Who we are
We're an economic development and strategic planning consultancy, enthusiastically helping places, organizations, and leaders be more competitive, more collaborative and more successful.
About Economic Leadership
Economic Leadership's ability to help our clients is enriched by the broad nature of our work and dedication to relationships and success. Our clients include state and local governments, public and private companies, academia, economic development organizations, non-profits and more.
Over the last ten years, our consultancy has provided strategic planning, analysis and counsel to hundreds of clients, bolstered by decades of experience in state and local economic development, real estate, planning, organizational management, public affairs and analytics. The convergence of this skill set has created an incredible resource for our clients to achieve success.
Meet Our Team
Ted Abernathy, CEcD
Founder and Managing Partner
Kendall Abernathy
Partner
Kat Saunders
Partner and Head of Strategy and Leadership
Greg Payne
Vice President
Skylar Elliot Casey
Director of Research and Chief Data Nerd
Carly Kirkman
Content and Data Specialist
Casey Steinbacher
Project Manager
Jean Davis
Project Manager
Testimonials
“Economic Leadership’s work on manufacturing competitiveness is unparalleled. We have partnered with the organization for six years to publish the ‘Virginia MFG Competitiveness Index’ and highly recommend their services.”
“We were very pleased that Economic Leadership and their team have, finally, given us direction for the years to come. The Economic Development Strategic Plan process and results were just what we needed.”
“Ted Abernathy and his team at Economic Leadership have done an exceptional job guiding our regional leaders through a visioning process with eye-opening data and realistic expectations to create an economic competitiveness plan that will help us better compete for jobs and talent in the future.”
“Ted is truly the ‘Swiss Army knife’ of economic development consultants. He has so many different talents it is hard to know where to begin. He is an awesome speaker. He is a great writer. He is a deep thinker and strategist. He is a superb problem solver. Best of all he is a pragmatist and knows how to get things done. I’ve worked with him in multiple settings, and he always delivers!”
“I have had the pleasure of working with Ted Abernathy and his team from Economic Leadership for well over a decade. The level of service and attention to detail consistently exceed the Johnston County Economic Development Office and Board’s expectations. Their work, time and time again, provides our organization with robust and thorough analyses that help us achieve optimal decisions.”
“Knowledge is power. Ted Abernathy’s ability to put current events and trends in perspective gives us the ability to strategically plan and react to the ever-changing business landscape. With Economic Leadership’s data driven consulting, we have been able to note economic trends and adapt to them.”
“We have worked with Ted Abernathy and the EL team for several years on a variety of issues, primarily workforce and economic growth policy. They have produced exceptional resources for us to help policymakers understand the causal relationships in AR’s economy. Our state is enjoying sustained growth, and the population is increasing at historical rates. We know our success at the State Chamber in this process has been greatly enhanced by the thought leadership of Ted and his colleagues.”
“North Carolina’s Southeast has worked with Economic Leadership several times on competitive positioning and workforce analysis for our 20-county region. Their work is always cutting-edge and provides a foundational focus and direction for our strategic planning and our marketing strategies. I truly think that Ted and his team are the best in the business.”
“Working with the Economic Leadership team is like working with family! They’re just the best! Our board and stakeholders love their expert presentations. They go above and beyond for us every time.”
