Faculty and Board

Shannon Landauer is President & CEO for the Iowa Lakes Corridor Development Corporation. With more than a decade of experience in economic development, she has administered business retention and expansion activities, carried out business recruitment strategies, identified and implemented workforce development strategies, worked to develop a long-term housing strategy, and provided guidance for new economic developers and business members in her region. Shannon is currently the President of the Professional Developers of Iowa.

 

Carol Lilly is a Downtown Development Specialist with Iowa Downtown Resource Center’s Main Street Iowa program. In this role, she provides technical assistance services to Main Street Iowa communities. Prior to joining Main Street Iowa, Carol was the Executive Director of Community Main Street in Cedar Falls Iowa. She has worked in the fields of property management, retail management, and marketing in Iowa, Nebraska, Arkansas, and Minnesota. She has experience working with large, small and independently owned businesses. 

 

Jonathan Long is the Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for the Tulsa Regional Chamber. As VP of DEI, Jonathan provides staff support to Mosaic, the Chamber’s coalition of Tulsa-area companies and nonprofits committed to DEI. Founded in 2011, and recognized as a national model for chamber-led DEI programs, Mosaic convenes business and community leaders to promote diverse workforces, equitable business practices and inclusive workplaces. In addition to leading Mosaic, Jonathan helps guide the Chamber’s support of programs and systems that increase economic access and mobility in under-served communities. He works with CEOs and members of the Chamber’s Board of Directors to influence and raise awareness of DEI best practices. Prior to joining the Tulsa Regional Chamber, Jonathan served in Director of Community Advancement and Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion positions at the Wichita Regional Chamber of Commerce.  

 

Rick McDowell is the President of the Lee's Summit Economic Development Council in Lee's Summit, MO. Rick has been with LSEDC as President and CEO since August of 2014. He has more than 32 years of experience in economic development in a career that spans employment with the Missouri Department of Economic Development; the Columbia Regional Economic Development, Inc.; KPMG, LLP; PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Liberty Economic Development Council. He has had experience in state government, regional public/private partnership and as a business incentive/site selection consultant for several big four accounting firms. Rick currently serves as a commissioner for the Missouri Housing Development Commission.

 

Kiley Miller is currently the Executive Director of Trees Forever. Recently, Kiley served as President and CEO of the Iowa Lakes Corridor Development Corporation, a regional economic development organization serving Buena Vista, Clay, Dickinson and Emmet counties in Northwest Iowa. He previously was Executive Vice President of the Mount Pleasant (Iowa) Area Chamber Alliance. During Kiley’s 10-year career in economic development, he has supported more than $100 million in industrial development and dozens of small business starts and expansions, as well as advancing workforce development, housing, and community enhancement projects and programs. 

 

Karla Organist is a Program Manager with the Institute for Decision Making (IDM) at the University of Northern Iowa. Karla assists communities, economic development organizations, and other nonprofits with strategic planning at varying levels of focus including community or region-wide planning, organizational planning, and workforce planning.  She has additional responsibilities as assistant director for the Heartland Economic Development Course and as a team member on UNI's EDA University Center project.  Karla has previous work experience in economic development; comprehensive, housing, hazard mitigation and transportation planning; entrepreneurship; and business consulting and financial training for childcare businesses. 

 

Bethany Quinn is VP of Strategy & Content Development with Golden Shovel Agency. Since February 2016, she has held the positions of Lead Copywriter and Director of Content prior to becoming the VP of Strategy & Content Development. She is a co-host of Golden Shovel’s ShovelTalk podcast. Prior to Golden Shovel, Bethany co-owned a digital marketing and content development firm with an emphasis on supporting small businesses. She brought 10 years of content writing, digital marketing, SEO experience, and project management to the team. She also has her Bachelor of Science from Penn State University.

