Growing up in the small Florida Panhandle town of Sneads, Michelle Dennard didn’t worry about the region’s economy.
“I didn’t know where I lived was an area that didn’t have a lot of opportunities,” she said.
But after graduating with a law degree from Florida State University in 2004, she found herself drawn to economic development.
“I figured out pretty quickly that I was interested in public policy work, that I liked the idea of helping communities,” she said.
“I’m from a rural area in Northwest Florida that doesn’t get a lot of attention, so it means a lot to me to be able to find ways to provide opportunities in rural areas.”
After working for several state agencies promoting economic development, 44-year-old Dennard in July was appointed vice president and regional executive for the Jacksonville Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
The Jacksonville region covers North and Central Florida. Dennard’s main role is to keep her finger on the pulse of the region’s economy, providing input that Federal Reserve Board policymakers can use in managing the nation’s monetary policy.
“When this opportunity came up, it was a little bit nerve-wracking,” she said.
“Monetary policy is a big important issue and these conversations that are being had impact the world.”
“There was a part that thought I’m not ready for this, I’m not an economist. I’m a lawyer, which almost feels like the opposite sometimes,” she said.
However, Dennard realized her experiences working on economic development issues for Florida state agencies prepared her for the new role.
“What I knew was I had built relationships across the state, that I had listened to business leaders working to understand their needs,” she said.
“This was a wonderful opportunity for me to stretch some of those skills in a broader fashion.”
Dennard spent 16 years working with economic agencies, starting as legal counsel and deputy director of the Florida Office of Tourism, Trade, and Economic Development.
“They needed a lawyer to help on contracts,” she said.
She also served as the director for the Division of Strategic Business Development at the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity – now the Florida Department of Commerce – before joining CareerSource Florida, the state’s workforce policy and investment board.
Dennard was CEO of CareerSource for six years before coming to the Fed.
Her new role has Dennard continuing to do the kind of work she did at the other agencies, talking to business people to gather input on current economic conditions and make sure their concerns are addressed.
“This job allows me to do a lot of what I do best, which is listen to people in communities and also to elevate people’s voices. That’s something else I became passionate about through working in public policy,” she said.
“It’s important for communities to know they have a voice and that they’re being considered, especially when big important monetary policy decisions are being made.”
The policy decisions are made by the Federal Open Market Committee, which consists of the seven governors of the Federal Reserve Board and 12 presidents of Fed regional banks, including Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic.
Within the Atlanta Fed district, Dennard joins regional executives in Miami; New Orleans; Birmingham, Alabama; and Nashville, Tennessee.
“We work to form a full picture of our region’s economy so he (Bostic) can make an informed decision” on monetary policy.
The FOMC meets every six to eight weeks, so Dennard has to consistently update the information.
“My schedule is very much driven by those six to eight weeks,” she said.
The next FOMC meeting is April 30-May 1.
While that schedule keeps her moving through the region, Dennard said she enjoys living in Jacksonville, where she looks for opportunities to be outdoors with her husband, Jason, and 13-year-old son, Evan.
“One of the great things about this place is there is something new for us to explore every single weekend,” she said.
“I’ve always loved the beach and now I get to be close to it. I also love golf, so I feel like I’ve moved to a community that fits two things I love to do.”
Jacksonville is a much bigger place than Snead, but Dennard has found the city to be friendly and that people seem closely connected.
“It kind of feels like a small town in many ways.”
While she has a lot of contacts, Dennard is hoping other business people in the region will reach out to her and provide more input on what they’re seeing in the area. She can be reached by email at [email protected].
“This economy is so unique and so important that it is my goal to help to elevate the voices of the business community in this region,” she said.
“I can only do that if businesses want to engage with us.”