We kick off Season 1 of Policy Works with a conversation with a veteran in the field of regional economic development. Birgit Klohs has been a economic development agent for over 45 years. For nearly 30 of them, she was President and CEO of The Right Place, a regional development organisation in Greater Grand Rapids, West Michigan. Centrally located between Chicago and Detroit, Grand Rapids is Michigan’s second-largest city and a hub for research, innovation and a thriving regional economy.

In this wide ranging and detailed conversation, we speak to Birgit on what it takes to create a regional economic hub, including:

- the origins and evolution of The Right Place

- the Grand Rapids Medical Mile, which has become a hub for medical education, medical devices and other health services

- the goals and challenges facing an economic development agency

- how she thinks about eliminating systemic inequities in her role as an economic development agent

- the connection between workforce development and economic development, and more