Heidi Hansen, Economic Vitality Director for the City of Flagstaff, is the Vice Chair of the Executive Board of ECoNA. Originally from Delaware, she moved to Flagstaff when her father, a W.L. Gore & Associates employee, relocated to Arizona. After earning her bachelor’s degree in advertising from Northern Arizona University, she spent more than 20 years in media advertising before becoming the City’s Convention and Visitor Bureau’s director in 2012.
We asked her about her time in media, what a typical day as the Economic Vitality Director looks like, and what she sees as the keys to the future of Flagstaff economic growth.
Q: Tell us a little about what brought you to Flagstaff.
I’m originally from Delaware. I moved here when I was starting the tenth grade as my father was working for GORE. I am a Coconino High School Panther and after high school I attended NAU where I received my bachelor’s degree in advertising. I am a 1991 NAU graduate, a past Alumni Board President and am active with my alma mater.
Q: Prior to government service, you spent about 20 years in media advertising, primarily with the Arizona Republic and Arizona Daily Sun? What skills and experience from your time in newspapers did you bring to your first position with the City as CVB Director in 2012?
I spent 10 years as a newspaper salesperson where I learned to speak with people by cold calling on accounts and asking for their business. I learned exceptional time management skills as well as how to organize my time effectively. After that, I moved to Flagstaff and was the Advertising Director for the newspaper where I spent 12 years managing several projects and a sales team. All of this helped to prepare me to transition to a destination marketing role at the City of Flagstaff. My advertising and marketing skills were utilized in this new position and my ability to lead a team was also imperative. I feel when I came to the CVB, I was able to come with fresh eyes. I was looking at what we do for the city, which is to market and sell the destination, and offered up ideas and opportunities that the team might not be looking at. I also felt that I was bridging the relationship with the CVB to the city in general, showing how important tourism and our services are to our community as well as the City of Flagstaff.
Q: In 2015, you became the City’s Economic Vitality Director, which in addition to tourism, covers everything from local libraries to economic development to the airport. Describe your position and what a typical day looks like for you.
The Economic Vitality Director role is truly diverse. No day is the same and that’s what I love about it. I work with my four section directors and a talented staff where our goal is to provide quality services to residents and visitors that preserve and enhance prosperity and quality of life for all. We do this by providing safe and reliable air service, authentic experiences with responsible tourism practices, library services, and resources that inspire learning, a healthy business climate, vibrant arts, and culture programs, and creating a sense of place.
One day I might be working with the tourism team on a fire awareness campaign with our partners at the Arizona Office of Tourism and ADOT, while the next I’m speaking to the airport team on securing a second service, and so on. There is always so much to do and there is never a dull moment. The premise of my work is being a public servant, and I take that role seriously.
Q: Over the past 10 years as the Economic Vitality Director, what have been the initiatives or accomplishments you’ve been most proud of?
There have been many, so I will touch on a couple.
I’m very proud of my work with the previous Airport Director traveling for two years to airline conferences and asking for headquarter meetings to secure a second airline service. We accomplished this with several partners’ support and welcomed United Airlines with a route to Denver. This was a very successful route but with the perils of COVID, they had to pull out of our market to service their larger markets. We know that one day they will be back, and the airport team is working on this at a great pace. Please FLY FLAGSTAFF FIRST!
Also I was growing tired of hearing the mantra “Live, Work and Play” so I gathered my teams, and we created “Visit, Discover, Grow.” It encompasses what this division is doing. We are inviting visitors and businesspeople to ‘visit’ and ‘discover’ all we have to offer and hoping that some of them will choose to ‘grow’ here and make this relationship last a lifetime. This is something we use in our attraction efforts so that we can show a business owner they will be in great company with our other businesses as well as enjoy the lifestyle that Flagstaff has to offer.
Q: How do you balance short-term tourism-driven growth with long-term sustainable economic development?
Many small business owners would tell you that they can’t survive on local spend alone. It’s important that we work to offer them that balance so they can continue to help grow our economy. We have a sustainable tourism program; all advertising has our ‘stay and play responsibly’ message. We do this because we live here too, and don’t want people visiting our mountain town and messing up the trails, leaving a trace with their litter, and more. So, it’s vital to invite them, but it’s even more important to tell them how we want them to visit.
When it comes to economic development, we want tourism to thrive, but we also want to balance that sector. We don’t need hotel after hotel competing with one another, so we don’t chase industry that we already have here, but we don’t tell it to stay away either. We are always working with our partners to attract high wage, low impact businesses so that we can continue to offer the jobs our community deserves.
Q: Given that our economy is heavily reliant on tourism, what specific strategies does the city of Flagstaff use to diversify the economy?
We work with all sectors; bioscience, healthcare, astronomy, manufacturing, education, digital, transportation, and tourism to have a good mix of business. It’s important to be known for many things, not just one thing. The best rule of thumb in diversifying the economy is the fit. Is this going to be a good fit for our community? Will this industry bring quality jobs? Do we have the infrastructure required? And so on – if we can’t check the boxes, we take a pass. Our partnership with ECoNA is important because a potential business inquiry might not be a fit for Flagstaff, but it could go somewhere else and our city would still gain the economic impact of them shopping, dining, and more.
Q: What industries or sectors do you believe have the greatest potential for growth in Flagstaff?
I feel there are a lot of opinions on this, but digital seems to be something that can easily be here without a lot of burden on resources as they would bring resources we need. Also, many digital employees can fly in to do work and fly out at the end of the week to go home if that is a model that works for them which doesn’t require housing on our part. I also feel that manufacturing is necessary and if we have the land, building, or infrastructure it needs, that sector typically brings higher wage jobs which is crucial. I could go on, but I feel that we need to be open to all sectors and what they can do for us universally.
Q: What is your vision for the future of Flagstaff, and how do you see you and your team contributing to that vision?
My vision for Flagstaff is to have a smart growth plan where we attract businesses that help our residents but do not impact our environment. The City is actively investing in long-term job creation by developing a new technology park designed to attract innovative companies and generate high-quality employment opportunities for the region. In addition, we continue to support the growth of early-stage businesses through significant investment in the City of Flagstaff Business Incubator and Accelerator — cultivating a pipeline of local entrepreneurs and future industry leaders. Our top 20 employers represent a variety of our economic sectors, and we need to encourage they stay and thrive.
Q: What do you see as the importance of collaborative entities like ECoNA to both Flagstaff and the northern Arizona region as a whole?
ECoNA was founded to be the hub organization for all the northern Arizona cities. They are here to champion Flagstaff and our efforts and if we can’t support a business for whatever reason, they look to see who can. They work to increase our workforce, look for housing solutions, and much more. They are key to being a voice for all of us.
Q: Anything else you’d like to add?
Please remember to FLY FLAGSTAFF FIRST! flyflagstaffaz.com.
Please remember that your local libraries save you millions each year by offering a large collection, programs, and services. flagstaffpubliclibrary.org.
Please remember to stay and play responsibly. discoverflagstaff.com.
Please remember to support our businesses. chooseflagstaff.com.
Please remember to support arts and culture in our community.
Please remember to pay the Downtown parking kiosk as those revenues are used to create a better parking solution for Downtown’s future.
Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions, concerns, ideas, and more. hhansen@flagstaffaz.gov.
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