(Check out the conference photos below.)
WEDN Learn and Lead 2026 brought together economic developers from NC, SC, VA, and more, to LEARN and encourage them to LEAD when they return to the office. The program included sessions that enhance economic development skills and knowledge, leadership development, personal productivity, and networking.
The two-day event, held in Greensboro, NC, began with a national and regional labor market update from Dr. Laura Ullrich, Director of Economic Research at Indeed. The presentation covered what fields are showing job growth and losses, how our region compares to national performance, and the effect of AI on different job fields. Dr. Laura Ullrich is well known among economic developers in the Southeast U.S. for her labor market updates.
We all learned from Tiffany Henry, Director of Economic Development of Jackson County, NC, and Cecilia Thompson, Executive Director of Action Greensboro, about the Family Forward NC program, and that child care strategies like it should be a part of economic development planning.
Michelle McDonald, Deputy Director of Dorchester County Economic Development, presented the STEMersion program, a best-practice to raise awareness of career opportunities among teachers. The week-long program invites teachers to visit local companies to observe how STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) concepts are used on the job in real-life situations. Then that knowledge can be taken back to the classroom to create lesson plans and projects for students.
A particularly fun portion of the conference are the SPARK! sessions. Colleagues briefly share best practices, lessons learned, and case studies from their own professional roles. Emily Jessup, an attorney with Sanford Holshouser Law Group, shared the connection between housing and economic development. Blair Kennedy, NCEDA Foundation’s Director of Programming and Resource Development, talked about building leaders in communities.
Katie Boswell, Executive Director of Onward New River Valley, gave information about the connection with child care. Meridith Berger, Director of Existing Services at the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce, spoke about engaging existing industry beyond the BRE visit.
The conference’s book of choice this year was “Uptime: A Practical Guide to Personal Productivity and Wellbeing” by Laura Mae Martin, Executive Productivity Advisor at Google. During Laura’s chat with Creative Economic Development Consulting’s CEO, Crystal Morphis, about the book, Laura discussed how to set time boundaries with work and home schedules, create time (however small or big) for yourself, and practical tips to get and stay motivated for making changes in routines. Each conference participant received a copy of the book and had a chance to get the book autographed by the author.
Jenna Rae Grayson, Director of Business Transitions at The Industrial Commons, introduced all of the ways The Industrial Commons supports employee-owned social enterprises and industrial cooperatives in Asheville, Charlotte, and Raleigh. The Industrial Commons is an innovative approach to generate and keep wealth in a rural region.
Our workshop this year was led by Rebecca Akben, an AI Literacy Consultant. Rebecca, along with three students from Elon University, taught our group how to personalize ChatGPT and how, with some customization of settings and practice, day-to-day tasks of economic developers could be done more efficiently. Some examples are research, project management, site evaluations, website
design, and more.
During lunch, Dianne Jones, Managing Director of JLL Business Location and Economic Incentives, gave an update on the industrial real estate market. Dianne presented top trends driving U.S. manufacturing, site selection trends, manufacturing industry categories with impact information, and Southeast industrial market key metrics.
WEDN Learn & Lead attendees enjoyed professional networking and table conversation topics, as well as fun trivia and making social connections. Some attendees contributed to the annual career clothes donation drive that will benefit the Winston-Salem State University Career Closet.
We are so thankful for the strong sponsor support received for the last 11 years for this professional development conference. Thank you to the SC Power Team, NC Electric Cooperatives, and ECS Southeast who provided scholarships and a sponsorship; Sanford Holshouser Lawyers and Advisors for also providing scholarships; and to the NC Economic Development Association for being a sponsor.
The purpose of WEDN is to advance women in the field of economic development. We do that through professional development and expanding networks. We appreciate everyone who participated, presented, and engaged in the program and discussions. Look for WEDN 2027 announcements this fall. We hope to see you next year.
