a retail-centric approach to economic development. It will offer a complimentary retail leakage analysis report to all attendees for a baseline understanding of what opportunities exist in their community. The session is designed for economic development professionals and city staff.

Presenter: Audrey Anderson, Director of Marketing & Communications, Golden Shovel Agency

Join us for our upcoming webinar, "An Economic Developer's Guide to Social Media Best Practices." In this engaging and educational session, we will delve into the world of social media and its pivotal role in economic development. We will equip you with the knowledge and best practices needed to leverage social media effectively.

Learn how to:

• create engaging content
• build meaningful relationships
• harness the power of social platforms to promote your region, attract businesses, and foster community growth. 

Join us to unlock the potential of social media as a strategic tool for economic development success. Don't miss out on this opportunity to enhance your social media skills and drive economic progress in your community.

Community-based broadband providers in Texas are driving innovation and bringing tech-charged economic development, healthcare, workforce, and educational opportunities to rural communities. Join us to learn more about collaborative achievements that elevate our towns.

Presenters:

Pam Becker, Executive Director, Foundation for Rural Service (https://www.ntca.org/people/pam-becker)

Josh Seidemann, Vice President, Policy and Industry Innovation, NTCA—The Rural Broadband Association (https://www.ntca.org/people/joshua-seidemann)

Presenters:

• Audrey Anderson, Director of Marketing & Communications, Golden Shovel Agency
• Warren Westcott, Vice President of Sales, Golden Shovel Agency 

Join us for our upcoming webinar, "Proven Lead Generation Strategies for Economic Developers." In this insightful and informative session, we will explore the tried-and-true methods that successful economic developers employ to attract and nurture leads. Whether you're a seasoned professional or new to the field, this webinar will provide you with valuable insights and actionable strategies to boost your lead generation efforts and drive economic growth in your community.

Discover the secrets to effectively identifying, engaging, and converting leads to support your economic development initiatives. Don't miss this opportunity to enhance your lead generation skills and make a significant impact in your region.

Presenter: Jennifer Watkins, Co-Founder and Director of Operations, Alliance for Rural Impact

Rural communities can blend their existing creative assets to enhance livability and expand the local economy.  The Alliance for Rural Impact will talk about the fundamentals of a Creative Economy and how rural areas have the ability to capitalize on such a strategy.  The webinar will cover such topics as:

• The Basics of a Creative Economy
• Taking an Introspective Look at Your Community
• Identifying and Developing Your Creative Assets
• Taking Creativity to the Next Level

The Alliance for Rural Impact is a nonprofit organization focusing on harnessing the economic potential of rural communities throughout the Mid-South. Their mission is to facilitate transformation in rural communities through innovative technical assistance partnered with investment to ensure better opportunities to compete and prosper in a global market. 

Presenters: Tony Garife, Regional Manager, ACT Work Ready Communities and Mike Monson, ACT Work Ready Communities
Registration: $79/pp or $295/Group of 5 or more
Description:
We all have a stake in making our country more competitive and closing the skills gap. Change starts at the grassroots level by providing a community-based framework that:

• Links workforce development to education
• Aligns with the economic development needs of communities, regions and states
• Matches individuals to jobs based on skill levels

By participating in ACT’s Work Ready Communities initiative, counties, regions and states are helping:

• Businesses and industry know exactly what foundational skills they need for a productive workforce - and to easily communicate their needs
• Individuals understand what skills are required by employers - and how to prepare themselves for success
• Policy makers consistently measure the skills gap in a timely manner at the national, state and local levels
• Educators close the skills gap via tools integrated into career pathways with stackable industry-recognized credentials
• Economic developers use an on-demand reporting tool to market the quality of their workforce 

Presenter: Sandy Mead, VP of Workforce Development, Metrix Learning

This webinar is FREE to TEDC members!

Join us for an insightful presentation by Metrix Learning as we delve into the transformative benefits that innovative learning solutions provide for solving Texas businesses’ workforce challenges. Discover new tools you can add to your economic development toolkit for business expansion and retention that elevate your workforce, boost productivity, and strengthen the role of your economic development organization.

