2021 BEDC BIOS

Aric H. Bopp, CEcD Executive Director, Economic Development ASU Office of Knowledge Enterprise Development Aric Bopp leads the economic development efforts of ASU Knowledge Enterprise, with a specific focus on the development of the NOVUS Innovation Corridor and other ASU Innovation Zones. In his role, he aims to help make more economically competitive and promote the assets available at ASU to the private sector.

Previously he served as the deputy director of strategic initiatives for the city of Mesa, where he focused on the development of the Mesa Gateway area. He also served as the program manager for the city of Phoenix, where he directed and implemented projects that support the city’s commercial, office, and industrial development. Prior to moving to Arizona in 2015, Bopp was the executive director for Virginia’s New River Valley Economic Development Alliance.

Bopp has served on a variety of economic development boards and organizations throughout the years, including the Arizona Association of Economic Development. He also volunteers with the community in several capacities, including coaching Little League Baseball and Softball as well as basketball. He was named one of the Top 20 Leaders Under 40 in 2007 by the Blue Ridge Business Journal and as the 2011 Business Executive of the Year by the Pulaski County Chamber of Commerce.

Bopp earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Johns Hopkins University, attended graduate school in economics at the University of Virginia, and received his certified economic developer certification in 2014 through the International Economic Development Council

Michael Boule Assistant Public Works Director City of Surprise Michael Boule is the Assistant Director of Public Works for the City of Surprise, Arizona, serving the Streets, Fleet, Facilities, and Capital Improvement divisions. During Michael’s 12-year tenure in Surprise, he has been responsible for the management of design, engineering, and construction of major capital improvement projects and voter-approved General Obligation Bond Projects, including multiple fire stations, several major road build-outs, a Public Works operations facility, and a state-of-the-art library. Michael also works hand in hand with the City’s Economic Development Department assisting in their goals and initiatives. Michael prides himself in uniting colleagues, residents, and the business community to accomplish city goals and objectives.

Michael has a degree in Real Estate Development & Construction Management from , a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Ottawa University, and is passionate about uniting the Economic Development and Public Works industries. Suzanne “Suzie” Boyles, MBA, AZED Pro Economic Development Manager City of Buckeye Suzie Boyles is the Economic Development Manager for the City of Buckeye. Beginning her career in economic development in 2013, Suzie comes to Buckeye with years of municipal Economic Development experience. Throughout her career, she has managed projects and programs that supported key economic development initiatives; including business attraction, marketing, workforce development, entrepreneurship, and business retention and expansion efforts. To date, she has successfully located numerous businesses of all types to the communities she has served. She has also led a wide variety of successful incentive negotiations throughout her career. Suzie even was able to implement a city’s first- ever Lodging Tax and facilitated the changing of a Transaction Privilege Tax rate that further advanced business attraction efforts to a community. Suzie attended Western New Mexico University, where she received both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Business Administration.

Evelyn Casuga, CEcD Senior Advisor, Community Relations, Office of the President Central Arizona College

Director, Community & Economic Prosperity Center for the Future of Arizona Evelyn is currently serving several roles in part-time, consulting, and volunteer capacities in the areas of economic and community development, education, and civic engagement. After 25 years, Evelyn retired in December 2014 as General Manager of Community Affairs at APS. Her area encompassed community relations, corporate contributions and volunteer programs, economic development, and strategic partnerships. She served in numerous leadership roles during her tenure at APS including Southeast Arizona Division Manager with operations/maintenance and community interface responsibilities.

Previous to APS, her roles included nearly 10 years in municipal government serving as City Manager of Eloy and Town Manager of Marana; and 5 years in non-profit roles as Manager of Community/Client Development for the Western Gateway Team, a regional economic development group, serving five West Valley communities and 3 community-based organizations in central California.

Evelyn is a Certified Economic Developer (CEcD) and serves on the Boards of Directors for Arizona Town Hall, Business Development Finance Corp., Casa Grande Elementary School Employee Benefits Trust, Filipino American National Historic Foundation-AZ Chapter, and chair, Growth Partners Arizona, and Pinal Alliance for Economic Growth and past chair including Achieve Pinal subcommittee. She is an advisory committee member to Asian Corporate and Entrepreneur Leaders and Arizona Rural Development Council Policy Forum.

Evelyn is the recipient of the William Lampkin Long Term Excellence in Economic Development Award and the Economic Developer of the Year from the Arizona Association for Economic Development. She received a Profiles of Success Special Recognition Award from Valle del Sol in September 2016 and the Asian Pacific Community in Action Community Leader Award in 2015. She also received the Governing Board Award from Central Arizona College in Pinal County in 2013 and is an Honorary Member of the Arizona City/County Management Association.

