Arizona Economic Development Professionals Share Their Stories
In a November 2025 interview with AZ Big Media, three Arizona-based economic development professionals shared how their career pathway and life experiences led them to their current roles. One of the interviewees, Jennifer Lindley, is the current President of the Arizona Association for Economic Development, Downtown Development Manager for the Town of Queen Creek, and longtime friend of PDDG.
Jennifer shared how her early beginnings as an intern at Intel benefitted from a few great mentors that ultimately motivated her to pursue a job with the East Valley Partnership. That role exposed her to the economic development profession and served as a springboard for her career to include a role with Downtown Chandler before joining the team in Queen Creek, where she has served in her current capacity since 2018. Queen Creek offered Jennifer the incredible opportunity to essentially build the town’s downtown from scratch.
The two other professionals interviewed included Aric Bopp, Executive Director of Discovery Oasis, and Armando Esparza, Director of Economic Development and Government Affairs for the City of San Luis.
We have had the pleasure of working with Jennifer, the entire Queen Creek Economic Development Department, and the wonderful communications team representing all town departments, since 2019. As ongoing sponsors of the Arizona Association for Economic Development (also a PDDG client partner), we have further collaborated with Jennifer and many other amazing practitioners in Arizona’s economic development space.
Photo courtesy of the Town of Queen Creek.