July 13, 2022

This paid piece is sponsored by Sioux Metro Growth Alliance.

A Sioux Falls native has returned home and now is the newest member of the economic development team supporting the Sioux Falls metro area.

Lisa Zens, an economic development specialist at Sioux Metro Growth Alliance, grew up in Sioux Falls and came back to the area with her husband and six kids a few years ago.

She most recently worked with farmers statewide in nontraditional crop input loans through Ag Resource Management. Before that, she served with the Governor’s Office of Economic Development as the value-added ag representative and with Grow Spink as the executive director of economic development in Spink County.

While living in Spink County, she was a part of the Aberdeen Chamber, a board member of the Redfield Chamber and vice president of the Redfield Area Development Corporation.

“I developed skills in community development, housing, workforce development, small-business recruitment and workforce housing and served as the planning and zoning administrator in Spink County,” Zens said.

“Economic development is a passion of mine, along with growing and helping our family farmers and rural communities be progressive in our growing South Dakota economy.”

We caught up with her to learn more about her new role helping grow communities around Sioux Falls.

What attracted you to your new role at Sioux Metro Growth Alliance?

Since moving to Sioux Falls, I was not in an economic development role and truly missed being a part of positive changes in South Dakota. I have been waiting for this opportunity to come along, and when it did, I was ready. I was especially excited this position was for the Harrisburg and Worthing communities. There is so much potential for growth in workforce, housing, industrial, business parks and more. I think this is more important now than ever to have plans in place so we can be ready to recruit businesses to the Sioux Metro area. I am looking forward to working with and serving Harrisburg, Worthing and Sioux Metro and community leaders.

You’ll first be focusing on supporting the communities of Harrisburg and Worthing. Those are very different communities, but what opportunities do you see for each to continue to evolve?

There are many different opportunities with both Worthing and Harrisburg with the growth happening in South Dakota. I will be supporting both communities with daily communications on economic development and helping these communities achieve their desired outlook. Together, we will look at the ordinances for planning and zoning, and create bylaws that will help with future growth and get community leaders involved. First, I am focusing on getting the infrastructure needs for both communities, so we, as economic development and communities, can have a better understanding and plan for growth. Other opportunities, once we understand infrastructure, we will be focused on grants to utilize to help these communities grow. Housing is always crucial but more than ever for South Dakota, business park plans, industrial park plans, workforce needs and creating a community where our children will stay in the state after their education. Building a community that attracts individuals is one way we can keep our kids here.

You just started your new role, but what are your first impressions of the metro area and its communities, and what have you been focused on so far?

My first impressions for both communities and the Sioux Metro Growth Alliance are involved communities and members, forward-thinkers in spots we can utilize their expertise for growth, excitement, willingness to work together and the need for better infrastructure.

What are some of your key priorities for the rest of the year and moving into 2023?

The priorities for the rest of 2022 will be getting involved with key stakeholders and getting a clear picture of what each community’s needs and wants are. Get infrastructure in place so we are ready to go when the ground thaws in the spring of 2023.

Are there some lessons or takeaways from your career so far that you think apply to communities in the Sioux Falls metro, which are in various stages of growth and development? Some things you’d like to particularly emphasize with them?

Some lessons I’ve learned along the way include building relationship with all aspects of the community. By doing this together, we can work on the specific needs of each community and prioritize.

If the metro communities would like to reach you, how can they connect?

You can email me at [email protected].