Evelyn received her Master’s of City and Regional Planning from the University of California, Berkeley, and her undergraduate degree in Community Studies/Psychology from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Barbra Coffee, CEcD, EDFP Economic Initiatives Director City of Tucson Barbra Coffee serves as Director of Economic Initiatives for the City of Tucson, AZ. She is responsible for the city’s economic development strategy, which includes local business retention and expansion programs, business attraction, small business and entrepreneurial development and business ombudsman activities. Her division is also responsible for annexations and the economic development and workforce grants program.

Before starting with the city in February, 2019, Barbra was the Director of Economic Development & Tourism for the City of Henderson, NV. She led the city’s strategic recruitments of companies like Turano Baking, Progress Rail, Barclays, and the Raiders NFL franchise. Under her leadership the city created the urban-most drone test facility in the U.S., Henderson Unmanned Vehicle Range (HUVR), and launched entrepreneurial programs such as the Water Street Rall-E and Henderson Start Tank. Prior to Henderson, Barbra served as Economic Development Director for the City of College Park, GA. There she oversaw the development of more than 200 acres of city-owned property and coordinated the activities of the College Park Business and Industrial Development Authority, focusing many of her efforts on downtown redevelopment and corridor revitalization. From 2003-2009, Barbra coordinated and implemented several different economic development and redevelopment strategies for the city of Goodyear, AZ. As Senior Development Manager for Goodyear’s Economic Development department, she coordinated business recruitment and marketing efforts for the city. Barbra started her career as a Texas Main Street Manager directing revitalization efforts in downtown Houston and Marlin, TX.

Barbra currently sits on the Board of Directors for International Economic Development Council (IEDC) and actively participates in organizations that focus on key aspects of economic development. She has served as Georgia State Alliance Co-Chair for the International Council of Shopping Centers from 2011- 2013. In addition, she is a member of NAIOP, CoreNet Global and the Arizona Association of Economic Development. She was a founding member of the Nevada Economic Development Association.

She received her Bachelor of Science in Radio-TV-Film from the University of Texas at Austin in 1990, followed by a Master of Liberal Arts in International Studies from the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas. In 2008, she earned her Certified Economic Developer (CEcD) designation from the International Economic Development Council and attained her Economic Development Finance Professional (EDFP) credential from the National Development Council in 2012.

N. Levi Esquerra Alliance Bank Economic Policy Institute, Northern Arizona University N. Levi Esquerra is currently employed at the Alliance Bank Economic Policy Institute on the campus of Northern Arizona University and is the Program Director of the Center for American Indian Economic Development (CAIED).

He has served as Tribal Chairman of the Chemehuevi Indian Tribe and has been elected and served three additional terms on Tribal Council. During this time he was instrumental in developing the Nuwuvi Economic Development Corporation (NEDCO), a Federal Corporation Charter, whose goal is to generate business development, produce revenue, spark job creation, and advance the economic self-sufficiency of Chemehuevi by creating, managing and developing tribal enterprises. Mr. Esquerra served as NEDCO’s first Board Chairman. Kevin Gullette, CEcD Director of Business Development Tech Parks Arizona Kevin Gullette is the Director of Business Development for Tech Parks Arizona. In this role, he is responsible for the creation and execution of business attraction, expansion and recruitment activities for the University of Arizona (UA) Tech Parks.

He brings more than 20 years of economic development experience to this position, along with an expansive knowledge of strategic planning, tourism development, consensus building and project financing. Mr. Gullette has assisted in over $1.5 billion in new investment for the communities he worked with, creating over 6,000 jobs.

Prior to joining Tech Parks Arizona, Gullette worked for Signature Commercial Advisors, a company that works with businesses, property owners and investors to find available opportunities in the Las Vegas region. Prior to that, he worked for the City of Las Vegas and served as the primary contact for medical and entertainment industry businesses.

Jeremy Legg, AZED Pro Special Projects Manager City of Phoenix, Community & Economic Development Mr. Legg has more than a decade of experience working as a local government manager and economic development professional in Arizona. He has recently overseen or negotiated real estate deals for public sports and hospitality assets such as Talking Stick Resort Arena, Major League Baseball spring training facilities and Arizona’s largest hotel, the Sheraton Grand Phoenix.

Jeremy is currently leading a $230 million renovation of the City’s downtown arena, home to the Phoenix Suns, Arizona Rattlers and Phoenix Mercury as well as many family shows, conventions and concerts. He has been responsible for more than $1 billion in assets, including real estate development of the Arizona State University campus, urban residential and mixed-use projects as well as the Phoenix Biomedical Campus.

