FEDC Emerge develops the next generation of Florida’s economic, workforce and community development leaders. Over six months, each class engages with statewide leaders, trains with nationally recognized experts, and builds a peer network that lasts well beyond the program, from competitive mindset training with Jake Thompson to advocacy training and a hands-on project simulation at IGNITE.
Meet the current class below, and scroll down to revisit the leaders who came before them.
Class II
- Melanie Adams
Duke Energy - Hunter Bailey
North Florida Professional Services - Chelsea Bakaitis
City of Newberry - Kate Bernthal
Central Florida Development Council - Jacob Blaudow
City of Jacksonville - Office of Economic Development - Brian Blue
Madison County Chamber of Commerce - Connor Cassidy
Space Florida - Kiersten Hennings
Kitson & Partners, Babcock Ranch - Jessica Hoover
Florida Economic Development Council - Aimee Johnson
Manatee County Government - Bradenton, FL - Kelsie Little
Highlands County Economic Development - Tangela Lofton
Florida SBDC at FAMU - Kailey Madden
Business Development Board of Palm Beach County - Krystal Martz
JAXUSA Partnership - Bailey McClellan
Alachua County Tourism & Economic Development - Aliyah Meyer
St. Johns County - Brian Richards
Sumter County Economic Development - Blake Ruggiero
FloridaCommerce - Connor Salliotte
Shumaker - Abby Sears
Research Park at Florida Atlantic - Alex Tijerina
Okeechobee County Economic Development Corporation - Jennifer Warner
Florida Realtors - Jacqueline Waterhouse
City of North Port Economic Development - Evgeny Yudin
The Miami-Dade Beacon Council, Inc.
Class 1
- Chuck Burnett
Hamilton County - Jackie Chang
Santa Rosa County Economic Development - Laylah Cortijo
City of Coral Springs - Reagan Faircloth
Florida's Great Northwest - Anita Fischer
Economic Development Council of St. Lucie County - Monty Fletcher
Team Volusia - Jordan Johnson
Walton County Economic Development Alliance - Kadian Knight
Economic Development Council of St. Lucie County - Melissa Mata
City of Fort Lauderdale - Brian McVay
Hillsborough County BOCC, Economic Development - Sarah Beth Murphy
Highlands County - Kyle Paez
Business Development Board of the Palm Beaches - Jackson Petr
Marketing Alliance - Cassidy Roberts
Entrepreneur Collaborative Center - Sean Schrader
Shumaker Advisors - Charissa Setzer, TMP
Suwannee County Economic Development - Betsy Sorg
Lake Economic Area Development (LEAD) Partnership - Ashlee Underdown
Pasco Economic Development Council
This is what investing in the next generation of Florida’s economic development leadership looks like.
Interested in learning more about Emerge and future opportunities? Contact Jessica Hoover, IOM, FEDC Director of Membership and Growth, at JHoover@FEDConline.org.
