In this episode of the Leading Ladies of Economic Development podcast, Kaycee Bunch welcomes Jeanine Jerkovic, CEcD, Economic Development Director for Surprise, Arizona. Jeanine discusses her career journey into economic development, including her international experiences and her recent last-minute trip to Taiwan tied to the semiconductor supply chain. She shares how humor, creativity, and community connection have shaped Surprise’s award-winning marketing campaigns and helped attract retailers and restaurants like Whole Foods and Cheesecake Factory. Jeanine also explores how resident feedback and retail surveys informed the city’s strategy, as well as Surprise’s next chapter focused on placemaking, mixed-use development, and job growth. She reflects on navigating the challenges surrounding a proposed DHS detention facility and the lessons she’s learned about leadership and public service.

In this episode, we explore:

• Creative city marketing strategies and how humor can help attract retailers and build community pride.
• The power of listening to residents through social media and retail surveys to shape economic development efforts.
• Lessons in leadership, placemaking, and navigating complex public-sector projects

Quotable: “  So maybe this is encouraging for any economic developer going through a tough moment; there's a Maya Angelou quote that every storm runs out of rain, and it's so true, your passion for your community just has to keep going.”

Resources and Links

Connect with Jeanine Jerkovic on LinkedIn

Mission: Cheesecake Video

City Declares KALE EMERGENCY Video

Surprise Arizona Economic Development YouTube

Special Guest: Jeanine Jerkovic, CEcD.

McDaniel shares how global exposure informs local strategy, advising rural communities to start with regional collaboration, and highlights the Rio Grande Valley’s transformation through anchor investments like SpaceX and the Port of Brownsville. She explains leadership as clarity, curiosity, and engagement, and distinguishes influence as trust-based relationships beyond titles, emphasizing proactive inclusion of missing voices.

The conversation covers long-term “legacy” planning, community concerns around data centers, and her contribution to The Cost of Cool on who benefits from growth, with workforce development framed as an underutilized asset and “secret weapon” for inclusive economic impact.

In this episode, we explore:

• how global perspective, regional collaboration, and anchor investments can transform communities and create long-term economic opportunity.

• Tracye’s approach to leadership, building trust, engaging missing voices, and creating alignment beyond titles or traditional power structures.

• “The Cost of Cool” to workforce development, Tracye discusses how communities can ensure growth is inclusive, equitable, and benefits the people who call them home.

Quotable: “ When you're in this trajectory of growth, we don't ask the question of who is this growth for and who is it going to displace?”

Resources and Links

Connect with Tracye McDaniel on LinkedIn

Bridge Bedford (TN) - Shelbyville 2075: Legacy in Motion—An Investment Blueprint • TIP Strategies

The Cost of Cool: Austin's Tech Growth and the People Left Behind (Kenneth E. Montague Series in Oil and Business History): Roberts, Jon, McDaniel, Tracye, Echeverri-Carroll, Elsie L., Johnston, Evan, Todd-Goynes, Jennifer: 9781648433832: Amazon.com: Books

Special Guest: Tracye McDaniel.

In this episode, we explore:

• The transition from public-sector leadership to private consulting. Amalia explains the key differences between working inside local government and advising from the outside, and how her background enables her to bridge gaps among policy, planning, and implementation.
• Practical guidance for developers and local stakeholders, emphasizing the importance of understanding municipal processes, zoning, and regulatory frameworks.
• Organizational structures (restructures) and their impact on effectiveness. Amalia explains when restructuring economic development departments makes sense, what local governments should consider during the process, and how structure can either enable or hinder results.

Quotable: “ No matter what side of the table you're sitting on, if you're an economic developer, if you're the private sector trying to do a project, I always try to approach my work and my practice assuming the best intentions from everyone else involved.”

Resources and Links
Connect with Amalia Cunningham on LinkedIn
Amalia Cunningham Consulting
News and Views American Planning Association, "Where Should Economic Development Live?"

Special Guest: Amalia Cunningham, AICP.