Jeremy has worked on various strategic initiatives for the City of Phoenix, from collaborating on its 2009 All-America City award, to administering a business improvement district, to planning and implementing marketing partnerships. He has managed other programs and projects, many of them focused on the continued revitalization of downtown Phoenix. Jeremy earned his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois and his Master’s degree in Public Administration from Northern Arizona University. Camila Martins-Bekat, CEcD External Affairs Representative Tucson Electric Power & UniSource Energy Services Ms. Martins- Bekat is an External Affairs Representative for TEP where she plans, develops and executes initiatives to foster business expansion in, or relocation to, the communities served by Tucson Electric Power (TEP) and UniSource Energy Services (UES), often collaborating with key representatives in state, regional and local governments and agencies. Additionally, she works to build external support for corporate objectives through targeted, strategic public outreach and long-term collaboration on community-based committees, boards and/or working groups such as the Metropolitan Pima Alliance, the Downtown Tucson Partnership and Pima Association of Governments. She is currently working with local governments to support EV adoption. She previously served as the Economic Development Manager for the City of Tucson. Her work with the City focused on downtown revitalization and City-wide business attraction. Prior to that, she worked as a microfinance consultant for an Inter-American Development Bank project in rural Brazil.

Ms. Bekat has a bachelor’s degree in political science and international relations from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a master’s degree in Global Finance and Trade from Denver University. She is also a Certified Economic Developer.

Rob Millar Economic Development Director City of Scottsdale City of Scottsdale Rob serves as the City of Scottsdale Economic Development Director where he is responsible for overseeing all business attraction, retention, expansion and business development marketing initiatives for the City of Scottsdale. Rob has led strategic efforts resulting in the capital investment of $353 million dollars and the creation and retention of nearly 9400 jobs resulting in a $13.7 billion dollar five-year total impact to the City of Scottsdale.

Rob began his public administration career with the City of Scottsdale in 1992 in the City’s Municipal Services Department, and since then has gained significant experience yielding positive impacts across multiple municipal disciplines. In 1994 Rob was charged with creating the City’s very first Citizen Service Center located at , the City’s One Stop Shop for City services. He spent the next two years opening five community relations offices throughout Scottsdale until he received an opportunity in 1996 to become the city’s first Neighborhood Services Liaison where he implemented a variety of first ever neighborhood initiatives. Rob then went on to become a Citizen Liaison where he established a citywide call center that significantly streamlined access to city services and citizen engagement. He then served as the Mayor’s Chief of Staff from 2006-2008.

Rob holds a Bachelor of Arts in Public Administration, is a certified economic developer through the International Economic Development Council, serves on a variety of Boards such as the Arizona Association for Economic Development, Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce and Businesses United Scottsdale Schools, is a graduate of Scottsdale Leadership Class 17 and the Arizona State University Institute for Public Executives. Tim Pickering, CEcD President & CEO Interim Public Management LLC (IPM) Mr. Pickering began Interim Public Management, LLC (IPM) in 2010 to assist communities through the realities of changing leadership. Interim Public Management is made up of over 240 tenured city and county department directors, manager,s and officers who have experience at over 70 municipalities and organizations in 15 states. IPM has provided more than 150 interims for over a third of the cities and counties in Arizona.

Tim Pickering has served communities for over two decades in the capacity of city manager or CEO, including Fountain Hills, Arizona, and Devco in Arizona; Collinsville and Freeburg, Illinois; and Olivette, Missouri — all in major metropolitan areas.

He served on the Valley Leadership Board of Directors in Phoenix and the Greater Phoenix Economic Council. Tim served on the Board of Directors of the Arizona City Management Association and as President of the St. Louis City Management Association and has received the Dr. Leo Cohen Urban Management Award. He is a 30-year member of the International City/County Managers’ Association (ICMA) and is a Credentialed ICMA Manager.

Mr. Pickering has his BS and Master’s of Public Administration from Southern Illinois University and is a graduate of Harvard University at Cambridge’s program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government. He is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma’s Economic Development Institute and has been one of the country’s approximately 1,100 Certified Economic Developers for eighteen years. Additionally, he has taught administrative topics in graduate programs at Arizona State University. During his career, Mr. Pickering specialized in helping communities through difficult financial and political times, as evidenced by guiding Fountain Hills from a dysfunctional political situation and bleak financial outlook to being named by Phoenix Magazine as the best place to live in the Valley of the Sun. Mr. Pickering is a Credentialed City Manager and Certified Economic Developer.

