Lasting impact: Auburn University Outreach program continues to influence lives after four decades

The Government & Economic Development Institute (GEDI) has been helping city leaders make a difference for four decades.

The Auburn University Outreach program and its Intensive Economic Development Training Course have thrived since their creation more than 40 years ago, equipping young professionals with the skills and networking opportunities needed to impact communities throughout Alabama and beyond. With a mission of “promoting effective government policy and management, civic engagement, economic prosperity and improved quality of life for the State of Alabama and its communities,” GEDI continues to be a difference-maker for anyone looking to work in fields that help shape their community’s future.

A trio of Auburn alumni illustrate that fact, and they are working hard in their communities to leave a lasting impact on the places they call home. From business development, revitalization projects and infrastructure improvements, to community program implementation and grant securement, these alums are working hard to be agents of change on a daily basis.

Making a difference in East Montgomery (Texas) County

Christopher Bontrager earned undergraduate and master’s degrees in public administration from Auburn in 2013 and 2016, respectively, and now serves as vice president of retail development for the East Montgomery (Texas) County Improvement District. The U.S. Army veteran was a graduate student when he took the GEDI course in 2015 and started making connections that would launch him on his career path.

Initially, Bontrager thought he might one day have a career in athletic administration after working as a tutor and graduate assistant in Auburn’s athletic department. But through experiences like interning with the Macon County (Alabama) Economic Development Authority and going through the GEDI program, he saw his career trajectory change.

“I was really interested in working in athletic administration because of some of the things I had been exposed to in undergrad and then in grad school,” said Bontrager, who was part of Auburn’s ROTC program during his days on the Plains. “That completely shifted when I really started getting into the economic development side of things, and being exposed to the programs offered and going through the programming with GEDI completely shifted that path. Essentially, I’ve been on that path ever since.”

Bontrager found himself gravitating to the field in much the same way others in the industry did — by chance.

“It’s a very small and kind of a niche field of work, and the inside joke is that everyone falls into it,” Bontrager said. “No one sets out to do this as a 12-year-old kid. They want to be an astronaut or they want to be a politician or they want to do something cool. They never say, ‘I want to be an economic developer.’

“It’s gotten better over the years, but historically, there has never been a direct educational track or path to get into the business. While mine is a little bit more linear, I also fall into that category as falling into it as well. A good friend of mine had previously gone through the program years before me, and that was my initial introduction to it, and then the rest is history.”

The more Bontrager learned about the impactful work being done in the economic development realm, the more he wanted to make it his career.

“It really fit everything that I would like to do, trying to make an impact and helping grow and preserve communities,” said Bontrager, who served in the U.S. Army from 2007-18. “I initially started by taking one of the economic development courses with [GEDI Executive Director Emeritus] Joe Sumners, and after going through that class, a light bulb went off. It brought all of my prior work experience and educational experience together. It gave me clarity, and I was like, ‘This is something I’d like to pursue.’”

In the Lone Star State, Bontrager heads up all retail commercial development for the improvement district, with duties that range from focusing on sales tax-producing entities like retailers, restaurants and hotels, to quality-of-life improvement projects and business recruiting. He said his current role is similar to responsibilities he had while in the military as a builder of communities.

“In my years in the military and then post-military and post-school, I’ve always, in one way or another, been involved in community development,” said Bontrager. “Being deployed in the military, our mission at that time was community building. So technically, I've been in community building since I was 18 years old.”

Bontrager continues to utilize the skills he has developed in the last decade-plus, and he has thoroughly enjoyed the work. He has advice for any students or young professionals who might want to go into the field.

“I think if you have interest in similar things, or if you have even the slightest interest in community development and follow the path I took, you should just expose yourself to these opportunities and sign up for the class,” Bontrager said. “College is a time for experimentation, and you’re trying to figure out where you want to go and what you want to do. So, there’s no harm in taking the class and never using it, but on the upside, it may change everything.”

Bontrager is one of many shining examples of the success of the GEDI program and its ability to produce the community leaders of tomorrow from a variety of backgrounds.

“It’s an interesting field, because people fall into it from all walks of life with all different types of experiences,” he said. “I think one of the biggest benefits of the program is having a dedicated team and organization to expose more people to the field because I would say probably 70% of the population has no idea what economic development is or who economic developers are. And so having dedicated organizations out there exposing people to this field, to these opportunities, it’s one of the biggest things that the program does.”

Making strides among Birmingham’s elite

Jacqueline Chandler was serving as the director of industrial development for the City of Auburn’s Economic Development Department when she went through the GEDI class in 2018. The 2018 Auburn economics graduate now serves as corporate affairs manager for one of the nation’s largest privately held general contractors, Brasfield & Gorrie in Birmingham. From helping with governmental affairs in the state of Alabama and Washington, D.C., and economic development projects, to fostering community partnerships, business recruitment enterprises and relationship development, no two days are the same for Chandler.

Chandler loves the impactful work she gets to do daily.

“Coming to Brasfield & Gorrie has taught me how much a culture and a company can change a life, and I get to see it happen in real time because we’re a blue-collar company with white-glove service,” said Chandler, who was Auburn’s third female Student Government Association president. “In my role, I get to serve the people who are building projects that shape communities, such as hospitals. It’s special to be part of a company that builds meaningful projects that create places and spaces for people to thrive and abides by the Golden Rule while doing it.

