Economic Development Advisory Board

Agendas & Minutes

Public Participation

Advisory board meetings operate on a hybrid system. Public participants are welcome to attend in person or listen a video conferencing platform.

Members of the public can address the Board in the following ways:

  • Speak in person - Participants may complete a blue speaker/comment card upon arrival at the meeting or download a copy of comment card(PDF, 48KB) and provide to City Staff prior to the start of the meeting.

  • Speak via video conferencing platform – Persons attending a meeting virtually may speak on a specific agenda item only.

For help with the online comment card, or for any other technical difficulties, please call 480-644-2099.

Board Members

The Economic Development Advisory Board shall act as the advisory board to the Mesa City Council on matters pertaining to economic development, including goal setting, strategic planning, marketing and business recruitment, retention and expansion.

The membership of the Economic Development Advisory Board shall include: nine (9) voting members who are residents of Mesa and up to eight (8) ex-officio non-voting members. Three (3) of the ex-officio members shall be the Mayor, City Manager, and the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Mesa Chamber of Commerce, and five (5) may be City of Mesa representatives that are currently sitting on the Greater Phoenix Economic Council Board of Directors.

The members of the Board shall be appointed by the Mayor with the approval of the City Council for staggered terms of three (3) years. All terms shall terminate on June 30 of the applicable year. No member shall serve more than two (2) complete consecutive terms; however, a member may be reappointed after the lapse of one (1) year from the ending of the previous term.

Board Member Role Date Appointed Term Expires
Richard Blake
Senior Supply Chain / Commodity Director
Virgin Galactic
Voting Member
Partial Term
2/22/24 6/30/26
Mark Drayna
Senior Engineering and Operations Manager
FUJIFILM Electronic Chemicals
Voting Member
Partial Term
7/1/24 6/30/26
Kurt D. Ferstl
Senior Counsel, Mesa Site & Attack Programs
The Boeing Company
Voting Member
Partial Term
4/18/24 6/30/26
Michelle Genereux
Supervisor, Land Rights Management
Salt River Project
Vice Chair
Voting Member
1st Term
7/1/23
6/30/26
Charles Gregory
President Emeritus, Benedictine University
Voting Member
Partial Term
1/11/24 6/30/25
Amanda Kay
Pharmacist Supervisor, OptumRX
Voting Member
1st Term
7/1/23 6/30/26
Frank Sanders
Corporate Vice President, Global Supply Chain
Intel Corporation
Voting Member
1st Term
 7/1/24 6/30/27
Laura Snow
Principal, Laura Snow Strategy Partners
Voting Member
1st Term
7/1/22 6/30/25
Vacant Voting Member

John Giles
Mayor, City of Mesa
Ex-Officio Member

Chris Brady
City Manager, City of Mesa
Ex-Officio Member

Sally Harrison
President & CEO, Mesa Chamber of Commerce
Ex-Officio Member

Edward Carr
Sr. Director & General Manager, Dexcom
Ex-Officio Member

Sonny Cave
Retired, ON Semiconductor Corporation
Ex-Officio Member

Natascha Ovando-Karadsheh
Associate Broker/Owner, KOR Properties
Ex-Officio Member

Jennifer Zonneveld
Director & Site Lead, Guns Operating Unit and Armament Systems, Northrop Grumman Corporation
Chair
Ex-Officio Member