Dr. Ian Roark Vice President of Workforce Development & Strategic Partnerships Pima Community College Dr. Ian Roark serves as the Vice President of Workforce Development & Strategic Partnerships for Pima Community College. As the college’s single point of contact for workforce and economic development initiatives, Ian works with internal and external stakeholders to respond to the workforce needs of businesses and industry, and leads the college-wide alignment to the economic development priorities of the region and state.

Ian holds a Bachelor of Music from Angelo State University, a Master’s of Education/Educational Leadership from the University of Texas of the Permian Basin, and a Doctorate of Education in Educational Leadership from the University of Texas at San Antonio. He is dedicated to collective impact partnerships, community college innovation, the future of work, early college programs, and business and industry engagement, with an emphasis on student access, success, and upward mobility. (continued on next page) Ian currently serves on the: Arizona Reskilling & Recovery Network Steering Team (Lead), Arizona Community College Coordinating Council Workforce & Economic Development Committee (Chair), Pima Association of Governments Economic Vitality Advisory Committee, Tucson Metro Chamber Board of Directors, Pacific Southwest Region University Transportation Center Executive Committee, and more. He was named as the 2019 Workforce Practitioner of the Year by the Arizona Association for Economic Development, and is an Aspen Institute Community College Excellence Presidential Fellow.

Ian has been married to his awesome wife, Landi, who is an exemplary public school teacher, for 22 years. They have two children; a fun-loving, witty, and athletic son who is 13; and an artistic, mathematical, and scientific daughter, who is 17. Together, they all enjoy road trips, watching movies, and backyard cookouts. His favorite activities include hiking, camping, writing and playing music, and reading.

David B. Roderique, CEcD Economic Development Director City of Buckeye, AZ David Roderique has served as the Economic Development Director for the City of Buckeye, Arizona since July 2017. Buckeye is the country’s fastest growing community and is located on the west side of metro Phoenix. Dave is responsible for all aspects of the City’s economic development efforts, including growth of the employment base, the attraction of new retail, tourism and services to the community, and the redevelopment of Historic Downtown Buckeye.

Prior to that, he served as Associate Principal of Gruen Gruen + Associates, a national real estate and economic consulting firm, where he specialized in economic, fiscal, and market analysis; economic development strategic planning; and predevelopment entitlement, marketing, and implementation support. Between 2008 and 2016, he served as the President of the Downtown Phoenix Partnership, a Business Improvement District whose mission is to provide enhanced services to the core area of downtown Phoenix. From 1985 and 2008, Dave worked for the City of Scottsdale as the General Manager of Economic Vitality, where he oversaw the City’s economic development, redevelopment, tourism, and business serviced divisions. Prior to his service with Scottsdale, he worked in corporate real estate in San Francisco, and as an economic/real estate development consultant in Tucson.

He is a Certified Economic Developer (CEcD) by the International Economic Development Council (IEDC), and has received many awards and accolades, including the “Economic Developer of the Year” and the “Economic Development Organization of the Year” awards by the Arizona Association for Economic Development (AAED). He was the co-recipient of the City of Scottsdale “Bill Donaldson Award” (employee of the year) and has been acknowledged by the Phoenix Business Journal as one of the Valley’s “Most Influential Business Leaders”.

He has served on a variety of Boards, including the Urban Land Institute Arizona District Council and the Herberger Theater. He is the past Chairman of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council’s E.D. Director’s Team, is a graduate of the Scottsdale Leadership program, and is active in a variety of other community groups. His memberships include the International Economic Development Council (IEDC), the Urban Land Institute (ULI), and the Arizona Association for Economic Development (AAED).

Mr. Roderique received both BA and MA degrees in Geography and Regional Development from the University of Arizona, and he has continued his education through such programs as the IEDC Economic Development Institute, and Harvard University’s executive/professional program. Colleen Schwab Senior Vice President, Marketing & Communications Greater Phoenix Economic Council Colleen Schwab is a marketing and communications professional that has dedicated her life to purpose- driven work. She currently serves as the Senior Vice President, Marketing & Communications and prior to this role she served as the Vice President, Marketing.

During her time at GPEC, Colleen launched The Connected Place campaign and built a regional identity around the Internet of Things and sensor technology. She also spearheaded the organization’s branding refresh efforts that launched the Greater Together tagline for the organization. She has been instrumental in telling the story of Greater Phoenix and showcasing how it is not only a place where business thrives, but where families can flourish.

Prior to the Greater Phoenix Economic Council, Colleen was the VP of Marketing at the Colon Cancer Alliance in Washington, D.C. She also has served many other Arizona-based urban and rural organizations by providing marketing services and raising millions of dollars for causes such as affordable housing, drug prevention and education, support for survivors of domestic violence and much more.

