08/09/2026
What does it take to build a community that people want to be a part of, not just today, but 50 years from now? That's one of the ideas at the heart of "Building Legacy Communities Through Global Thinking and Inclusive Growth," the latest episode of The Leading Ladies of Economic Development Podcast, featuring TIP Strategic Advisor Tracye McDaniel.
In conversation with host Kaycee Bunch, Tracye draws on more than three decades in economic development to talk about global perspective, regional collaboration, leadership, and the importance of bringing missing voices into the conversation.
She points to the Rio Grande Valley and Shelbyville, Tennessee, as examples of what's possible when communities build on their strengths and think beyond the immediate opportunity. In the Rio Grande Valley, anchor investments such as SpaceX and the Port of Brownsville are creating new economic potential and reinforcing the importance of regional collaboration. In Shelbyville, that long-term thinking led to a 50-year roadmap shaped in part by conversations with elementary and middle school students who will live with its outcomes. The plan's name—Legacy in Motion—came from one of those students.
This sustainability-focused perspective also connects Tracye's contribution to THE COST OF COOL: Austin's Tech Growth and the People Left Behind and the question every growing community must be willing to ask: Who is this growth for, and who might it displace?
Listen to the conversation on The Leading Ladies of Economic Development, a space for women in the profession to share the experience, challenges, and lessons shaping their careers and the future of the field.
🎧 https://www.llofed.com/season3-episode13-tracye-mcdaniel