From tailored training programs to upskilling initiatives, we'll showcase platforms that are game changers for public sector partners, providing the power to develop customized training plans based on local needs and leveraging pre-constructed career pathways to meet workforce demand.  Don't miss this opportunity to explore the key to unlocking unprecedented growth in the Texas economic landscape.

Presenters: John Zakian, CEcD, Senior Vice President of Program Development, GrantWorks and Julie Norman, Associate Vice President, Economic Development Unit, GrantWorks

 Join TEDC and GrantWorks to explore how economic development organizations secure federal grants to enhance their business attraction and business retention efforts.

 Participants will learn:

• Steps to take to secure a federal grant
• Key programs available and key agencies involved
• Options and obstacles in pursuing a federal grant
• What to know before you apply for a federal grant
• Understanding the grant review process
• How to search for grants and other tips.

 If your economic development organization is interested in pursuing federal grant opportunities, this webinar will provide you with insight, strategies, tools and resources to be successful.

Presenter: Guillermo Mazier, SVP, Global Business @ Financial Times

Do you ever feel like your team is falling short of their full potential, but you can't quite pinpoint the reasons why or don't know what to do about it? Do you have a feeling that your team could achieve more, but you're not sure how to remove the obstacles that are holding them back? The reality is that the real world is constantly showing us the need to work better in teams and yet many of us may still be part of teams who still work in silos, who lack accountability, who are resistant to new ideas, who aren't inspired and who haven't been equipped with the necessary skills to work better together. In this webinar, participants will explore the critical components and framework that make up a high-performing economic development team. Whether you're a team leader or just part of one, discover how to build, empower or re-shape a team that's not only equipped for the challenges of today, but is also ready and empowered to meet the demands of tomorrow.

Presenter:
Nora Foote, Head of Tech-Based Economic Development, Center on Rural Innovation (CORI) and Rural Innovation Strategies, Inc. (RISI)

Overview
Attendees will be introduced to new ideas and concepts that support the case for investing in rural places via the creation of tech economy ecosystems. This webinar answers key questions for economic development leaders, including: 

• Why do small towns and rural communities need to diversify their economies in order to be future-ready?
• What do rural communities need to be well-positioned for building a thriving local tech-based economy?
• What are the public and private resources needed to help build out these tech-based economies?

Key takeaways

• Tech-based economic development should be a key focus of rural regions looking to build diversified and automation-resistant economies. 
• Successful tech economy ecosystems have leaders who: 
  • Ensure high-quality broadband access
  • Identify and build off of local innovation assets
  • Build entrepreneurship ecosystems through strong regional partnerships 
  • Develop an innovation hub to serve as a focal point for an entrepreneurship ecosystem
  • Leverage federal funding for rural innovation

Workforce shortages are a primary concern for businesses and economic developers throughout the country. For economic developers, this creates a clear and urgent challenge – find workers to support existing businesses or risk them going elsewhere. The same is true for business attraction. Economic developers seeking new investment must have a workforce attraction strategy the supports that growth.

This presentation and whitepaper provides economic developers with the baseline information they need to understand the workforce shortage issues, and to create a plan to address it. During this presentation the speakers will share best practices that have been used by economic developers throughout the country to strengthen and grow their workforce. Learn from them, develop a plan, and start implementing. Your local businesses and community are counting on you.

In the game of workforce attraction, there will be clear winners and clear losers. Some communities will growth their population while others may see their population decline. This presentation and whitepaper, Ron Kresha, COO of Golden Shovel Agency and Bethany Quinn, VP of Strategy & Content Development, show economic developers how to get on the winning side – for themselves and their communities.

Presenters:

Ron Kresha, COO, Golden Shovel Agency

Bethany Quinn, VP Strategy & Content Development, Golden Shovel Agency

Presenters: 

• Bethany Quinn, VP Strategy & Content Development, Golden Shovel Agency
• Audrey Anderson, Director of Marketing & Communications, Golden Shovel Agency

A lack of entry-level housing could be the biggest thing preventing workers from moving to communities. Solving this challenge requires a comprehensive plan and more than a little creativity.