 

Ben Rao is the President & Founder of Bridge Space in Lee’s Summit, MO. Ben started Bridge Space in 2018 as a creative, supportive place for entrepreneurs to accelerate, advance and grow. Bridge Space offers memberships based on needs: coworking, a dedicated desk, or a private office. Members have access to the entire facility -- to work wherever and connect with others. Ben is a serial entrepreneur with endless energy. He is constantly coming up with bigger ideas and never stops thinking about the community around him.

 

David Robinson is a Principal with the Montrose Group. Dave Robinson provides corporate site location, economic development planning and lobbying consulting services for public and private sector clients based upon 30 years of experience. Prior to forming the Montrose Group, Dave managed law firm government relations practices, was a member of the Ohio House of Representatives, executive at Ameritech; senior staff for Columbus Mayor Greg Lashutka, and general counsel of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce. He is the author of Economic Development from the State & Local Perspective, and The Energy Economy. Dave has substantial economic development strategy experience including co-researching and drafting economic development strategic plans and infrastructure and incentive strategies, and has negotiated $150 M in local, state and federal financing for economic development projects through corporate site location and site development projects.

 

Leslie Rubin is President of Rubin Advisors, Inc., an economic development consulting firm serving private sector entities. Leslie has been providing economic development services to private sector companies for nearly 30 years, the majority of which were competitive interstate projects. She has also advised and consulted with manufacturers on environmental and health industry related issues. Her expertise comes from having owned, operated and managed economic development consulting firms and two biotechnology businesses, having served in the public sector as an administrator of a government division and having successfully obtained and administered millions in grants.

 

Mark Stanley is President & CEO of Skyline Commercial Capital. He started Skyline to help companies access the capital they need, and to help owners and managers navigate the world of business financing. He has had specialized training in business valuation, real estate financing, credit analysis, financial packaging, entrepreneurial consulting, lean manufacturing, and commercial loan brokering. Mark developed his skills over years working with manufacturing, retail, and service businesses. He has packaged financing for business starts, expansions, and acquisitions, and he has provided consulting services in valuation, business planning, strategic planning, and financial analysis. Mark has developed and delivered customized seminars on multiple business topics, and he has taught college level classes in statistics, entrepreneurship, finance, investments, and business management.

 

Mark Stombaugh is a Business Development Unit Director for the Missouri Department of Economic Development. He brings a strong background in economic development, stretching over 15 years, which has included program administration and project management throughout the state. Mark has also led multiple public-private partnerships; first in Lebanon and Laclede County, and then in the Liberty area in addition to experience with the City of Blue Springs as their Economic Development Manager. He is a Certified Economic Developer through the International Economic Development Council and is recognized as Economic Development Finance Professional by the National Development Council.

 

Jim Thompson is a Downtown Economic Development Specialist with the Iowa Economic Development Authority, covering all areas of development for downtown & Main Street districts for the Iowa Downtown Resource Center and its Main Street Iowa program. He has over 25 years experience in community development, retail management as well as having served on a City Council for 10 years. In his current role, he engages communities in market analysis including data analysis, business retention, recruitment, and implementation strategies. He has also led efforts in tax increment finance, urban revitalization, housing & real estate development, branding and one-on-one business technical assistance for Iowa’s communities; and is the grant administrator for the Community Catalyst Building Remediation grant program. Jim serves on the Iowa Rural Development Council Executive Board and was named by the Governor to lead the Empower Rural Iowa Invest Taskforce.  He has also served as a consultant for the National Main Street Center, worked in several states and has presented multiple times at the National Main Streets Conference.

 

Warren Westcott is VP of Sales for Golden Shovel Agency. Since joining the team in May 2018, he has moved from Territory Sales Manager to National Sales Manager, and now VP of Sales. Warren holds a Bachelor's Degree from Iowa State University in Mass Communications and Media Studies. While in college, he had experience with what is now the Iowa Economic Development Authority in Des Moines. Warren's video production background prepared him well for working closely with video prospects/clients and the PlaceVR team.