Intensive Economic Development Training Course
Week 1: Postponed until September 21-25, 2020 and Week 2: September 20-23, 2021
Fueled by Spire

In 2017 Greg Barker was selected as Alabama Power’s Executive Vice President responsible for Customer Services. Prior to this position, Barker served as Senior Vice President for Marketing and Economic Development, beginning in 2010. He previously served as the company’s Vice President of Economic and Community Development. Barker joined Alabama Power in 2002 as an economic development project manager.

His experience includes previous positions as: Executive Vice President and Vice President of the Metropolitan Development Board (now part of the Birmingham Business Alliance), President of the Calhoun Co. Chamber of Commerce, and Director of International Business for the Birmingham Area Chamber.

Barker has a B.A. in Mass Communications from Mississippi State. He attended EDI at the University of Oklahoma and the Institute for Organizational Management at the University of Georgia. He is a member and former president of EDAA and a member of the Southern Economic Development Council and IEDC.

Phillis Belcher has served as Executive Director of the Greene County Industrial Development Authority for 22 years. She is a native of Greene County, Alabama and co-founder of Leadership Greene County. She is also a graduate of both Leadership Tuscaloosa and Leadership Alabama, a prestigious statewide leadership organization where Ms. Belcher serves on the Board of Directors. In addition, she is a past president of the Economic Development Association of Alabama.

Ms. Belcher has a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Montevallo and an M.B.A. from Adelphi University in New York.

Tedra Cheatham is Director of Business Partnership Development for the 6th largest business school in the nation, the Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University. She works to identify business challenges and targeted solutions that benefit both the business community and the student talent pipeline.

Prior to joining the Robinson College of Business, she was Executive Director for The Clean Air Campaign, leading efforts nationally for cleaner air, less traffic and more economic vibrancy through K-12 digital education program and consulting with private industry.

Previously, Ms. Cheatham served as chief operating officer and vice president of economic development for the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce near Atlanta, Georgia. Her contributions to the success of North Fulton’s development helped foster numerous transportation enhancements and a thriving business community that is home to several Fortune 500 companies. Cheatham has also held leadership positions overseeing economic development for the north central Texas cities of Bedford and Euless.

A Louisiana native, she began her career in government affairs and later worked in the public sector as an analyst for the Louisiana State Senate. She was named to the White House’s deployment team to the Gulf Coast in 2010 to address economic conditions following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and served on the Post-Katrina Task Force in New Orleans. In 2008, Ms. Cheatham was recognized for her leadership in North Fulton by the American Women’s Business Association. An activemember of the community, she helped establish The Drake House, a residential assessment center for homeless women and their children.

She is a certified economic developer (CEcD) and served eight years as a member of the Board of Directors for the International Economic Development Council. She is a 2014 graduate of Leadership Atlanta.

Tedra Cheatham led a Metro Atlanta-wide initiative through the Atlanta Regional commission to plan for future housing needs and revitalized downtown centers. She earned her B.A. degree from Louisiana State University and an M.P.A. from the University of New Orleans.

Mo Collins is a New Economy specialist with expertise in women entrepreneurship, technology innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystems. She speaks and provides custom training throughout the United States and Canada. Collins served in progressive, senior-level roles at the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) between 1997 and 2014 building tech-driven resources to serve entrepreneurs, including EntreFEST, MyEntreNet, Dream Big Grow Here and the Iowa Business Concierge. She launched Iowa’s first annual statewide survey of entrepreneurs and small business and has co-authored numerous journal publications associated with those findings.

Collins garnered personal and professional awards for her work in supporting entrepreneurs from the National Association of Women Business Owners (2017), the International Economic Development Council (2014), the University Economic Development Association (2014, 2010), and multiple awards from the Association of Small Business Development Centers.

Mo is a top tier trainer for the International Economic Development Council, the OU Economic Development Institute and economic development organizations and chambers nationwide.

New in 2019 is a workshop for women entrepreneurs called #RosieWasRight, top-of-funnel training a connecting women with tech-driven innovation and a triple bottom line of people, place and profits.