Bethany Quinn, VP Strategy & Content Development, spoke with economic developers and community leaders from throughout North America to compile best practices and strategies that have worked to spur housing development at the local level. These solutions will be shared so that economic developers can be inspired and empowered to solve the housing crisis for their communities.

You won't find this collection of strategies and solutions anywhere else. They are diverse, actionable and proven. Economic developers who attend this presentation and read the whitepaper will benefit from reviewing comprehensive housing strategies without needing to do the research.

Presenters:

• Sabrina Brown, TEDC Legislative Consultant
• Stewart McGregor, Executive Director, Kaufman EDC and TEDC Legislative Committee Chair
• Carlton Schwab, President & CEO, TEDC

Join the TEDC's legislative consultant, this year's TEDC Legislative Committee Chair and TEDC's President & CEO, Carlton Schwab, for a discussion on what to expect for the 88th Texas Legislative Session, on the legislative process in general and the TEDC's legislative priorities for this session.

Presenters: Peter LeCody and Karl Ziebarth, Texas Rail Advocates

Join Texas Rail Advocates President Peter LeCody and Board Member Karl Ziebarth for a discussion on new and expanded federal rail funding available for both freight and passenger rail projects. 

 The Bi-Partisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed by Congress in 2021 opens up a minimum of $36 billion in investment for moving people and goods.

 Do you have rail-served industries that are looking to expand? Are you trying to attract new rail-served business to your area? Are you on a designated passenger rail corridor and want to see transportation choices improved?

 The panel will explain how Texas can share in this once-in-a-generation opportunity with a little nudge from our state legislators in the upcoming session.

 Mr. LeCody, a Dallas business owner, has been involved with TxDOT rail transportation committees for over a decade and Mr. Ziebath, a former railroad executive and rail consultant will explain how an unused state fund can open up opportunities for this important transportation mode. You will hear how Texas can share in this once-in-a-generation funding opportunity with a little nudge from our state legislators in the upcoming session.

Presenters:

• Jonathan Alba and Scott Davidson, Code4
• Eric Gilbert, Treefort Music Festival Co-Founder

Description:

Meet with event safety experts Scott Davidson and Jonathan Alba at Code 4 and Treefort Music Festival Co-Founder Eric Gilbert to explore strategies to host safe, community-based events that drive economic development. 

Who should attend?
Economic Development professionals and city officials who want to create an events based economic development strategy. Or EDC professionals who want to be more involved with events in their community.

The audience will learn:

• How public private partnerships can play a pivotal role in city based events
• How to communicate and work with event promoters
• What defines success for community-based events
• What are the key economic drivers to pay attention to

Key Takeaways:

• How well-intended community events go wrong
• Key Components of the event planning process
• Relevant statutes and regulatory requirements of large-scale events in Texas.
• How the Treefort Music Festival became a catalyst for community engagement and economic development in Boise, Idaho
• An overview of how to build partnerships with public and private sector leaders to produce safe events. 
• Key resources available to support the event planning process.

Economic resilience is a critical foundation for economic development. Through this interactive session, participants will hear from EY about communities engaging in leading practices of economic resilience and learn about data and methods available to start measuring economic resilience in their own communities. 

Presenters:

• Tony DeLisi, Director of Strategy, Economic Development Advisory Services, Ernst & Young, LLP
• Brian Kelsey, Manager, Economic Development Advisory Services, Ernst & Young, LLP
• Jung Kim, Manager, Economic Development Advisory Services, Ernst & Young, LLP

*This webinar is FREE to TEDC Members

The Employee Retention Credit (ERC) is an underutilized and often misunderstood government program. This 60-minute webinar will discuss what the ERC is and who qualifies for it. We will also quantify the impact to your specific EDC geography and give you the tools to bring this opportunity to the businesses in your community.

Presenters:
• Chris O’Shell, Seamless Advisors, LLC
• Neil Barrow, Seamless Advisors, LLC

This webinar is FREE to TEDC members.

