EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT TEAM

Sandra Watson是一名经济发展专家，在商业吸引和扩张方面拥有33年的领导经验, innovation, entrepreneurship, economic policy and workforce development. Since 2011, Ms. Watson has served as President & CEO of the Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA), a public-private partnership that leads statewide economic development. She and her teams have worked with more than 1,235 companies that have committed to creating more than 279,000 quality jobs and investing more than $148 billion in capital in the state.

Ms. Watson is a collaborative leader who excels in strategic thinking and relationship building. She worked tirelessly to implement the new vision for the ACA, 在其从商务部过渡为全国首批以经济发展为重点的公私合作伙伴关系之一的过程中，提供了宝贵的领导和稳定. Under her leadership, 她在ACA的两个五年计划中都取得了创纪录的成绩，目前正在超越该组织第三个雄心勃勃的五年商业计划的目标. From 2016-2023, Ms. Watson oversaw the Arizona Workforce Council and was the Director of the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity, a data-driven team focused on economic and labor market analysis.

During her tenure as an economic development professional, Ms. 沃森有幸为6位亚利桑那州州长服务，目前是州长凯蒂·霍布斯的内阁成员. In 2022, Ms. Watson was selected to advise the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Gina Raimaindo, as a member of the U.S. Investment Advisory Council (IAC). The 20-member council is charged with identifying strategies for increasing foreign direct investment. In addition to her role as a member of the council, Ms. Watson is the Co- Chair of the IAC’s Workforce Subcommittee, and is responsible for leading the committees’ strategic recommendations for strengthening domestic talent. She is also a founding member and Chair of the State Economic Development Executives (SEDE) Network board, a nationwide forum for top state economic development and commerce officials.

With a penchant for science and emerging technologies, Ms. Watson holds several leadership positions across organizations that advance innovation. She is the Chair of Science Foundation Arizona, 他是自动移动研究所董事会的创始合伙人，也是国家科学技术研究所董事会的成员. 

Ms. Watson began her career in Canada and earned an Honors Bachelor of Commerce degree from Laurentian University. 她还完成了亚利桑那州雷鸟全球管理学院的全球领导力认证课程. In addition to serving on numerous regional, statewide and national Boards of Directors and councils, Ms. Watson is passionate about her role as board member of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Arizona.

Ken Burns serves as the Chief Operating Officer of the Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA), where he oversees teams responsible for financial incentive program administration, accounting, information technology, human resources and overall operations.

Prior to ACA, Mr. Burns served in a similar capacity for the Greater Phoenix Economic Council for more than seven years, where he was active on Finance, Audit, Resource Development and other strategic planning committees. In his earlier years, Mr. Burns held leadership positions in diverse industries including manufacturing, telecommunications and the construction trades.

In addition to his economic development experience, Mr. Burns has served as an independent management consultant and with a regional CPA firm. His executive experience includes serving as Chief Operating Officer for two mid-sized law firms. He also served on the firms’ executive management committees.

他目前任职于Clearinghouse CDFI亚利桑那州顾问委员会、亚利桑那州工业发展局和亚利桑那州金融管理局董事会.

Mr. Burns earned Bachelor of Science degrees in Business Administration, Mathematics and Computer Science from Wayne State College in Nebraska and an MBA from Arizona State University. Mr. Burns has also completed University of Arizona’s Basic Economic Development Course and is a Certified Public Accountant, licensed in Arizona.

Brett Goeringer serves as Chief Financial Officer of the Arizona Commerce Authority, where he oversees teams responsible for accounts payable/receivable, procurement, accounting and grants administration.
Prior to ACA, Mr. Goeringer was Senior Director, Global Financial Operations at Arizona State University, 他在哪里领导财务和合规团队，并与整个大学的学术部门合作制定战略计划.
Mr. Goeringer began his career at KPMG and also worked at PWC. He has also spent time living and working in foreign locations while performing senior roles in the tax, internal audit and finance functions. His diverse experience includes time spent at two publicly traded companies and working in various industries, including manufacturing, software/SAAS, construction and natural resources.
Mr. Goeringer earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and a Master of Accounting from Brigham Young University. Mr. Goeringer is a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Internal Auditor.