“Plus, we have the best people, which makes coming to work every day an absolute blast. If your work can be a place where you’re fulfilled, you leave happy and you go home as a better version of yourself, that’s transformative. That is the goal of economic development — to recruit companies to a local community that provide that kind of opportunity to their residents.”

Chandler was recognized as a “Top Woman in Tech” in 2023 and was elected chair of the Economic Development Association of Alabama’s (EDAA) Young Professionals group. GEDI, she said, helped pave the way for her career journey.

“Throughout my career, I’ve had so many instances that I tie back to relationships that I made through GEDI,” she said. “My ability to get a job in a new market is something that I directly correlate to GEDI. One of the good but challenging things about economic development is there’s not a lot of jobs in the industry. It’s a mile wide and an inch deep.

“I had to have connections that allowed me to continue my vocation of building communities through economic development after I moved from Auburn. If it wasn’t for GEDI, I would have had to change careers, which would not have been ideal.”

With a servant’s heart mentality, Chandler and her associates at Brasfield & Gorrie work with their partners while keeping the idea of a bigger impact in mind.

“We always say in economic development that good jobs change lives and strong, thriving businesses improve communities,” Chandler said. “We at Brasfield & Gorrie get the incredible opportunities to provide high-quality jobs and be the best corporate citizens we can to the communities we call home. The cool this is that it doesn’t stop there — we get to partner with our clients to help their businesses grow so they can do the exact same thing. Our work is so much more than building buildings — it’s about building exceptional people, trusting relationships, strong communities and great projects.”

Through programs like GEDI, Chandler says young professionals learn the importance of collaboration and relationship-building.

“GEDI is a little incubator for great ideas to move the state forward with some of the best people in Alabama who have chosen to focus on improving our state through economic development,” she said. “It’s really a catalytic gathering of people from across the state.”

Chandler also enjoys the program’s ability to put her alma mater center stage as an industry leader while creating the community leaders of tomorrow.

“I’m so thankful that we have GEDI and its programs to bring professionals from across the state to Auburn to get to experience the Loveliest Village on the Plains and the university’s excellence,” she said. “It’s a unique manifestation of Auburn’s land-grant mission.

“You know that quote, ‘You’re planting seeds for trees whose shade you’ll never sit under?’ I think GEDI is the watering can.”

Proven results, transforming a county

Don Smith was assistant director of economic development for the City of Auburn when he took the intensive GEDI class in 2005, and he has gone on to help transform St. Clair County as executive director of its Economic Development Council (EDC). Now considered an expert on economic development financing, Smith learned the ropes of economic development from industry icon Phillip Dunlap while at the City of Auburn. Dunlap recommended the intensive training course for Smith, and it was an enlightening experience.

“I was completely overwhelmed initially with the amount of valuable material being presented by experts in the field,” said Smith, a Monroe County native who earned an accounting degree from Auburn in 2002. “I was just focused on one aspect of it, and that was more or less the accounting side, but then because of that exposure, I was able to rapidly advance and go from accounting to working on the deal structuring side of recruiting and being a much more valuable asset to the department.”

Smith joined the St. Clair County EDC in 2007 and, since taking over as executive director two years later, has helped generate more than $1.3 billion in new project investments, 5,500 new jobs and $160 million in wages for the central Alabama county.

“It’s a fast-growing community,” he said of the 10-municipality county. “In 2023, we were fourth in the state by growth percentage, and we are fully expecting to be over 100,000 by the next census, which is a big milestone for us.”

Smith said the relationships he began to foster in the GEDI program are still relevant to his work today.

“Those relationships that I made in that first class 17 years ago, I am still in contact with those people,” Smith said. “Many of them are from larger markets, so as we grow, it’s much easier for us to see what other communities who are larger than us have done right and what they’ve done wrong. It really allows us to avoid a lot of pitfalls that some communities who are growing fast have experienced.”

Smith is using the skills he has developed since leaving Auburn to improve his community and help it thrive.

“It is absolutely more than just the course, it is a network and a group of like-minded professionals who are going to be there for your entire career,” Smith said. “And because of how impactful that program was for me, I’ve been fortunate enough the last 10 years to be asked to present on deal structuring or the financial side of it. I’m always happy to do that. It allows me to build a relationship with the new folks who are coming into the development field.

“So, I’ve gone from being brand new to now being a bridge between those who were just starting their career with those who are at the end of their career.”

Within his county, Smith has implemented a leadership program, a new tourism initiative designed to increase tax revenue and a grant resource center to help his organization grow, evolve and thrive. From working with elected officials and adding retail centers and commerce parks to increasing tax revenue and cultivating relationships with economic development industry officials to synergize construction efforts within the county, community development leaders like him have to be versatile, amenable and have a collaborative nature.

“Whenever you can start fostering cooperation on a county level, it makes things so much easier to develop, because you have everyone pulling in the same direction,” Smith said. “When you can really just align visions of the future and find your role and how you can best help achieve those visions, you’re really in a great spot of being able to have an impactful influence on your communities.”

The driving force for him, Smith says, is an innate desire to make the world a better place for others, one community at a time.

“I think this profession is much like other ones, where people call it a calling,” he said. “You have to love your community. You have to love your state. You have to want to help people, help your community and ultimately leave everything better for your children and for their children going forward.”