Presenter: Heidi Khokhar, Executive Director, Rural Development Initiatives

At this session we will take a glimpse at our current economic situation through a rural lens and explore examples of local-led approaches that are supporting economic recovery in small places. You will learn of a time-tested solution and we will shine a light on external forces that can serve to constrain local efforts. Finally, you will get a glance at a newly minted framework aimed at helping rural communities thrive.

Participants will take away actionable approaches and ideas to help build local capacity and involvement, catalyze local action and rebuild local economies.

Heidi is an expert in rural economic development strategies and the rural economy. She will share her expertise on what other rural communities and regions are doing to reinvigorate investment, plan for positive development, grow their economy in a sustainable way and create jobs.

Presenters:

• Warren Westcott, VP of Sales, Golden Shovel Agency
• Audrey Anderson, Director of Marketing, Golden Shovel Agency
• Bethany Quinn, VP of Content, Golden Shovel Agency

Golden Shovel Agency shares a creative bundle of marketing and communication strategies that will help you highlight your community's unique economic development footprint. They'll cover creative digital approaches, website tips, original content ideas, quarterly plans, and ways to promote "local workforce opportunities" to millennials. Your target audience will soon be hearing all about your "special sauce."

The uncertainty of the current climate begs questions surrounding talent’s priorities, migration patterns, remote work incentives, and talent’s top motivators to move in the middle of a global pandemic. DCI's presentation will take a deeper dive into these questions and more based on the findings of their recent research, Talent Wars: How COVID-19 Reshaped the Battle. Understanding how people decide where to live and work—and how exactly COVID-19 impacts talent’s decision-making process—will enable communities in Texas to position themselves to retain current residents and win over prospective talent.

The discussion will include

• the top factors talent considers when making a career or location change
• where talent looks to inform their decisions
• the triggers behind relocation decisions.

DCI will also share marketing “best practices” using case studies from EDOs across the U.S.

Presenters:

• Robyn Domber, Vice President, Research, Development Counsellors International (DCI)

Registration: FREE to TEDC Members, $79/Non Members

Presenter: John Karras, VP-Business Development, TiP Strategies, Inc.

Climate disruptions—from extreme weather events to droughts—have always affected economic development. In recent years, climate resiliency has become a top priority for companies and community leaders alike. But what’s often missing from the conversation is the potential for new economic opportunities. This webinar will invite you to explore the other side of the climate equation and prepare your community for growth. Economic development professionals are positioned to leverage climate change as an untapped source of economic growth for their communities by recruiting new target industries, driving innovation and entrepreneurship, and attracting and developing talented workers.

This webinar will address key questions including:

• Which industries are seeing the biggest surge of new investment and innovation in response to climate change?
• How should communities rethink their infrastructure and real estate portfolios in light of climate disruptions?
• How can cities and regions embrace climate resiliency as a core part of their brand and marketing for business and talent recruitment?

TIP will share relevant data, strategies, and best practices from communities across Texas and the US to answer these questions.

Presenters:

• Steven Jast, President and Founder, ROI Research on Investment and Gazelle.ai
• Shannon Lynch, Vice President-Business Development, ROI Research on Investment
• Nadine Jeserich, Vice President-Analytics, Gazelle.ai
• Andrew Phillips, Senior Account Executive Economic Development, Tourism & International Trade, LinkedIn Marketing Solutions

The world and how we do business has changed dramatically since 2019. Our relationships are becoming more “virtual” as we move further into the digital domain, challenging previously held business development practices and FDI motivators. In this session, we’ll explore the optimal mix of “old school” and cutting-edge techniques to maximize your deal flow.

In this session, we’ll explore:

•  Building your addressable audience
•  Effective cold "outreach" techniques
•  Best ways to secure your first meeting with a prospect
•  Becoming a trusted advisor - how to manage your first meeting and beyond
•  Practicing a business centric approach
•  Proactive nurturing
•  Cutting edge digital and social strategies

Presenter: Dave Parsell, CEO, Localintel

Talent attraction is one of the biggest challenges facing small cities and regional communities. Promoting the quality of life advantages a community has to offer is an effective way to gain the edge.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced people re-examine their home and its surroundings. At the same time, businesses have learnt to embrace and encourage work from home policies. This shift has initiated a post-pandemic labor movement and created a huge opportunity for small communities to attract talent and drive growth. However, it will only be those communities that employ targeted strategies to market their communities that will gain the competitive advantage and truly capitalize on this opportunity.

