SALEM — Having the Ohio Certified Economic Developer (OhioCED) credential next to her name has been a humbling experience for Julie Needs.
For Salem, though, Needs having that credential means the person driving economic development activities in the city has the skills and connections to keep progress moving forward.
“I’m honored,” she said.
As executive director of the Sustainable Opportunity Development Center in Salem, she updates the Economic Development Committee of City Council on a quarterly basis regarding workforce development, grants, education and training activities, job creation and retention and any development projects in the works, whether retail, industrial or in the downtown.
“The OhioCED professional credential attests the depth and breadth of an economic development professional’s knowledge and their ability to apply that knowledge to the benefit of their community or organization,” Ohio Economic Development Association President Michael Loges said in a press release. “Julie has achieved a level of professional skill and performance that places them among the top economic developers in Ohio.”
Loges announced earlier this month that Needs had been awarded the OhioCED credential. In the press release, he “also congratulated the Board of Directors for SODC for recognizing economic development is critical to their community and advancing the skills of their professional staff.”
According to the press release, the Ohio Economic Development Association is the professional association for economic developers in Ohio. The certification program courses are offered through the Ohio Economic Development Institute, OEDA’s flagship professional development program. Earning the Ohio Certified Economic Developer is a rigorous, multi-year process.
To be certified, an economic developer must complete more than 70 hours of core coursework, 24 hours of elective coursework, and complete a Capstone project. The Ohio Economic Development Institute program was created in partnership with JobsOhio, the state’s economic development organization, and Ohio University Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service in 2016.
When Needs left her career in banking to become the SOD Center executive director in February 2018, she took the basic course from OEDA. Initially, certification was not on her mind. But after that week-long lesson on economic development, she thought to herself, “I can’t wait to bring it back to Salem.”
In the time since that first course, she’s taken various seminars and coursework from the top economic developers in the country and amassed a large number of contacts and go-to people she can ask for information.
“I have learned so much that I brought back to the community,” she said.
She created a network of mentors and resources she uses as a sounding board for an idea or advice on how to handle a certain situation, which is a huge benefit for the city.
Needs explained that the capstone project was a six-month project that included a 19-page written report and a presentation to a group of Ohio economic developers, along with the Ohio Economic Development Institute and Ohio University Voinovich School.
For her project, Needs focused on implementation of Ignite Salem, the economic development plan for the city, completing 10 different strategies and initiatives that were part of the five-year plan.
More specifically, she created a financial resources page on the SOD Center website, created an incentive tool kit and she looked at development and redevelopment of sites, such as how to develop them and identifying the needs of the properties.
She looked at viable properties, asking what economic development tools and resources are needed to develop sites.
She worked on marketing through the Little Big City campaign to promote Salem as a place that has big city advantages, but in a little city. Expansion of the training center was another piece of the puzzle.
Needs described the project as laying the groundwork for moving the city forward.
She noted that most of the projects of others trying to earn the certification were very focused on a single activity. Her project was more encompassing, “setting the stage for economic growth.”
The project showed how small cities can provide economic development with limited staff and limited resources.
To learn more about the SOD Center and all that Salem has to offer, visit sodcenter.com.
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August 23, 2021 at 12:16PM
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