Sheldon Day has served as mayor of the City of Thomasville (Alabama) since 1996. He graduated from Thomasville High School in 1978 and attended Patrick Henry Jr. College (now Alabama Southern Community College) in Monroeville, Alabama, before beginning a career in retail management. He managed stores for TG&Y, Inc., for seven years and spent the next seven years with Walmart Stores, Inc., as a Division 1 store manager in Thomasville and as a SuperCenter director in Thomasville and in Georgia. Sheldon was a member of the Thomasville City Council for two terms during his time with Walmart Stores, Inc. Sheldon is a small business owner and works daily to build new business potential in Thomasville and southwest Alabama.

Sheldon is a member of the Alabama Technology Network Advisory Board at Alabama Southern Community College; a past member of the board of directors of the Southwest Alabama Medical Center; a member of the Southwest Alabama United Way Advisory Board; a member of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Development Council; founding member of the Clarke County Community Development Foundation; and a member and past president of the Thomasville, Alabama, Chamber of Commerce. Mayor Day is a graduate of the 2005 Leadership Alabama class and a past member of the Leadership Alabama Executive Board. He is also a graduate of the Auburn University Economic Development Institute.

Beyond the borders of Thomasville, Sheldon is active in the areas of politics and economic development. He currently serves on the Alabama League of Municipalities Executive Committee, as co-chairman of Governor Bentley’s Black Belt Commission; and he served as a panelist from 2005 through 2012 for the Delta Regional Authority Congressional Caucus on Rural Issues in Washington, D.C. He has been invited to many states across the United States to tell the “Thomasville Success Story” and provide input on rural issues. Mayor Day has participated in numerous business missions in the United States and abroad including to Cuba, China, South Korea, and Brazil.

During Mayor Day’s 23 years of mayoral service, the City of Thomasville and surrounding rural area has seen over $700 million in capital investment and the creation of more than 1,000 new manufacturing and service sector jobs. In addition, the city government and schools have partnered to bring high quality education and innovative career technical programs that have become a model for the state of Alabama and the southeastern United States.

Phillip Dunlap has served as Economic Development Director for the City of Auburn since 1984. He has been in economic development since 1975. He designed, built, and has strategically developed the City of Auburn’s very successful economic development program. He is an expert in economic development financing and a frequent economic development trainer in countries throughout the world through USAID.

He was one of the first three Alabama economic developers to be awarded the David R. Echols Distinguished Service Award for Exemplary Achievement in Economic Development (selected by Alabama Department of Commerce project managers).

Mr. Dunlap did his undergraduate work at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in the fields of Political Science and Public Administration and also completed his graduate work at UAB.

Haitham Eletrabi serves as the Chief Executive Officer at Tennibot since inception (January 2016). In this role, he overseas the overall development of the product (autonomous tennis ball collector). He helped transform Tennibot from ideation into an award winning robotics startup that is revolutionizing the sports Industry. Tennibot has been widely covered by the media including BBC, Forbes, Discovery Channel, TIME, Mashable, TechCrunch and others. In addition to running the company, he helped secure key investors from companies like iRobot, Facebook & Har-Tru.

Prior to Tennibot, Eletrabi worked as a teaching and research assistant in Auburn University at Samuel Ginn College of Engineering and Raymond J. Harbert College of Business. His research covered a wide variety of topics spanning from progressive collapse prevention to helping businesses identify & seize blue ocean opportunities.

Eletrabi earned his doctorate in Civil Engineering from Auburn University and holds a Master of Business Administration from Auburn University, a Master of Science in Civil Engineering from Cairo University and a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from Cairo University, Egypt.

Jay A. Garner, CEcD, CCE is president and founder of Garner Economics, LLC, an economic development and site location consulting firm headquartered in Atlanta. He is an economic development leader and innovator, having served for 37 years as both an award-winning economic developer, Chamber of Commerce CEO, and site location professional. He is a founding member and past vice chair for the Site Selectors Guild, a prestigious group of the top site location consultants globally. His firm assists clients throughout the world on a wide variety of projects. He often lectures and provides counsel on creating and implementing proactive global business development strategies and tactics. He has led over 25 trade and business development missions on four continents – resulting in thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in capital investment.

Mr. Garner’s firm is also a leader in providing assistance to corporate clients in their site selection process, such as: Anchor Glass, Academy Sports, Hatfield Quality Meats, Hills Pet Foods, Stork Food Systems, and Future Pipe Industries. His firm is the exclusive provider of site location services for Primus Builders—a global leader in architecture, engineering, and construction management specializing in food processing.