In this webinar you will learn:

• The latest trends in post-pandemic labor movement
• How to market your communities Quality of Life effectively online to gain the competitive edge when attracting talent
• The importance of knowing your target audience
• How to engage remote workers by promoting your #1 asset - the quality of life you have to offer

Economic recovery from the pandemic, especially as regions continue to deal with restrictions and waves of cases, means communities of all sizes have to be that much more creative when it comes to showcasing the top features and properties in their region. After all, if site selectors, potential investors and labor force can't always come to you, you need to be innovative in engaging and communicating your value proposition to them. This webinar will look at different digital strategies to attract investment, stimulate tourism, and support existing local businesses. 

· Learn best practices for attracting and engaging website visitors with interactive tools
· Understand the different kinds of virtual tours and learn how to incorporate them for virtual properties
· Discover how to build your own interactive virtual tours to attract investors, support businesses and bolster tourism
· Use your digital tools in creative ways for outreach in email newsletters, on social media, in online presentations and more

Presenter: Alissa Sklar, PhD., VP of Marketing, GIS Planning

This webinar will explore a cross-section of projects that have participated in the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank’s Advance Together program. The goal of the program is to help Texas communities build partnerships for equitable recovery.

Panelists: 

• Alfreda B. Norman, Senior Vice President, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
• Kseniya Benderskaya, Outreach-Community Development, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
• Amy Hall, Workforce Solutions of West Central Texas
  >Link to Panelists bios

About Advance Together™

Advance Together is an initiative led by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas that helps communities turn economic barriers into opportunities by addressing education and workforce challenges. Our grantees receive training and technical assistance coordinated by the Dallas Fed and grants from Advance Together’s funding partners.

Advance Together accelerates the progress of community partnerships in Texas that are addressing education and workforce challenges. Their work is instrumental in reducing barriers to economic opportunity.

Advance Together provides training, technical assistance and funding to selected partnerships to help them strengthen their collaboration and achieve their goals. By building up a network of collaborative leaders in communities across the state, we’re moving toward a future where all Texas residents can achieve economic mobility and resilience.

https://www.dallasfed.org/cd/at

The pandemic has driven the rapid adoption of virtual site visits, which are now becoming a standard part of the site selection process for many companies and site selection consultants. In this session you will learn what is and is not a virtual site visit, the five components of a comprehensive virtual site visit, the technologies enabling virtual site visits, and the requirements for hosting virtual site visits.

Presenter: Ron Bertasi, CEO, GIS Webtech

Plans, procedures, and everything we used to know has been thrown out the window as COVID-19 has taken over. With that, we can't assume that everything will just go back to "normal" when we come out of the pandemic. In this panel, our presenters explore the new roles into the nitty-gritty on business retention, automation, remote working, and business expansion. 

Panelists:
Jon Roberts, Managing Partner, TIP Strategies
Anatalio Ubalde, Founder & CEO, SizeUP/GIS Planning
Aaron Brossoit, CEO, Golden Shovel

The panel will discuss the TEDC’s legislative priorities, provide an update on the happenings at the Texas Capitol, review the TEDC’s bill track and provide an overview of legislative matters to date this 87th Texas Legislative Session.

Moderator:

• Carlton Schwab, President & CEO, Texas Economic Development Council

Panelists:

• Sabrina Brown, TEDC’s Legislative Consultant
• Greg Sims, President, Greenville EDC and TEDC’s 2021 Board Chair
• Kevin Carter, President, Amarillo EDC, TEDC’s Legislative Committee Chair
• Arthur Mann, Administrator, Hillsboro EDC, TEDC’s Legislative Committee Vice-Chair

The panel of economic development professionals will share insight into a “Big” project that they recruited in 2020 and will share information on the site selection and competitive recruitment process, economic impact of jobs and investment, deal structuring and community impact of the project. Join us to hear from your economic development peers about some “Big” wins for Texas in 2020.