Brian Sherman serves as the Chief Innovation Officer of the Arizona Commerce Authority. Mr. Sherman approaches economic development as a social entrepreneur, startup evangelist and bureaucracy hacker. He believes human-inspired, market-leveraged, data-driven entrepreneurship can create a better world. His work is focused on public sector strategy, technology-based economic development, entrepreneurship, early-stage capital formation and technology commercialization, as well as innovation in public policy, strategy and finance.

Mr. Sherman is a 20+ year public service veteran serving in executive positions at the Arizona Technology Council, Arizona State University, the Town of Gilbert, the State of Arizona and on the founding team of the Arizona Commerce Authority.

Mr. Sherman has a Bachelor’s degree in Geography/Geographic Information Systems and an MBA from the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.

Vic Narusis serves as the Executive Vice President of Business Attraction for the Arizona Commerce Authority. Mr. Narusis负责监督ACA的业务开发团队，该团队负责将业务带到亚利桑那州，并帮助已经在亚利桑那州的公司发展壮大. 他与当地社区合作伙伴(包括市政当局和公用事业公司)的关系使他能够为企业找到最佳机会和解决方案. Mr. Narusis also oversees the Film and Digital team and manages ACA’s Arizona Trade and Investment offices.  

Prior to joining the ACA, Mr. Narusis has spent over two decades in economic development for various organizations including the State of Illinois, the Delta Regional Authority, McHenry County Economic Development Corporation, and Woodstock Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Narusis also spent several years working in real estate development and commercial banking.

Mr. Narusis holds BS from Marquette University, an MBA from St. Louis University, and a Certificate in Public Administration from Clemson University.

Jena Coolidge McGovern serves at the SVP of Marketing & Communications at the Arizona Commerce Authority. She is responsible for leading and executing the ACA’s strategic marketing plan. Ms. 麦戈文和她的团队通过各种策略(包括付费和免费媒体)放大了亚利桑那州的独特价值主张. 她认为，营销成功的秘诀有三个关键因素:一支充满激情的专业团队, a culture that promotes creativity and leading-edge tech tools.

Previous to joining the ACA in November 2017, Ms. 麦戈文曾在凤凰城当地的广告公司担任数字策略师和文案撰稿人，在那里她积累了跨CPG的营销经验, B2B, health care and non-profit sectors. Ms. McGovern is also passionate about growing and supporting the state’s marketing community. From 2019-2021 served as President of the Arizona Innovation Marketing Association. She has held a position on the AZIMA board of directors for seven years and currently serves as the TIM Awards Co-Chair. Ms. 麦戈文是德克萨斯州立大学圣马科斯分校的校友，在那里她获得了新闻学专业的文学学士学位.

Keith Watkins serves as the Senior Vice President for Economic and Rural Development for the Arizona Commerce Authority.  In this capacity, Keith在向ACA和州长办公室就农村经济发展问题和机遇提供建议方面发挥着至关重要的作用.  Under his leadership, the ACA has played a direct role in creating and executing more than $6 million in new rural investment grant programs, assisting more than 60 businesses expand or locate in Arizona’s rural communities, creating more than 6,000 jobs, and generating $542M in private capital investment.

Mr. Watkins also serves as Vice Chairman of the Water Infrastructure Finance Authority (WIFA), 这是一个公共担保机构，与亚利桑那州社区和公共监管的水和废水公司合作开发, acquire and expand water-related projects.  With a bond portfolio of over $1 billion, WIFA serves as a vital financing arm for these core infrastructure needs.

Prior to his work at the Arizona Commerce Authority, Mr. Watkins was Vice President of JF Companies, a privately-held diversified real estate development and water resources firm with holdings in the Western United States.  Mr. 沃特金斯管理着价值近1亿美元的房地产投资组合，并负责房地产收购的谈判, entitlements, public affairs, marketing, and dispositions.

第三代亚利桑那人，毕业于亚利桑那大学，获得区域发展理学学士学位, Mr. Watkins has earned a national reputation for his work in economic development.  He has extensive public and private-public economic development experience, having served in executive positions in many organizations. 