Mr. Garner has B.A. and M.P.A. degrees from West Virginia University. He is a graduate of the Basic Course at Georgia Tech and EDI at the University of Oklahoma, where he teaches international prospecting. He is a Certified Economic Developer (CEcD), a Fellow Member, an Honorary Life Member, and a past chair of IEDC, the world’s largest economic development professional trade organization. He is also a Certified Chamber Executive (CCE), awarded by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Executives Association. The readers of Southern Business & Development magazine named Garner Economics as one of the best consulting firms in the U.S. in 2009. In 2015, the same publication listed him as one of the "Ten people who made a difference" in economic development.

As a practitioner, Garner was selected as one of ten outstanding U.S. leaders in economic development by Site Selection magazine. The same publication also recognized him for running one of the ten best development organizations in the U.S. for six consecutive years. The mayor and city council of Mobile declared July 29, 1994 as "Jay Garner Day" for his exemplary service as the community’s chief economic development officer. While he was CEO of the Asheville, NC Chamber of Commerce, the organization became the first U.S. Chamber to win a Quality Award by the North Carolina Quality Foundation based on the national Malcolm Baldrige criteria.

He was honored in 2002 and 2003 by West Virginia University with Distinguished Alumnus Awards within the Department of Political Science and College of Arts and Sciences. An avid jazz drummer, Garner plays in a big band jazz orchestra in the Atlanta area.

Randy George, CEcD retired as President of the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce in April 2019, after 46 years with the organization. Prior to his retirement, Mr. George served as Chamber President for over 30 years and previously served as the Chamber’s Director of Economic Development and General Manager for 16 years. During this time, Randy George’s strong leadership and strategic coalition building helped the Chamber play key roles in many of the region’s major economic development accomplishments. Some of his career highlights included:

• First Project: 1975 American Sterilizer Co. (AMSCO) [now STERIS]: $4M investment; 100 employees; Today: 340 employees;
• 1984 General Electric Co. (GE), now SABIC: 280 employees; $50M annual payroll; 6,300 acres; Today: 320 employees;
• 2002 HMMA: $1B investment; 2,000 employees; $279M annual payroll; Today: 3,000 employees;
• 2004 – PRESENT Downtown Revitalization: $200+ Million;
• 2007-2018 Diversity Summit: 11 successful years of a nationally acclaimed event; and
• 2018 F-35 jet program & new Maxwell Control Tower

While at the Chamber, Mr. George also served as: President of the Industrial Developers Association of Alabama (now EDAA), President of the Chamber of Commerce Association of Alabama (CCAA), and President of the Southern Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives. In 2007, he received the prestigious Jamie Wallace Award, the highest award a chamber of commerce executive can receive in the State of Alabama.

Before his tenure at the Chamber, he was an Industrial Development Specialist with the Alabama Development Office (now the Alabama Department of Commerce). Mr. George has a B.S. degree in Business Administration from Samford University, where he was a Pi Kappa Phi graduate and a member of the Alpha Kappa Psi professional business fraternity. He is a Certified Economic Developer.

Waymond Jackson is the Vice President of Workforce Development for the Birmingham Business Alliance (BBA) – the lead economic development organization for the seven-county Birmingham Metropolitan Area. Jackson leads the BBA’s workforce development division and is a member of the BBA’s senior staff. As the lead economic development organization for the region, the BBA is focused on increasing the economic prosperity of the region and improving the quality, size and participation of Birmingham’s workforce. Through industry-led workforce training programs, a focus on post-secondary attainment and sector focused talent recruitment events; the BBA is helping create a dynamic 21st century workforce in Birmingham.

Since joining the BBA in 2012, Jackson has led the creation and implementation of several notable workforce initiatives including the BBA’s Talent Recruitment Project – an effort to attract millennial talent to Birmingham for career opportunities; OnBoard Birmingham – a retention initiative designed to introduce early-career talent to the Birmingham community; and the establishment of the Alabama Workforce Training Center in Birmingham– a construction and manufacturing training center for incumbent workers, high school students and the community at large. The significance of this work has not gone unnoticed and has been highlighted through participation in various workforce leadership programs including the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives Fellowship for Education Attainment – a peer-to-peer network of workforce professionals who develop action plans to improve the birth-to-career education pipeline in their communities; the U. S. Chamber’s Talent Pipeline Management Academy – an initiative designed to develop and certify talent supply chain skills and practices in communities ready to close the skills gap; and, the Community Leaders Forum of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors – an initiative that brought together 12 leading community development practioners to improve the Federal Reserve’s understanding of and response to emerging trends and their impact on consumers and communities, particularly those that are traditionally underserved. Jackson continues to expand the BBA’s role in workforce development, he spearheaded the City of Birmingham’s successful application to be designated a TechHire community through President Barack Obama’s signature TechHire initiative – a program designed to expand local tech sectors by building a pipeline of diverse, non-traditional talent to meet employers rapidly growing IT demands and he lead the BBA’s successful efforts to secure a $40,000 grant from Lumina Foundation to increase post-secondary attainment in the Birmingham region.