Moderator:

• Adriana Cruz, Executive Director, Economic Development & Tourism, Office of the Governor

Panelists:

• Charisse Bodisch, SVP-Economic Development, Austin Chamber of Commerce 
• Michele Boggs, EVP-Business Development, San Antonio Economic Development Foundation
• Bethany Miller, VP-Regional Economic Development, Greater Houston Partnership
• Mike Rosa, SVP-Economic Development, Dallas Regional Chamber

Bret and Joseph will introduce Sustainment and share their experience in building a technology platform focused on the domestic manufacturing economy, including initial success in helping the Air Force engage with small and medium-sized businesses in the central US. The Sustainment Blueprint is a cloud database and analytic toolkit for state, regional, and commercial teams who need real-time visibility into regional manufacturing ecosystems.

Key Takeaways:
- How data and analytics can facilitate state and regional economic development efforts
- New tools to help small and medium-sized manufacturing businesses find customers
- How supply chains are trending towards more onshore, domestic sourcing

Speakers:
• Bret Boyd, Co-Founder and CEO, Sustainment
• Joseph Kopser, President, Grayline

The Texas Reskilling & Upskilling through Education (TRUE) initiative aims to prepare students for in-demand careers accelerating their transition to work while also building an enduring education infrastructure to support a thriving Texas economy throughout the diverse regions of the state. The colleges will work with business partners and others in their communities to bolster this talent pipeline strategy.

Texas community college leaders have worked tirelessly to support the state’s response to the COVID-19 national crisis, during which millions of Texans have filed for unemployment and the mismatch between workforce needs and skilled workers has deepened. A majority of these displaced workers lack the skills and education needed to successfully and quickly reenter the workplace. Texas community colleges currently provide more than 90 percent of credit-bearing career and technical education and are the best positioned to close these skills gaps to good-paying jobs.

Presenters:

• Jacob Fraire, President & CEO, Texas Association of Community Colleges
• Andres Alcantar, Management and Public Policy Consultant, Alcantar Public Policy Consulting

Think there’s no money to rescue your recovery efforts? Governments and institutions are starving for capital to keep revenue growing during these unprecedented times. Economic developers must provide adaptive financial sourcing in response to the massive disruption of COVID-19. Join us to learn how you can tap into “hidden capital” to fund struggling local governments, universities and health care facilities and safeguard the fiscal wellbeing of your communities.

Presenters: 

• David Dodd, CEcD, FM, President & CEO, International Sustainable Resilience Center
• Wayne O’Neill, Founder & CEO, RESET/Reset to Growth

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, some companies were already reconsidering their global manufacturing strategies because of the China Trade War. But the pandemic sparked a rush to reconsider everything about how supply chains should operate and respond to “black swan” events. As a result, global supply chains are being revamped leading to drastic operating architecture changes affecting manufacturing worldwide. Companies are seriously considering reshoring manufacturing. 

We may scare you about what is yet to come – the next pandemic, the next trade war, and global climate changes. We will describe these “black swan” events, how we prepare, and how we will have to become adaptive for fast response to supply chain events. How will all of this affect manufacturing and distribution locations in America? These decisions just got much more complicated.

Learning Objectives:
1. Planning for “Black Swan” events – how companies must become responsive and resilient
2. Understand the changes to global supply chain flows and how these will affect business locations
3. Learn how supply chains can turn crisis into opportunity through fast response, rapid retooling, and tracking demand

Presenter: 
Rosemary Coates, Executive Director, Reshoring Institute

During the session, the instructor will show attendees how to use the SitesOnTexas platform, how to gather location insight using data and mapping, while displaying the data to clients, providing said clients with meaningful and actionable data that presents demographic, employment, business and market trends. The instructor will also show the capabilities in high quality aerial imagery, business data and market analysis. The product is licensed for all of the workforce boards across the state.

