Kelly Halsted

Vice President of Economic Development

Kelly Halsted has over 25 years of global economic development experience on a state and local level. She has a wide range of experience by working in over 30 foreign countries on complex recruitment projects to local issues like, workforce development programs, infrastructure, site certification, retail, and housing. Economic development skills she brings to the table are, developing relationships, negotiating, collaborating and coalition building.

A few professional accomplishments that she has earned is Iowa’s Business Recruitment and Retention (BRE) Award for saving a high value industry and achieved the Site Selectors Magazine Top 100 Micropolitian for projects won over other communities.

Halsted graduated from Northwest Missouri State University with a degree in International Business. While working full time in Des Moines, she earned an Executive MBA from University of Nebraska of Omaha in August 2003. Throughout her professional career, she has taken all the International Economic Development Council’s training courses for the CEcD certification and has held presidency positions of the Mid Iowa Growth Partnership and Professional Developers of Iowa.

Personally, she has been an avid Chiefs fan since 1991 and a mom to three fur babies, Pippa, Jack and Alice. In her free time, she enjoys golfing, biking, watching sports and spending time with family and friends.

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