Erin J. Rexroth
Stephanie Landrum, AEDP
With development front-and-center in Alexandria this year, we wanted to touch base with Stephanie Landrum, president and CEO of the Alexandria Economic Development Partnership (AEDP).
Here's what she had to say about development (and we found out a little bit about her too!).
Q: For people who aren't familiar with AEDP, what's your "elevator speech" that describes its role?
A: AEDP is a team of smart and passion-ate staff and Board members who have a vision that Alexandria should be a vibrant, creative, diverse city where large and small businesses can locate and grow. Every day we work to promote the City of Alexandria as a premier location for businesses providing services ranging from evaluation and selection of business loca-tions, facilitating business and investment connections and general help in navigating city, state and federal processes. Our role is based in sharing information and making connections!
Q: What's your biggest challenge heading up AEDP?
A: Like almost all of the businesses we work with, AEDP has needed to make pretty significant changes throughout the pandemic to respond to need, and to find new and different ways to achieve our mission. Change is always hard and my challenge moving forward is to continue to grow our staff and Board team in ways that support each individual, speak to their strengths and interests, and weave together our collective output to meet AEDP’s ambitious goals.
Q: What seems to be the biggest draw for companies considering Alexandria as a place to do business?
A: Thanks to a bold, forward-looking vision and committed community investment, a unique combination of small-town charm paired with big-city access and resources, businesses choose Alexandria because they see the opportunities for exponential future growth. That growth is dependent on our world-class talent pool and pipeline, business friendly climate, and a quality of life that most places envy!
Q: What about the city might cause a company to hesitate moving here?
A: We spend a significant amount of time talking to companies about the pipeline for talent and cost of living. Our experience finds that most companies consider multiple locations in the United States, and that they need to be convinced that they can hire the right talent in our market, and that their staff will be able to afford to live proximate to their location. Depending on the industry, and the salaries and benefits, Alexandria does not always rank highest in these two critical areas when compared to other markets. We have spent a lot of time over the last 5-7 years tackling these issues head on; the best way to overcome a weakness is to acknowledge it, identify improvements and then execute! We work so closely with our partners in the affordable housing, higher education and workforce training spaces to make sure we continue to make progress in converting these weak-nesses to opportunities.
Q: Is part of AEDP's job to try to balance the character of Alexandria with new development?
A: Absolutely. Alexandria’s character speaks for itself, and is a core part of the pitch to companies we’re trying to attract. As we work to facilitate investment and new development, we’re all committed to building and amplifying that character!
Q: How do you measure the success of AEDP?
A: While we have specific metrics and indicators for all of the programs and initiatives we work on, at the end of the day AEDP is successful when we can show increases in commercial tax revenue in the City, the creation of new employment opportunities and tangible examples where our role as connecters and facilitators has created economic impact in Alexandria.
Q: How is AEDP funded and how many employees are there?
A: AEDP is funded by the City of Alexandria, through the annual budget process. At full staffing, we have almost 20 amazing people working on economic development!
Q: What's your favorite part about living in Alexandria?
A: I am surrounded by family, friends and colleagues that make my day-to-day life feel very rich. I also LOVE being minutes from DCA, to facilitate my constant desire to travel and explore!
Q: Who are three people (anyone!) you would invite to dinner?
A: Doug McMillon, Karen S. Lynch and Andrew Witty. Those names don’t ring a bell? They are the CEOs of the #1, #4 and #5 companies on the Fortune 500 list (Walmart, CVS Health and UnitedHealth Group). Our NOVA EDA already landed #2 (Amazon), #3 (Apple) just made some major decisions elsewhere, so why not try to bring the remainder of the Top 5 to our region over dinner!
Q: What's something that people would be surprised to learn about you?
A: One of my guiding principles is: “There is nothing that a Sour Patch Kid can’t fix” — and my Peloton handle is evidence of how seriously I take that to heart!
Q: What's your pet peeve?
A: Being rude to other humans. Life is short, the world can be crazy and stressful, and there’s just not any good excuse for not being kind to each other!
Q: If you weren't working for AEDP, you would like to try your hand at...
A: I think I would LOVE being a sports or entertainment agent.
Q: What would you say you are most proud of?
A: From my AEDP perspective, our team had the vision and commitment to craft a local investment package to land Amazon’s HQ2 and Virginia Tech’s Innovation Campus that put community benefit FIRST; which encouraged the State to follow-suit. It is the first package in the Commonwealth of Virginia’s history to include dedicated funding for affordable housing, and it has inspired MILLIONS of additional commitments from the State government, Amazon directly and other private sector leaders in the region. The package itself is held up nationwide as an example of how to do incentives right!