Presenters:

• Ben Wilson, STDB Product Specialist, CCIM Institute
• Michael Greene, Program Manager, Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX)

The presenters will discuss the current state of the travel and tourism in Texas and the impacts that travel restrictions and social distancing due to COVID-19 are having on the travel industry. They will also offer insights into ways to mitigate economic losses in your community related to travel and tourism.

Presenters:
• Daniel Decker, President & CEO, Texas Travel Industry Association and Executive Director, Texas Commercial Airports Association
• John Osborne, President/CEO, Lubbock Economic Development Alliance and Chair of the Board, Texas Travel Industry Association

Austin Baker Tilly NMTC experienced representatives will discuss actual transactions to show how New Market Tax Credit projects achieve economic and job creation benefits in distressed census tracts. Join TEDC and Baker Tilly for a presentation highlighting the benefits and use of New Market Tax Credits to bolster economic development.

Presenters: 

• Thane Hutcheson, Negotiated Incentive Manager, Baker Tilly
• Michael Perrine, Managing Director, Baker Tilly
• Gary Lindner, Managing Director, Baker Tilly

The current economic crisis has altered life in every community but has had a disproportionate impact on low-income populations and communities of color. As economic developers help businesses, residents, and communities in the recovery, a focus on equity and inclusion will better position communities for a more sustainable recovery and greater resilience in the face of future challenges. Please join TIP Strategies as we share relevant data, useful tools, and best practices from Texas and around the country.

Presenters:
• Tracye McDaniel, President, TIP Strategies, Inc.
• Jaclyn Le, Consultant, TIP Strategies, Inc.
• Jenn Todd-Goynes, Consultant, TIP Strategies, Inc.

Senior executives, Erika Magder, VP Sales & Global Products, and Amber Hunter, VP, Business Development will offer an overview of their findings and discuss how economic developers may be able to react to meet and mitigate these emerging challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. They will provide a synopsis of how business leaders have reacted to-date, what they are hearing in terms of future investment plans, as well as discuss which industries have already demonstrated a decline in expansion interest and which are emerging as more primed for growth. This webinar will also shed light on how the Research Consultants International FDI team has adapted to digital programs to continue business recruitment initiatives and outline tips and tricks to coordinate Digital Lead Generation campaigns to offset the travel restrictions in place for the foreseeable future.

Presenters:

• Erika Magder, VP Sales & Global Products, Research Consultants International
• Amber Hunter, Vice President-Business Development North America, Research Consultants International

Economic Development professionals will share their new finance program developed to assist local businesses in their community to address the COVID-19 crisis. This webinar is round two of our peer group format to provide information about finance programs, such as grants and loans, to support businesses during turbulent times. 

Moderator:

• Carolyn Rowley, Director-Business Recruitment & Innovation, Lubbock Economic Development Alliance

Panelists:

• Cameron Cox, CEO, Bastrop Economic Development Corporation
• Tony Kaai, President, Denison Development Alliance
• Randall Malik, Assistant Director-Economic Development, City of Cedar Park
• Robert Sturns, Director-Economic Development, City of Fort Worth
• Robert Worley, Executive Director, Sealy Economic Development Corporation

TXP has worked for years with local communities on economic development policies and strategies, as well as providing economic fiscal impact analysis and tax revenue forecasting. At this point, we are working for a number of municipalities, transit authorities, and private groups to understand the impacts (as measured by jobs and tax revenues). We will review the process we are using to develop these impacts/forecasts, as well as discussing how communities can begin to develop a path to effectively reopening the local economy.

Presenters:
• Jon Hockenyos, President, TXP
• Travis James, Vice President, TXP

Local economic developers are expected to play many roles: community leaders, project managers, chief marketing officers, problem solvers, and more. Access to data has always been an important aspect of running a best-in-class EDC. But many of us have become reliant on automated data services or SaaS licenses to produce the numbers we need to tell compelling stories about our communities. What happens when the world stops and those fee-based, privately operated data firms go offline? Are you prepared to play another role on behalf of your community, chief economist?