Jackson is a graduate of the University of Alabama at Birmingham and serves on several community affiliated boards including the Birmingham Education Foundation (Secretary); Junior Achievement of Alabama; the UAB School of Education Advisory Board; Central Six Development Council (board chair); Tech Birmingham; Growing Kings; Better Basics; Railroad Park Foundation; the Downtown Redevelopment Authority and the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives. He completed the Auburn University Intensive Economic Development Training program, was a 2014 Birmingham Business Journal Top 40 Under 40 honoree and is married to Kimberly Jackson; they have one son, Leo Waymond Jackson.

Sandra Koblas is a senior professional in human resources with 25 years’ experience ranging from plant level to corporate leadership in rapidly growing organizations. She is currently serving as the Director of Human Resources for Austal USA in Mobile, Alabama. Austal USA is a ship builder holding primary contracts with the United States Navy. She has grown the organization from 800 employees in 2009 to its present 4,000. As the Director of HR Sandra leads a staff of human resource and training professionals who are dedicated to supporting Austal’s business plans and growth.

Parallel to her private sector experience Sandra has served on several workforce development boards and is currently Vice-Chairman of the AL Workforce Council and serves on the State of AL Workforce Board.

Sandra holds a Bachelor’s degree in Human Resources from the University of South Alabama and is a Senior Human Resource Professional with the Society of Human Resource Management.

David Mixson serves as Associate Director of the Government & Economic Development Institute at Auburn University. He has over 20 years of university-based management experience in the field of economic development. He leads Auburn’s EDA University Center and previously led the Alabama Technology Network’s innovation and marketing programs. He has served as Vice President of the Educational Association of University Centers, an advocacy group for higher education economic development programs. He supports and contributes to Alabama’s economic development community through assistance to startups using Innovation Engineering and Lean Startup methodologies. Mixson is a certified Innovation Engineering Blackbelt, landing page optimization and a Professional Certified Marketer. He has a B.S degree in Management and an M.B.A. degree from Auburn University and is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma’s Economic Development Institute. His prior experience includes working for Total System Services of Columbus, Georgia, where he held positions as Project Support Manager and Project Analyst.

David has more than 30 years of economic development, industry recruitment, and chamber of commerce management experience to fuel his exemplary economic leadership in the Northeast Mississippi region. Since joining CDF in 2001, Tupelo/Lee County has experienced exceptional growth through the creation of over 12,743 new jobs and $1.1 billion in capital investment. Tupelo/Lee County has been cited in industry publications for its extraordinary projects, capital investments and consistent job creation. Site Selection Magazine has named the Tupelo region as a top ten micropolitan seven times in the last 10 years.

David also serves his community, region, and state through involvement with health and philanthropic agencies, youth organizations, and church leadership, including: North Mississippi Health Services Board of Directors; CREATE Foundation Board; United Way of Northeast Mississippi Board; Boy Scouts of America President-Elect of the Southern Region; Yocona Council Board; Harrisburg Baptist Church past chairman of the Deacons; and Sunday School teacher.

David earned his bachelor’s degree from Auburn University, master’s in economic development from the University of Southern Mississippi, and a management certificate from Duke University. David and his wife, Donna, have two grown children.

Jennifer Ryan joined the staff of the Government and Economic Development Institute at Auburn University as the Communications Manager in February of 2015. Jennifer holds both a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in Communication and Public Relations from Auburn University and has been working in the field since 1990. Jennifer started working with non-profit, education organizations in 1992, and served as the Manager of Marketing and Occupational Safety and Health at the National Safety Council in Orlando, Florida for over 7 years, and as the CEO and Executive Director of the American Red Cross, East Alabama Chapter for nearly 12 years. Prior to joining GEDI in 2015, Jennifer was employed as the Branch Manager for Regions Bank in downtown Auburn for 4 years.

