Lakeshore Advantage realignment links business growth with housing, workforce, and community needs

Economic development used to focus mostly on bringing new companies to an area and helping businesses grow.

Now, the work also includes addressing problems such as affordable housing shortages, access to child care, keeping workers in the area, and supporting healthy communities.

That change has led to a reorganization at Lakeshore Advantage. The regional economic development group recently created a new strategic growth department that connects business support with larger community issues such as housing, worker retention, and public-private partnerships.

Leaders at Lakeshore Advantage say they have heard the same message from employers across Allegan and Ottawa counties: Businesses cannot grow if workers and families do not have strong communities to live in.

“You can’t separate primary employer success from what’s happening around them,” says Mandy Cooper, the organization’s newly appointed senior vice president of strategic growth. “Our employers can only be as successful as our communities have the ability to support them.”

Recognizing other factors in growth

The new department combines Lakeshore Advantage’s business solutions team, which focuses on retaining, attracting, and growing employers, with strategic initiatives that address long-range economic challenges such as workforce housing and talent shortages.

Jennifer Owens, president of Lakeshore Advantage, says the move recognizes how interconnected economic development has become.

“This new structure reflects how business growth actually happens,” Owens says. “Companies need strong, responsive support today, but they also rely on a region that is planning ahead, whether that’s talent, housing, or infrastructure. By bringing these efforts together, we can be more intentional and more impactful.”

Cooper says Lakeshore Advantage has increasingly found itself working on both business growth and quality-of-life issues.

“There can be an impression that any growth is good growth,” Cooper says. “And that’s not the case from our perspective at all. It needs to be growth that’s aligned with what the community wants.”

She says conversations with local governments, employers, and nonprofit leaders have reinforced the idea that long-term economic growth depends on collaboration across sectors.

“No one single organization can solve all of these problems alone,” Cooper says. “It takes the unique collaborative environment we have here on the Lakeshore for the right partners to step in and do their part alongside and in alignment with everybody else.”

New staff responsibilities

Cooper joined Lakeshore Advantage seven years ago after working with the organization as a consultant. She initially led talent initiatives, partnering with employers and education leaders on workforce development.

That experience, she says, highlighted how connected many regional issues had become.

“If there’s not housing for their workers to live in, they are going to have a really hard time attracting and retaining workers,” Cooper says. “If they can’t attract and retain workers, they’re going to have a hard time staying here.”

Lakeshore Advantage often points to collaborative regional projects as examples of how those challenges can be addressed. Cooper highlighted the partnership between Gentex and ODC Network to expand child care access with support from employers, nonprofit organizations, and public funding.

“It’s such a great example of how the public sector, private sector, and nonprofit sectors all work together to solve these big, meaty issues,” Cooper says.

The restructuring also included promotions for two staff members.

Ryan Ferrier was promoted to director of business retention and attraction, overseeing efforts to support existing employers and attract new investment to the region. Ferrier has been with Lakeshore Advantage for the past two years, serving as a Business Solutions Manager, where he has worked closely with employers to support their growth opportunities.

“He has been an invaluable member of our team, recognized for his ability to deeply listen to employer needs and connect them with relevant, high-impact resources that truly equip companies to grow. In his new role, Ryan will continue to engage directly with employers while also leading the overall strategy for our business retention and attraction efforts here on the lakeshore,” Cooper says.

Lindsay Maunz was promoted to senior manager of strategic initiatives, leading projects and partnerships focused on long-term economic opportunities and challenges.

Founded in 2003, Lakeshore Advantage serves Allegan and Ottawa counties. Last year, the organization facilitated $243.9 million in private-sector investment, helped businesses secure $44.7 million in support funds, and assisted in creating or retaining more than 550 jobs.

“We sit in a really privileged and unique position to be able to connect those dots and pull the right partners together to make forward progress,” Cooper says.

She also believes the collaborative culture along the Lakeshore gives the region an advantage when addressing difficult economic challenges.

“I wouldn’t want to do economic development anywhere else,” Cooper says. “Because here, it’s a lot of fun because we have such collaborative partners.”