There are several free tools and information sources powered by publicly available data that every economic developer should know how to use. Brian Kelsey, who writes about the economy, labor market, and economic development at CivicAnalytics.com, will provide quick tutorials on his favorite data sources using examples from Texas communities. Novice researchers and armchair economists will get an overview of each resource and an explanation of strengths and weaknesses of the data during the first portion of the webinar. The second portion of the webinar will be more of an "office hours" format, where experienced researchers will have an opportunity to ask more detailed questions or discuss solutions to common research issues.

Presenter: 

• Brian Kelsey, Founder, Civic Analytics

Every city says it wants to be fiscally sustainable, environmentally resilient and socially inclusive. Yet, the daily decisions and investments our cities make rarely align with these outcomes. We're left with fragile local economies, escalating service costs and deficits, and disconnected residents while frustrated city staff are stuck administering policies which create generic places citizens and businesses struggle to connect with and invest in. City leaders must find new ways to communicate these challenges and work strategically to address growing needs with limited resources.   

In this 90 minute webinar, we will cover:

How a city's growth and development pattern is directly connected to its property tax revenue, service costs and infrastructure liabilities;

How a city can use fiscal sustainability as a common language to frame discussions, inform decisions, and engage citizens;

How a city can take steps to incrementally close the gap utilizing resources they have, starting today.

Presenters:

• AJ Fawver, AICP, CNU-A, CPM, Associate/Community Consulting Program Leader, Verdunity
• Kevin Shepherd, Founder & CEO, Verdunity

You need a plan. Several weeks into the worst public health crisis in generations, with several weeks likely remaining, the global economy is reeling. What is to come will be a complex series of response and recovery stages, and decisions you make now will have a lasting impact. Steven Pedigo will discuss a ten-point action plan for economic developers to help you and your community mobilize. This webinar will outline a path forward that could help your economy come back stronger, more inclusive and more resilient.

This webinar presentation will address:

• What do we know about the pandemic?
• How do we think about immediate reopening/ recovery?
• What's needed for long-term resiliency?

Presenter:
Steven Pedigo, Professor of Practice, Director, LBJ Urban Lab, Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, The University of Texas at Austin

Hear from your peers about new and enhanced programs and initiatives that they have implemented in their Texas communities to support local businesses in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Moderator: 

• Kevin Carter, Amarillo Economic Development Corporation

Panelists: 

• Michaela Dollar, ED Director, City of Georgetown 
• Christian Fletcher, Executive Director, Marble Falls Economic Development Corporation
• Misty Mayo, President, Development Corporation of Abilene
• Kent Sharp, President, Sherman Economic Development Corporation

Join Kelly Cofer and Aaron Farmer from The Retail Coach, as they examine the impact of COVID-19 on the retail industry. Kelly and Aaron will touch on tools to help existing business, retail trends for the remainder of 2020, and what economic development organizations can be doing now and in the future to build a stronger retail base in their communities. 

Presenters:

• Kelly Cofer, Founder & CEO, The Retail Coach
• Aaron Farmer, President, The Retail Coach

As you know small businesses are the hardest hit during a crisis and are the backbone of the economy of many Texas communities. This webinar will introduce you to some of the programs and resources that you can explore and pursue to help small businesses in your community.

The webinar will include presentations by the State of Texas-Office of the Governor-Economic Development & Tourism Division, the Texas Workforce Commission and the Texas Department of Agriculture related to programs to assist small businesses during an economic crisis. The presenters will share Information and resources regarding ways to help small businesses manage revenue losses, financial market uncertainty, and workforce and labor related matters.

Presenters:

• Kelly Spillane, Small Business Advocate, Office of the Governor-Economic Development & Tourism;
• Dale Robertson, Interim Director, Office of Employer Initiatives, Texas Workforce Commission;
• Albert Salgado, Executive Director, South-West Texas Border SBDC Network
• Roxana Newton, Economic Development Project Controller, Trade & Business Development, Texas Department of Agriculture

The explosion in data availability in recent years is changing decision-making in all areas of business, including location decisions. This webinar will explain the drivers of data availability, the types of new data available, and how businesses are now incorporating new data into location decisions. We will also make some predictions for how this new data will pair with new technologies to change further the way location decisions are made.

Presenter: 

• Ron Bertasi, CEO, GIS WebTech