Why are local economic developers suddenly becoming the scapegoats of their communities? In this late-night, candid episode of Site Selectors are People, Too, host Devin Hillsdon-Smith sits down to defend the professionals at the heart of local job growth. Driven by rising public hysteria and misinformation—particularly around mission-critical data center projects—Devin unpacks the fundamental misunderstanding of what an economic developer actually does with their time.

If your entire picture of economic development is a mayor, a photographer, and an oversized check at a ribbon-cutting ceremony, you are only seeing about 15% of the job. Devin breaks down the invisible, unglamorous, multi-year reality of the profession, explaining why the most valuable work an economic developer does often looks like absolutely nothing happened at all.

In this episode, we cover:

• The Ribbon-Cutting Misconception: Why attraction and recruitment make up the smallest—yet most visible—part of the job.
• The Translation Function: How economic developers act as the crucial, load-bearing bridge between utilities, local government, real estate developers, and community colleges.
• The Invisible Majority (BR&E): Why Business Retention and Expansion takes up roughly 40% of the week, and why successfully keeping 340 existing jobs in the county never gets a press release.
• The Long Game: The years of expensive, tedious product development and site certification required to make an 11-week project closing possible.
• Public vs. Independent Models: A fair look at the structural trade-offs between government-run agencies and independent 501(c)(6) organizations, balancing transparency with project confidentiality.
• The Data Center Flashpoint: How sensationalism and resource anxiety have put targets on the backs of economic developers everywhere.

Whether you're an industry veteran, a county commissioner, or a curious resident, this episode pulls back the curtain on a profession whose value is deeply real, even when the evidence is awkward to measure.