Jennifer has held leadership positions with the Public Relations Council of Alabama, The Society for Human Resource Management, The Downtown Auburn Merchants and Property Owners Association and the United Way of Lee County. She has also served as a Diplomat and Board Member for the Auburn Chamber of Commerce and an Ambassador for the Opelika Chamber of Commerce. She was privileged to be awarded The Spirit of Auburn Award by the Auburn Chamber of Commerce in 2004, an honor she shares with just 18 other people in history.

Jennifer has extensive experience in program development and design, government and community relations, marketing, branding, fundraising, crisis communication, media relations, social media, and internal and external communications. Jennifer served on the American Red Cross President’s Advisory Council, the American Red Cross Advanced Public Affairs Team, and as a national spokesperson and disaster fundraising manager for the organization. She has been deployed numerous times for Red Cross disaster response and relief including for The Terrorist Attacks on America (2001), Hurricane Ivan (2004), Hurricane Katrina (2005), California Wildfires (2008 & 2009) Hurricane Dolly (2008), Fargo North Dakota Floods and Blizzard (2009), East Alabama Tornadoes and Southern Storms (2019), and many other catastrophes.

As a fundraiser Jennifer has experience in board development, capital campaigns, planned giving, major gifts, special events, grant writing, matching gifts, direct mail, online giving and more.

Jim Searcy was named Executive Director of the Economic Development Association of Alabama (EDAA) in July 2013 after serving as the Executive Director of the Coastal Gateway Regional Economic Development Alliance. Previously Jim served as Vice President for Business and Industry Retention with the Birmingham Business Alliance. He has served as Vice President of Marketing for the Birmingham Metropolitan Development Board. Jim began his career in economic development as a project manager with the Alabama Department of Commerce.

Jim served as both a Board member and Executive Committee member of EDAA. He currently serves on the ATN Advisory Council, the Alabama Productivity Center Advisory Board, the Alabama Workforce Development Board and holds Board positions in several other economic development related organizations.

Jim has a Bachelors Degree in Public Administration from Auburn University and holds a Masters Degree in Public Administration from Auburn University Montgomery.

Steve Sewell serves as Executive Vice President of the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama (EDPA), where he has developed and managed national and international media relations plans for Alabama economic development. He managed the implementation of the Mercedes marketing program, designed to promote Alabama as a business location. He was instrumental in developing a very successful automotive branding strategy for the state in the 1990s. Sewell counsels Alabama communities and organizations on marketing and communications, including assistance with planning and program evaluation. In addition, Mr. Sewell has worked with new companies coming into Alabama on communications issues. He has also been involved in: existing industry; workforce, community, and tourism development; and strategic planning. He serves as a spokesperson for EDPA and Alabama in state, regional, national, and international media. Sewell also frequently speaks at conferences, meetings, and civic and leadership groups on a wide range of economic development issues. Sewell has a B.A. degree in Journalism from the University of Alabama, where he was recognized as Outstanding PR Alumnus for the College of Communications. He has a professional accreditation from the Public Relations Society of America. His professional affiliations include: the Alabama Automotive Manufacturers Association, Board member and officer; EDAA; and IEDC.

Deborah joined Cushman & Wakefield / EGS Commercial Real Estate in 2008. Prior to joining EGS, she spent 17 years in economic development. This included her position as the Executive Director of Jefferson County Economic and Industrial Development Authority (JCEIDA) where she led the development of the McCalla and Lakeshore Jefferson Metropolitan Parks. In addition to the development, they also secured industrial facilities for companies including Home Depot, Decostar, OfficeMax and Plastipak Packaging. Deborah also led the team coordination to secure a $400 million data center for Wachovia Bank currently operating as Wells Fargo Data Center. During her tenure, the Jefferson Metropolitan Park system developments approached $1 billion in capital investment.

Deborah specializes in industrial brokerage, real estate consulting, leasing and land sales. She brings a unique skill set to her clients due to her background in the public sector and economic development. Deborah received a Bachelor of Science degree from Troy University and a Masters of Public Administration from Auburn University at Montgomery. She is also a nationally Certified Economic Developer. Deborah is a member of National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP), where she serves on the National Board of Directors. She is also an instructor for real estate courses for the International Economic Development Council (IEDC).

