Ep. 53 “How the Office of Economic Vitality is Working to Reshape the Tallahassee/Leon County Business Environment” Cristina Paredes, Tallahassee-Leon County Office of Economic Vitality

As part of the Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce’s ongoing response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Tallahassee Business Podcast, presented by 223 Agency, features conversations with a variety of guests who can share valuable insight to help our members in this trying time.

This week, we are joined by Cristina Paredes – Director of the Tallahassee-Leon County Office of Economic Vitality. Cristina has been serving our community through various roles in local government since attending Florida State University and earning a Master’s in Public Administration. Her career includes staffing the Leon County Sales Tax Committee which shaped the successful passage of the Blueprint 2020 referendum. As part of that sales tax funding, the Office of Economic Vitality was founded to be the official economic development entity for Tallahassee and Leon County. Since becoming Director, Paredes has helped reshape local business recruitment and retention efforts through a sharp focus on targeted industries, minority and women business development, and expansive use of data. In recent months, her team has helped to provide grants to local businesses suffering from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and are now working to guide our community through a plan to reopen the economy. In this episode, Cristina shares valuable insights on the work that is happening to make our community Florida’s capital for business.

For more information on the Office of Economic Development and important local business resources please visit www.oevforbusiness.com.