Faculty and Board

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 business environments.  Carol has presented at state, regional and national workshops on topics related to economic development of downtown districts. She has always been an active volunteer, lending time and expertise to several worthy organizations including local Chambers of Commerce, various boards, foundations, tourism groups, church groups and school districts while living in communities across the Midwest.

 

John Longshore is Principal and VP of Innovation at Global Location Strategies. John has spent over eight years as a site selection consultant with Global Location Strategies, where he has led numerous projects across North America and Europe.  During his time at GLS, the projects he has worked have totaled over $10 billion in capital investment and thousands of jobs. In addition to site selection, John has provided an array of consulting services to numerous economic development organizations across the United States.  From repurposing coal-fired power plants, to regional labor studies, John has been able to help communities position themselves for future growth and investment. As VP of Innovation, John is responsible for the development of technology resources, along with guiding team member's growth in analytical skills and leadership capabilities. 

 

Tracye McDaniel is President of TIP Strategies. Tracye brings a global perspective to local strategies. Throughout her thirty-year career, Tracye has advised and supported five governors in all facets of economic development. She has led marketing efforts in over 51 countries. Tracye is a trusted advisor to CEOs, nonprofits, public organizations, and private enterprises. Prior to joining TIP, Tracye was the founder and CEO of McDaniel Strategy Ecosystems. She has served as president and chief executive officer of the Texas Economic Development Corporation and TexasOne, an independently funded and operated 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to marketing the state globally for business attraction, retention, and foreign direct investment. Before that, Tracye was Founding CEO of Choose New Jersey, one of a few economic development organizations in the country wholly funded through private sources. 

 

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. 

 

Lisa Powell is the Executive Director of the Enid Regional Development Alliance.  As Executive Director Lisa leads strategic planning, business retention, and business recruitment efforts for the organization. Lisa gained skills in business development and sales working internationally and in Dallas, TX. where she worked for AT&T as a part of their prestigious Leadership Development Program and was involved product development, wholesale sales, and regulatory compliance. Lisa is chair of the Oklahoma Economic Development Council, serves on the policy committee for the International Economic Development Council, and as the Immediate Past Chair of Select Oklahoma.

 

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 Stombaugh is a Business Development Unit Director for the Missouri Department of Economic Development. 

 

Jim Thompson is a Downtown Economic Development Specialist with the Iowa Economic Development Authority, covering all areas of development for downtowns & 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.

 

Brien Thorstenberg is Vice President for Aerospace and Manufacturing at the Tulsa Regional Chamber.  Brien has extensive experience in the areas of economic and community development. This experience includes the successful recruitment and retention of industry, the successful recruitment of knowledge based companies, the development of industry associations, the implementation of manufacturing extension programs, workforce development programs, the development of an affordable housing addition (175 1200sq ft. to 1800 sq. ft. homes), and other community related initiatives. 

 

Errin Welty is the Downtown Development Account Manager at the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC), working primarily with Main Street and Connect Communities. Errin works with businesses, property owners and community groups around the state to make projects a reality. She has an undergraduate degree in community development from St. Cloud State and Masters in Planning and Real Estate from the University of Colorado in Denver. Prior to her role with WEDC, Errin's experience includes work in downtown organizations in St. Cloud, Wheat Ridge and Denver, as well as commercial real estate, market analysis and economic development consulting work.

 

Keith Winge is the State Community Development Director for Missouri Main Street Connection. Keith has been a part of the Missouri Main Street team since 2013. He works with Missouri communities to organize, develop and grow their Main Street program. Before joining Missouri Main Street, Keith was a founding board member and then the first Executive Director for the Main Street program in Excelsior Springs where he resides.