Amelia Hall Stehouwer serves as Research Manager of the Government & Economic Development Institute (GEDI) at Auburn University. Since joining the Economic Development Institute (now part of GEDI) in 2004, she has served in numerous capacities, designing and managing some of the Institute’s largest economic development training programs, federal grant initiatives, community outreach efforts, and economic and applied research projects.

She is also a published author with research interests in social capital and civic engagement, the Southern Black Belt, and Alabama public policy and governance. Most recently, Ms. Stehouwer designed, edited, and illustrated Alabama Issues 2018, a collection of short, research-based articles (by leading experts and practitioners) intended to stimulate public discussion and engagement, leading to improved public policy and practice. Ms. Stehouwer previously worked in the non-profit sector, focusing on poverty alleviation. She is a Phi Kappa Phi graduate of Auburn, where she completed an M.P.A. with a graduate minor in economic development.

As an economic development professional in the life sciences, Amy recruits biotech entrepreneurs and companies from around the region and world to the 152-acre HudsonAlpha campus in Huntsville. She supports over 40 companies on the growing biotech campus in Cummings Research Park. She serves on the BioAlabama and Southeast BIO (SEBIO) board of directors. Prior to her work in the bioscience industry, Amy worked in local government, including serving for 5 years as the Director of Planning & Economic Development for the City of Madison, overseeing business retention, retail and industrial attraction, long-range planning, development review, and promotion of economic development in all aspects.

Joe A. Sumners, Ph.D is Executive Director of the Government & Economic Development Institute (GEDI) at Auburn University. Sumners previously served for 15 years as Director of the Auburn University Economic & Community Development Institute (ECDI) and seven years as Training Director for the Auburn University Center for Governmental Services (CGS).

He is the author of numerous publications on the topic of rural economic and community development, including Beyond the Interstate: The Crisis in Rural Alabama (January 2003) and Crossroads and Connections: Strategies for Rural Alabama (October 2004). He wrote the chapter, "Politics and Economic Development in the Southern Black Belt," for the Oxford Handbook of Southern Politics (with Amelia Stehouwer, Oxford University Press, 2012). He has coordinated a multi-year Kettering Foundation research project in Alabama’s Black Belt and published articles that focus on the link between civic engagement and community economic prosperity. He authored the publication, Community Questions: Engaging Citizens to Address Community Concerns.

He is a member of the Auburn University graduate faculty and teaches the graduate seminar, "Economic Development and Competition," as the core course in the University’s Graduate Minor in Economic Development. Sumners previously taught at the University of Georgia, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and Stephen F. Austin State University.

Dr. Sumners has over 25 years of outreach experience working with communities and local governments in Alabama, with extensive experience assisting communities with strategic planning and civic engagement initiatives.

He served as a technical advisor to the Alabama Commission on Tax and Fiscal Policy Reform, the Alabama Task Force on Economically Distressed Counties, Alabama’s Black Belt Action Commission, Alabama Rural Action Commission, and Alabama Small Business Task Force. He is a founding Board member of the Alabama Communities of Excellence Program and is on the Board of Directors for the David Mathews Center for Civic Life.

Sumners is originally from Creswell, a small rural community in Shelby County, Alabama. He received his B.S. (summa cum laude) and M.A. degrees from Auburn University and his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Georgia.

Mike Swinson is Spire’s Director of Economic Development for Alabama/Mississippi. In his natural gas utility career over the past 30 years, he has served in a variety of capacities in large pipeline design and construction, operations management, corporate engineering/regulatory compliance, commercial/industrial business development, research and development administrator, and natural gas procurement/pipeline capacity management. He received his mechanical engineering degree from Auburn and MBA from Samford University. He defines who he is through his personal vision statement – "be the architect of a legacy community of caring and cooperative people capable of high performance in any business environment."

As Regional President and a member of the Board of Directors, Galen Thackston provides strategic direction across all disciplines and markets within the Goodwyn, Mills & Cawood South Region.

In 1993, he founded the firm's Environmental Division, which has continued to grow exponentially, tapping into new service markets and expanding geographically. Thackston and his team have utilized cutting-edge techniques to address complex environmental problems for high-profile projects throughout the Southeast, such as the AIDT Maritime Training Center. Their work has been recognized by some of the industry's most esteemed institutions, including the Association of Conservation Engineers, Battelle Memorial Institute and Partners for Environmental Progress.

