2024 Southeast Valley Economic Development Updates

Carol Hu, Vice President, Enterprise Solutions
Greater Phoenix Economic Council

Carol (Shixue) Hu joined the Greater Phoenix Economic Council in 2018. As Vice President of Enterprise Solutions, Carol leads the delivery of in-depth and accurate market knowledge to internal and external stakeholders. She is responsible for the development and implementation of business intelligence strategy, enterprise-level solutions and platforms that support information management for GPEC.

She brings 10+ years of experience gained from her role as an urban planner and community developer for the City of Glendale and Maricopa County. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the American Planning Association Arizona Chapter and the Chinese Chamber of Commerce. Carol was formerly the Vice Chair of the Neighborhood Advisory Commission, an inaugural member of the Sustainability Commission for City of Tempe and a Sustainability Advisor for International Economic Development Council.

With a deep appreciation of the urban environments and community engagement in Greater Phoenix, Carol is an active member of this community involved in numerous program developments such as the APA State Conference, state and local planning workshops, award committees and mentorship programs.

Carol is bilingual and previously lived in China and Canada before calling Phoenix home. Carol holds a Bachelor’s degree in Urban Planning and Geographic Information System as well as a Master’s degree in Urban and Environmental Planning from Arizona State University.

Mike DiDomenico, Economic Development Director
City of Tempe

Mike DiDomenico is now the Director of Economic Development for the City of Tempe, AZ. Mike has over 35 years of commercial real estate experience throughout the greater Phoenix area and is responsible for managing assets, client development and support, and directing the Tempe office of Economic Development. Mike’s background includes extensive experience with new business development, client relations, and portfolio management. Mike excels at delivering a high level of customer service to his clients and working closely with his team, thereby strengthening their relationships with their owners and tenants. Prior to joining Tempe, Mike was principal and CEO of Wessex Commercial Management. Mike received his BBA in 1983 from the University of Notre Dame graduating Magna cum Laude with a major in accounting. From 1983 to 1986, Mike worked in the Phoenix office of the international accounting firm of Touche Ross where he provided accounting services to clients in the areas of hospitality/gaming, food retailing, construction, manufacturing and high technology. From 1986 to 1990, Mike worked for a major Phoenix commercial real estate investment and development firm as Director of Operations. During the period 1990 to 2002, he was a principal and President of a Phoenix based commercial real estate investment and management firm that owned and operated over 10 million square feet of commercial property.

James P Smith, Economic & Workforce Development Director
Pinal County

James Smith joined Pinal County as Director of Economic and Workforce Development in November 2021. 

In this role, he is leading the County’s efforts to attract significant capital investment and jobs to the region while also seeking to help ensure the workforce is prepared for the jobs of the future. Projects that he has recently assisted with include LG Energy Solution’s announcement of a $2.8B manufacturing plant in Queen Creek, Procter & Gamble’s announcement of a $500M facility in Coolidge, and several semiconductor supply chain companies that have announced new facilities.

Prior to his position with Pinal County, he served as Economic Development Director for the Town of Fountain Hills, AZ. Previous experience with the City of Chandler, AZ, included managing numerous business attraction projects of major corporations, including Allstate, Liberty Mutual, Voya Financial, and Republic Services. In addition, he contributed to City efforts related to expansions by Northrop Grumman, NXP Semiconductor, and Rogers Corporation, which resulted in the relocation of their corporate headquarters to Chandler. Further experience was related to the redevelopment and reuse of commercial properties through the administration of the City’s Commercial Reinvestment Program/Infill Incentive Plan as well as leading efforts to implement an adaptive reuse program.   

He holds a Bachelor of Science (Economics) and Master of Public Administration degrees – both from San Jose State University. A graduate of the University of Oklahoma’s Economic Development Institute (OUEDI), he is recognized by the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) as a Certified Economic Developer (CEcD). In addition, he has achieved the Certified Public Manager (CPM) designation through Arizona State University.

Ryan David Winkle, Executive Director
Mesa RAIL Community Development Corridor

Ryan D. Winkle started his community & economic development consulting firm, Innovative Urban Solutions, in 2013. He has worked on projects all over the Phoenix Metro Area in the areas of housing options, corridor development, neighborhood revitalization, and transit-oriented development. He graduated from ASU with a dual degree in Sustainability and in Urban Planning and completed his MBA at Wilkes. Ryan currently serves as Chair of the Valleywise Health Center Governing Council, as the Chair of Az Asian Chamber of Commerce, and is the founder and supporter of multiple community organizations such as the ABAKA Foundation, Mesa Urban Garden, and RAIL CDC. 

Michael Martella, Senior Economic Development Project Manager
Town of Gilbert

Michael has over ten years of comprehensive economic development experience. He has spent a majority of this time attracting and supporting businesses from a wide range of industries and of all different sizes. Before joining Gilbert, he served one year as the Economic Development Analyst for Fountain Hills. During this time he helped attract a new micro-hospital, 150 unit single-family detached home rental community, and a proposed 400 unit multi-family development. Michael served as the Economic Development Coordinator for Winnetka, IL before joining Fountain Hills. He was Winnetka’s first-ever full-time economic development employee, tasked with creating most of the programs and processes from the ground up. He developed and implemented a new marketing strategy, launched a business visitation program, and created a business database to help streamline internal processes. Before Winnetka, Michael served as the Marketing & Business Development Administrator for Bensenville, IL. At the start of his employment, the vacancy rate for the 16 million square feet of industrial/office space in Bensenville was around 20%. During his seven years, he streamlined processes, created a business-friendly brand, and worked closely with the development community to help reduce the vacancy rate to under 5%. Michael earned a Bachelor of Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Business Administration and a Master of Business Administration from Northern Illinois University. He moved to Arizona from Chicago in 2018 and loves to spend his free time exercising, hiking, volunteering, and traveling to different countries.

Doreen Cott, Economic Development Director
Town of Queen Creek

Doreen Cott is the Economic Development Director for the Town of Queen Creek. She went to Gilbert High School and Northern Arizona University. She actively works to diversify and strengthen Queen Creek’s economic base through business attraction, a focus on small business development, support of entrepreneurs in the community and a robust tourism program. In addition to Economic Development, Doreen oversees the Town’s Real Estate Division and Horseshoe Park & Equestrian Centre. Doreen has been with the Town over fourteen years, and has been working in the economic development field for 26 years.