MPC 2024: What does ‘Bridging The Future Together’ really look like for Michigan?
WDET’s Nick Austin spoke with the MEDC’s Chief Growth & Marketing Officer Hilary Doe to get her perspective on what our state should do to create a better future for Michigan.
Michigan Economic Development Corporation’s Chief Growth & Marketing Officer Hilary Doe speaks with WDET's Nick Austin on "The Metro," live from the Grand Hotel at the 2024 Mackinac Policy Conference.
The theme for this year’s Mackinac Policy Conference is “Bridging The Future Together,”…but what does that look like?
On Wednesday’s special episode of The Metro, broadcasted live from the Grand Hotel, WDET’s Nick Austin spoke with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation’s Chief Growth & Marketing Officer Hilary Doe to get her perspective on what our state should do to create a better future for Michigan.
Subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.
One of the big areas of focus at last year’s conference was Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s announcement of the Growing Michigan Together Council, a group tasked with helping address our state struggles with population and economic growth.
Doe says a critical part of the MEDC’s strategy to grow Michigan’s population is investing in entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystems that will be critical to Michigan’s future growth.
“Michigan was one of 34% of states that have been seeing population stagnation or decline,” Doe said. “So we are not alone in the challenge. But we were the first state in the nation to say, ‘hey, we’re going to take it on.'”
Doe says engaging with Michigan residents at more than 80 public events helped the MEDC hone in on the best strategies for encouraging population growth in the state.
“We learned an incredible amount, and what rose to the top, or that we need to really look at [is] Michigan’s median income,” she said. “Our faster growing peer states, and higher and faster growing median incomes; we really need to look at our post secondary attainment and credentialing in Michigan. And we need to look at our placemaking.”
Use the media player above to hear the full interview with Doe.
Other headlines from The Metro’s special Mackinac Policy Conference coverage on May 29, 2024:
- State Sen. Jeremy Moss (D-Southfield), president pro tempore of the Michigan Senate, joined the show to talk about what he hopes to accomplish at the Mackinac Policy Conference this year.
- MichMash’s Cheyna Roth spoke with Automotive News reporter Jake Neher, to provide some perspective on this year’s conference.
- Michigan League for Public Policy’s President and CEO Monique Stanton joined the show to share some of the important work the nonprofit is doing to improve policy in the state.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 11 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.
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