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February 22, 2016
MSED Alum Keith Gendreau  Selected to the Site Selectors Guild
Keith Gendreau, a Project Manager in Cushman & Wakefield's Strategic Consulting group, was selected a member of the prestigious Site Selectors Guild which is the association of the world's foremost professional site selection consultants. Based in Minneapolis, Keith joined C&W in 2010 and is responsible for managing industrial site selection projects. He has over 12 years of site selection experience and conducted over 100 project-related assignments in locating both industrial and corporate office clients throughout North America.  Recent manufacturing projects include siting an automotive assembly plant in Nevada, along with a variety of large and mid-sized production facilities for industries ranging from chemicals, neutracuticals, food production, plastics, glass, among others. He was introduced to the 'site selection industry' in 2002 through an internship that he completed as part of the MSED program.  Faculty members (Drs. Dave Kolzow and Ron Swager) networked him to Dennis Donovan of WDG Consulting in New Jersey who is a member of the Guild. In addition to a MSED degree, Keith has a Bachelor of Science in Economic Geography from the University of North Dakota.
New EMSI Developer Data Analytics Added to MSED Program
MSED students in ED 722 Economic Development Theory & Research Methods are getting "hands-on" experience with EMSI's new labor market analytics tool, EMSI Developer, designed specifically for economic developers. It includes tools for business recruitment, strategic planning, and workforce analytics along with  national data. In additions to EMSI's traditional functions, it allows economic developers to identify target industry clusters, target "best fit" for recruitment, identify retail growth opportunities, and better respond to site selector inquiries.  Additionally, Brian Shaw of EMSI conducted a webinar class for the students on how to use the new web-based tool. The experience will help MSED graduate become data-driven economic developers and enter the workforce with the knowledge to add value to an economic development organization on day one.   
Horton Joins Tennessee Valley Authority
Kaitlin Horton has recently accepted a contractor position with the Economic Development sector of the Tennessee Valley Authority-TVA in Nashville, TN.  Her duties will include helping support the economic development products and programs for the greater Tennessee Valley region. A native of Brandon, MS she graduated from The University of Southern Mississippi with a Bachelor's in Business Administration. During her undergraduate career she was a student worker for the Department of Economic Development and from that point on she knew she wanted to pursue her career in this field. Kaitlin finished her course work while working as an intern for Harrison County Development Commission under the supervision of Wade Jones. In August of 2015 she graduated with her Masters of Science in Economic Development.  
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Hattiesburg, MS 39401-0001