Author: Katelynn Thijs
Contributors: Nicole Manapol, Delaney Luna, and Brian Namey
IEDC’s centennial celebration also marked an important milestone for the Economic Recovery Corps (ERC).
Launched in partnership with the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA), ERC is IEDC’s flagship initiative designed to strengthen local economic development capacity through an innovative fellowship model. Over the past 30 months, 65 Fellows have worked alongside communities across the country, building partnerships, navigating barriers, and helping turn local priorities into action.
As the inaugural fellowship approaches its completion, this year’s Annual Conference provided an opportunity to reflect on lessons learned, and explore how this work can help shape the next 100 years of IEDC’s leadership in economic development
We were grateful to welcome Alejandra Y. Castillo, Chancellor’s Senior Fellow for Economic Development at Purdue University Northwest and former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development, to share her reflections during the plenary, “Why America’s Next Economy Will Be Built by the People We Embed, Not the Projects We Fund.”
Having led EDA during the creation and launch of ERC, Castillo brought us back to the vision that helped bring this fellowship into existence. Her remarks reinforced something we’ve been watching over the last 30 months: capacity unlocks investment. Communities often have the ideas, leadership, and determination to move forward, but need dedicated people who can connect those assets to resources, partnerships, and growth.
That lesson carried into more than five conference sessions featuring ERC Fellows, who shared their experiences advancing rural systems, stewardship, community-controlled investment, economic resilience, energy infrastructure, and collaborative approaches to economic development. Their conversations demonstrated how experiences across diverse communities can contribute to a broader understanding of what effective economic development looks like. The experiences of individual communities become more valuable when we create opportunities to share what worked, what didn’t, and what we’re still figuring out.
The screening of the ERC documentary brought that work to life through the voices of local leaders, businesses, and residents, reminding us that behind every investment and project are people working to create opportunities for their communities.
More than half of the fellowship returned to New Orleans for this year’s Annual Conference, even as their terms had ended or were nearing completion. Looking back over three years of conferences, we’ve watched Fellows go from meeting one another and learning alongside their peers to leading sessions, sharing their experiences, and contributing to national conversations about the future of economic development. Their return was a reflection of just how far this network has come and the strong foundation built along the way.
Beyond the projects and investments made possible in communities across the country, the last few years have shown us the value of investing in people and the connections they create. If there’s one lesson that will carry forward from this inaugural fellowship, it’s that trust is infrastructure, and the relationships built through this work are every bit as important as the outcomes they help make possible.
As the fellowship wraps up, we’re also looking ahead. ERC has given us a tremendous amount to learn from, and IEDC is carrying those lessons, relationships, and emerging practices forward. We welcome conversations with partners interested in building on this foundation, strengthening local capacity, and continuing to explore new ways of doing economic development that support long-term resilience and transformative change.
To our Fellows, host organizations, and partners, thank you for 30 months of showing up, working through challenges, sharing what you’ve learned, and believing in what we could build together. We’ve seen ideas take shape, partnerships grow, and communities move closer to goals that once felt out of reach. And we’ve seen what happens when people are given the time, trust, and support to do this work.
No reflection on ERC’s journey would be complete without recognizing Nathan Ohle, IEDC’s President and CEO, and Nicole Manapol, IEDC’s Vice President of Emerging Practices. For more than 30 months, they have helped lead an ambitious initiative that came with no established playbook, navigating challenges, embracing new ideas, and finding ways forward as the fellowship took shape. Their leadership has given Fellows the space to learn, adapt, and grow while keeping the larger vision of ERC in focus. What began as an ambitious experiment has become something far greater, and their dedication to the people and purpose behind this work has been an important part of this journey.
