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Join the Great Lakes Economic Development Council (Great Lakes EDC) for the latest installment of our Be Greater! digital learning series.
The chaotic back-and-forth on proposed and actual tariffs has created grave challenges - and some potential opportunities - for our communities, businesses, and workers. Economic development strategist Alissa Sklar, Ph.D., author of Economic Development Marketing & Priorities (Financial Times, 2024), will offer an overview of the context, impact, forecasts, federal, state, and provincial resources for economic development organizations, and some case studies of responses from different communities.
- Understand the ways uncertainty impacts your businesses and workers
- Review the trading relationships between Great Lakes EDOs and their counterparts across the Canada-U.S. border
- Explore possible strategic and tactical responses that economic developers can use to meet these challenges
- Share your perspectives and initiatives with other members
Our Presenters:
Alissa Sklar, Ph.D.
Principal, Alissa Sklar Consulting
Dr. Alissa Sklar is a communications strategy consultant with expertise in economic development, digital marketing, and social media. She works with agencies, organizations, and businesses to develop strategic messaging closely aligned with business development objectives. She specializes in content marketing and establishing thought leadership for brand awareness, focusing on white papers, blogs, webinars, podcasts, and conference presentations. Using a customized, collaborative approach with client teams, Dr. Sklar works to expand the reach of location brands in the highly competitive field of economic development.
Dr. Sklar’s clients have included Research fDi, Bermuda Development Agency, Violet PR, the Centre for Indigenous Environmental Research (CIER), Oakland County (MI), and Golden Shovel Agency. She spent 11 years as the vice president of content marketing for GIS Planning and the fDi Intelligence Portfolio, a service from the Financial Times, where she led their marketing efforts, authored the copy for a complete website redesign, developed marketing collateral, conference presentations, webinars, and client support materials. Alissa is the co-author with Anatalio Ubalde of Economic Development Marketing & Priorities (2024), published by the Financial Times. Her recent white papers include Brain Gain: Workforce Attraction Strategies for U.S. Medical & Scientific Workforce in Crisis and How to Prepare Your EDO’s Tactical Tariff Toolkit.
Dr. Sklar has a Ph.D. and M.A. in Communication and Cultural Studies from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and held a post-doctoral fellowship with Concordia University’s School of Community & Public Affairs. She has worked extensively in both private and academic sectors, serving as a social media consultant for economic development agencies, a full-time faculty member at Concordia University’s Department of Communication Studies, a research faculty at McGill University, a blogger, and multiple award-winning journalist.
Great Lakes Local! events are held across the Great Lakes to provide members small in-person networking opportunities. Great Lakes Local offers members and prospective members the opportunity to discuss issues impacting the Great Lakes. At Great Lakes Local events participants can connect, build relationships and share knowledge with their local networks of economic development professionals. Anticipated attendance is 25 at each event.