In 2019, Colleen received a “40 under 40” award from the Phoenix Business Journal, which annually identifies talent throughout Arizona. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for Arouet Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to criminal justice reform, reducing recidivism and empowering women as they reintegrate into the community.

Colleen graduated from Arizona State University with an undergraduate degree in Communications and a minor in PR.

Brad Smidt, CEcD Senior Vice President, Business Development Greater Phoenix Economic Development Council

Brad Smidt is the Senior Vice President of Business Development for GPEC. He manages the team that works with companies considering large industrial, office and data center projects in the Phoenix area. During his time at GPEC, Brad has helped more than 150 companies expand or relocate to the Greater Phoenix area.

Prior to GPEC, Mr. Smidt worked in economic development in both the cities of Mesa and Chandler. He is a native Arizonan who grew up in Greater Phoenix. His local ties have contributed to his vast knowledge of the area and familiarity with the unique assets of its workforce.

In 2008, he received the Economic Developer of the Year award from the Arizona Association of Economic Development.

Mr. Smidt is an active member of the Fiesta Bowl Committee and serves on the University of Arizona Eller MBA Industry Advisory Board. He earned a bachelor’s degree in regional development from the University of Arizona. He holds a Certified Economic Developer Certification from the International Economic Development Council. Robert Stenson, MBA Business and Workforce Development Center Supervisor City of Phoenix Rob Stenson is a Doctoral Candidate at Grand Canyon University. His research focus is on intrinsic motivation and motivational behaviors in the workforce. Currently, Rob is the Business and Workforce Development Supervisor with ARIZONA@WORK, City of Phoenix providing federal workforce development grant programs to businesses. He is dedicated to building workforce programs that increase indomitable behaviors in today’s workforce.

Kristen Stephenson, CEcD Vice President, Research and Analytics Greater Phoenix Economic Development Council Kristen Stephenson serves as GPEC’s Vice President of Research and Analytics. Kristen rejoined the team in 2018 after previously working for the organization from 2002-2014. In her role, she leads the community partnership program and innovative research projects, while supporting the efforts of the business development and marketing teams through research and analysis.

Prior to rejoining GPEC, Kristen worked for the City of Glendale in the Office of Economic Development, focusing on business attraction and expansion, including projects such as Progressive Leasing, Bechtel and Alaska USA Federal Credit Union. She also provided support to strategic projects and research for the city.

Kristen has a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Arizona State University and a Master’s degree in Community and Economic Development from the Pennsylvania State University. She is an International Economic Development Council (IEDC) Certified Economic Developer and chairs the Fall Forum Committee for the Arizona Association for Economic Development.

Russ Yelton President/CEO Yelton and Associates, LLC Russ Yelton is President/CEO of Yelton and Associates. Yelton and Associates is a consulting firm that provides community development services to municipalities and scaling businesses. Utilizing extensive business incubation experience and professional contacts, the firm assists business incubation projects, as well as private companies, to scale to obtain angel investment, private equity, as well as venture capital. Previously, Yelton served as Chief Executive Officer of Pinnacle Transplant Technologies (PTT). Yelton was responsible for strategic direction, corporate culture and overall growth management. Russ currently sits on the Advisory Board for PTT and retains an ownership interest.

Prior to PTT, Russ was President/CEO of the Northern for Entrepreneurship and Technology (NACET). At NACET, Russ oversaw the development of multiple business incubation sites across the State of Arizona, including the Center for Entrepreneurial Innovation at Gateway Community College (CEI), the Maricopa Center for Entrepreneurship (MCE) in the City of Maricopa, as well as the Native American Incubation Network (NAIN). (continued on next page) Previously, he worked with a community college in North Carolina to convert an abandoned 141,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility into a mixed-use incubator consisting of an FDA approved commercial food kitchen, biotechnology research labs, light manufacturing, and executive offices.

Yelton has served as President and Vice-President of the North Carolina Business Incubation Association (NCBIA), Chair of the Mountain South Incubator Alliance, past Founding President of the AzBIA, former Chair of AzBIO from 2015-2017, and currently serves as Past Chairman of the Board of AzBIO, Chair of the Flinn Bioscience Entrepreneurship Committee, a Member of the Arizona District Export Council (DEC), a Member of the Arizona Bioscience Roadmap Steering Committee as well as several others. Russ has performed feasibility studies for multiple municipalities and groups ranging from business incubations to co-workspaces to specialized programs such as the processing of native herbs.

Russ received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) from Appalachian State University and his Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Western Carolina University, where he also completed continuing doctoral coursework. He also completed Economic Sustainability training from the Vienna School of Economics, and he is a Flinn-Brown Fellow.