ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Planning Prosperity

FOR WILLIAMSON COUNTY

Charlotte Kovalchuk

charlotte@wilcobr.com photos provided by interviewees

Williamson County’s economic development directors are on a mission to foster job growth as well as attract and retain businesses while nurturing local companies. Here are the people who help our cities thrive.

Ben White

Cedar Park’s economic development director since 2018, Ben White says Cedar Park is the next job center for the region because of its demographics and location, lending itself well to corporate headquarters, the high tech industry, and advanced manufacturing. “I have a proactive approach and a high level of enthusiasm when it comes to recruiting businesses to Cedar Park,” he says.

Mary Poche

Since taking over leadership of Jarrell’s Economic Development Corporation in January this year, Mary has worked to recruit new businesses and industries that will provide primary jobs at market rate salaries and support local, existing business/ industry with potential incentives that could help them grow. She also strives to find good locations with land and/or buildings for target industries by providing locations that support their needs, as well as support balanced community development to best serve the citizens of Jarrell.

Veronica Briseno

Michaela Dollar

Robert Farley

 Since 2019, Veronica Briseno has led Austin as economic development director, with a vision for the city to have “a robust, equitable, thriving economy that supports our vibrant creative and business communities in a manner that stays true to Austin’s culture and charm.”

 Cameron Goodman transitioned from a managing partner role with the City of Leander to economic development director in August of this year. “Our city continues to keep pace with a tremendous amount of growth considering Leander was named the fastest growing community in America by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2020,” he says. “One of my personal goals is to work with our development partners to keep this positive momentum of growth moving forward and to facilitate the addition of quality projects in our community.”

 Since becoming Georgetown’s economic development director in 2016, Michaela has worked on projects totaling about 4,000 jobs and over $1.3 billion in capital investment with companies including Holt Caterpillar, Kalahari Resorts, and NorthPark35. Michaela also serves as the president of the Williamson County Economic Development Partnership.

 Matt Powell became Liberty Hill’s economic development director in 2020 with the goal of “facilitating positive, healthy, and self-sustaining growth in order to create a prosperous, charming, lifetime destination.”

 Robert joined Hutto’s city staff in June this year as executive director of economic development. Over the past few years, his economic development efforts led to major corporate locations for Kubota, Paycom, and other companies that together represented over $2 billion in new investment.

 As vice president of economic development at the Round Rock Chamber of Commerce since 2020, Jordan Robinson’s goal is to help promote Round Rock as a premier destination to live, work, and build a business. She aims to recruit new companies that will add jobs while nurturing local companies and promoting pro-business policies that support Round Rock’s economic vitality.

Cameron Goodman

Matt Powell