Mr. Watkins spent nine successful years at the Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC), where he led the organization’s high performing business recruitment efforts, helping to land companies such as Vanguard, Charles Schwab, and Midwestern University.  Playing a direct role in the retention and recruitment of more than 200 firms, Mr. Watkins's leadership helped generate over 165,000 new private sector direct jobs and more than $2 billion in private capital investment.  He also served as a founder of the Economic Alliance of Greater Baltimore, 在那里，他被招募成立了一家新的公私合作伙伴关系，服务于巴尔的摩市和邻近的五个县. While there, Mr. Watkins developed and executed the first region-wide business retention and attraction enterprise, helping to recruit more than 24 new employers during his tenure and helping to retain an existing General Motors plant.  他还曾担任七叶树镇的经济发展总监，在那里他发起了机场总体规划，并积极推广该镇.

Mr. Watkins also serves on many boards and commissions, representing the Arizona Commerce Authority and State of Arizona, including:

• Water Infrastructure Finance Authority (WIFA), Vice Chairman
• Maricopa County Economic Development Council, Member – this group advises the Maricopa County Government on economic development issues and opportunities
• Rural Business Development Advisory Council, Board Member – this group advises the Arizona Commerce Authority on rural policy and issues
• Arizona Association for Economic Development (AAED), Board Member
• Commission of Indian Affairs, ex-officio Board Member
• Greater Prescott Regional Economic Partnership, ex-officio Board Member

As Senior Vice President for Infrastructure, Marisa Paula Walker focuses on the intersection of economic development, infrastructure and transportation innovation. Ms. Walker leads several initiatives on behalf of the ACA, 包括自动交通研究所(IAM):这是一个公私联盟，致力于为亚利桑那州和全国未来无处不在的自动交通制定安全标准、科学和政策.

IAM目前正在确定一种安全保证方法和具体的安全指标，以评估配备ads的车辆的性能. The IAM also includes an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) initiative, AZSkyTech, 促进了一个强大的战略合作生态系统，使亚利桑那州成为最有利的研究地点, testing and safety in deploying these aerial vehicles.

Ms. Walker began her professional career at the University of Arizona, where for more than a decade she held positions that advised the University’s Associate Vice President for Economic Development on Arizona-Mexico and NAFTA issues; analyzed border economic development opportunities and competitive advantages; and organized forums and symposiums on trilateral collaborations among academic institutions in Canada and Mexico in the areas of university research parks, agricultural biosciences and optical sciences-photonics. She has authored several reports on subjects including cross-border economic integration and development, targeted industry assessments of Arizona’s Bioscience and Software Industries, and women entrepreneurship and business ownership in the state.

Ms. Walker also served as the Executive Director for the Arizona Governor’s CANAMEX Task Force where she was responsible for managing projects and priorities regarding transportation and telecommunication infrastructure; technology and process enhancements for cross border shipments; and international trade policy.

Patrick believes in the power of compelling storytelling and is passionate about the art of simple, effective writing. At the ACA, he leads strategic public relations and external communications efforts, alongside the Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications, with responsibilities that include sharing Arizona’s story of economic diversification, technological innovation, and policy leadership with local, national, and international audiences.

Mr. Ptak joined the ACA in December 2020. Prior to that, he spent a decade doing communications and legislative work for elected officials and political campaigns, starting as an unpaid intern on Capitol Hill. He served in the press offices of U.S. Representatives Adam Kinzinger and Martha McSally in Washington, D.C. before moving to Phoenix in 2017 to serve on the team for Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, eventually joining the governor’s senior staff as Communications Director from 2018 to 2020.

Originally from Illinois, Mr. Ptak earned bachelor's degrees in English and Political Science from the University of Dayton (go Flyers!).

Shawn oversees several research teams at ACA that collect, 编码和分析就业数据，并提供定制的研究产品，以支持ACA的业务吸引和扩展工作, workforce development and marketing outreach. 她还指导亚利桑那州努力将机会区和机会基金在该州的积极影响最大化.

Previously, Ms. Neidorf worked in public opinion polling at the Pew Research Center in Washington, D.C., and as a newspaper and magazine journalist, most recently at The Mercury News in San Jose, California.

Ms. Neidorf has a doctorate in economic and organizational sociology from the University of Illinois at
Chicago, where she completed a concentration in survey methods. 她还拥有伊利诺伊大学厄巴纳-香槟分校社会学硕士学位和伊利诺伊大学新闻学学士学位.