Galen Thackston is an appointed member of the Alabama Department of Public Health Environmental Committee and a member of the: American Society of Civil Engineers, American Society of Professional Engineers, National Registry of Environmental Professionals, and Business Council of Alabama Environment and Energy Committee. He serves on: the EAT South Board of Directors, River Region United Way Cabinet, Leadership Montgomery, and the Boys & Girls Club.

He earned his Bachelor of Civil Engineering from Auburn University and is a Registered Professional Engineer and Environmental Property Assessor in Alabama and LEED Green Associate.

Laith Wardi, CEcD is president of ExecutivePulse, Inc. He has worked in the economic development profession for over 20 years. Mr. Wardi has comprehensive experience in business retention & expansion that includes outreach to hundreds of value-added client companies, work as a resource provider, and 15 years of regional program management. In 1994-95, he pioneered the first web-based system for business retention.

Today, the ExecutivePulse Business Intelligence System is the most widely-used database for business retention & expansion in North America. Mr. Wardi is a regular instructor on business retention for the professional certification program sponsored by the International Economic Development Council. He also speaks to community, economic, and workforce development audiences throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe on customer retention, one-to-one database marketing, and technology assimilation.

He is a graduate of Mercyhurst College and received his economic development certification through IEDC in 2002. In addition to his work in economic development, Wardi has experience in real estate management, media sales, and as a strategic planning consultant for both public- and private-sector clients.

Jason Wilson is Founder and CEO of Back Forty Beer Company and President of the Alabama Brewers Guild. Wilson worked in various aspects of Logistics and Supply Chain Management prior to founding Back Forty Beer in 2009. Since then, the company has experienced triple-digit growth on an annual basis. In 2010, the company was a silver medalist at the Great American Beer Festival. In 2011, Garden & Gun Magazine named Back Forty as one of the "top eight places to visit in Alabama." In 2014, the company was named "Alabama small manufacturer of the year" by the Business Council of Alabama and the Alabama Technology Network. Back Forty also received the 2014 Main Street Alabama Award for Excellence in Business Development. In 2015, Auburn University’s Harbert College of Business named Jason Wilson as its Young Entrepreneur of the Year. In 2016, Back Forty was name the Inaugural "Small Business Game Changer" by the Business Council of Alabama. Back Forty continues to grow and introduce new flavors and products. After three years of perfecting the process, Back Forty recently started marketing its own brand of artisan distilled craft beer vinegar for major retailers. Wilson was born and raised in Gadsden and graduated from Auburn University in 2005.

As CEO and Co-Founder of Alignment Simple Solutions, Tess Winningham has facilitated key business partnerships and growth through value propositions and supply chain development to establish a global footprint and targeted visibility for maximum opportunities. In her current role, she oversees the company’s global growth, future business strategy & marketing interests.

Alignment Simple Solutions started in 2010 as a home hobby when the first QuickTrick stick was developed for Chump Car races - to adjust the racecar alignment for each track. The corporation was formed in 2012 as a means to share the passion for the automotive aftermarket and provide local jobs. Winningham’s company seeks to provide sustainable employment through the manufacture of quality wheel alignment products.

Prior to joining Alignment Simple Solutions, Winningham spent several years as an executive in business development and sales for several Fortune 500 companies, including experience in the newspaper industry, diversity consultation, global movie distribution, and financial solutions. Before starting Alignment Simple Solutions, Tess Winningham: spent five years as CEO of the One Foundation, served as the Vice President of Business Development for the Trinity Design Group, and was a Senior Account Executive with Career Communications.

Sharon Younger, Ph.D. is President and founder of Younger Associates, LLC, a market research and strategic communications firm that provides services to businesses, economic development organizations, and transportation agencies. Younger Associates advises economic development agencies and industrial boards in evaluating incentives and conducting economic impact analyses. Recognized nationally as a leading researcher in the field of demographic and labor market analysis, Dr. Younger and her firm have successfully completed regional and statewide labor market analyses for clients in twenty-five states. Dr. Younger has over 25 years of experience in economic development and is a frequent speaker at national conferences and for professional organizations. She is an instructor for the Economic Development Institute, the University of Tennessee, and CETYS University of Mexico. She has a Ph.D. in Business from The Union Institute, an M.B.A. in Management from the University of Memphis, and a B.S. degree in Accounting from Union University.