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Housing Affordability Tops Metro Atlanta Concerns

November 18, 2025 by John Ray

North Fulton Studio

Housing Affordability Tops Metro Atlanta Concerns

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Housing Affordability Tops Metro Atlanta Concerns: Inside the Metro Atlanta Speaks 2025 Survey (North Fulton Voices, Episode 15)

For the first time since the Metro Atlanta Speaks survey began in 2013, housing affordability has emerged as the region’s top concern, edging out longtime leaders like traffic, crime, and the overall economy. In this edition of North Fulton Voices, hosts Jack Murphy and Kathy Swahn have a conversation with Ann Carpenter, Chief Research and Innovation Officer at the Atlanta Regional Commission, and Bill Huang, ARC data scientist and lead analyst for Metro Atlanta Speaks 2025.

Ann and Bill walk through how the survey is conducted across 11 Metro Atlanta counties, what has changed in this year’s results, and why residents are feeling the squeeze. They discuss numbers that catch your attention: more than 4,100 respondents, a sharp rise in pessimism about the next three to four years, and a striking share of renters who say they simply cannot afford to move within their own neighborhoods. They also highlight where the public sees causes and solutions, from zoning and investors to infill development and transit investment.

The conversation then shifts to North Fulton. Kathy and Jack connect the data to the on-the-ground reality of trying to obtain a home under four hundred thousand dollars or a rental under twenty-five hundred a month on a one hundred thousand dollar household income. They offer a concrete call to action for listeners: pay attention to comprehensive planning in cities like Alpharetta and Roswell, and use this data as a starting point for informed, practical conversations about housing affordability and missing middle housing.

To access the complete 2025 Metro Atlanta Speaks survey, follow this link.

North Fulton Voices is presented by the North Fulton Improvement Network. The show series is proudly sponsored by John Ray Co. and North Fulton Business Radio, LLC.

Key Takeaways from This Episode

Housing affordability is now the top concern in the Metro Atlanta Speaks 2025 survey, ahead of traffic, crime, and the broader economy.
Renters are feeling the strain most acutely, although homeowners also report rising pressure on housing affordability as well.
The ARC team prefers “housing affordability” rather than “affordable housing,” since the challenge spans a wide range of incomes and situations, not just subsidized units.
Residents express openness to solutions such as infill development, housing near job centers, and better transit options.
Vocal opposition to new housing often sounds louder than it is, and the broader public may be more supportive of change than public meetings suggest.
For North Fulton, the data helps frame the difficulty of finding attainable homes and rentals for the workforce that powers the local economy.
Local comprehensive planning is a key lever for shaping future housing options, and residents have an opportunity to bring real data into those discussions.

Topics Discussed in this Episode

00:00 Introduction to North Fulton Voices
00:35 Overview of the Metro Atlanta Speaks 2025 Survey
02:06 Key Findings from the Survey
04:00 Introducing the Guests: Ann Carpenter and Bill Huang
05:34 Deep Dive into Survey Methodology
07:12 Housing Affordability: A Growing Concern
12:05 Public Perception and Policy Implications
15:00 Traffic, Transportation, and Regional Growth
17:14 Future Directions and Community Engagement
33:39 Conclusion and Call to Action

Atlanta Regional Commission

The Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) is the official planning agency for the 11-county Atlanta Region, including Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, and Rockdale counties, as well as the City of Atlanta and 74 other cities. The Atlanta Regional Commission’s mission is to foster thriving communities for all within the Atlanta region through collaborative, data-informed planning and investments.

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Ann Carpenter

Ann Carpenter is the Chief Research and Innovation Officer at the Atlanta Regional Commission. She leads the team responsible for producing data, analysis, and applied research to inform long-range planning for the eleven-county Metro Atlanta region. Ann has a strong background in housing and community development research and focuses on connecting high-quality data to real-world decisions related to transportation, housing, and regional growth. Before joining ARC, she worked at the Federal Reserve Bank as Assistant Vice President and Director of Community Development Research, where she addressed issues like affordable housing and community resilience. Ann has also worked closely with ARC during the COVID-19 pandemic and serves on regional advisory boards. She graduated from Georgia Tech and is deeply committed to enhancing the Atlanta region through data-driven planning and innovation.

Bill Huang

Bill Huang is an urban data scientist at the Atlanta Regional Commission and the principal analyst for the Metro Atlanta Speaks survey. He designs and maintains data tools and analytical models that give practical advice to local governments and community leaders, helping them understand public sentiment, quality-of-life trends, and regional challenges like transportation, economic issues, artificial intelligence, and climate shifts. Holding a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and a Master of Science in Urban Analytics from Georgia Institute of Technology, Bill combines technical expertise with a multidisciplinary, people-centered approach to urban planning. He is also active in mentoring emerging urban planners, encouraging curiosity and strategic thinking in their work.

North Fulton Improvement Network

The North Fulton Improvement Network (NFIN) is a think tank made up of community leaders from a variety of sectors, focused on missing middle housing and the livability challenges confronting North Fulton. We come from the six cities making up the northern half of Fulton County, Georgia—Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Milton, Mountain Park, Roswell, and Sandy Springs—and are working to address the widespread yet little-known financial vulnerability across the region. With stakeholders from sectors including business, nonprofit, faith, government, and citizens, we center our work on five areas of impact, seek to educate the public about these issues, build a network of individuals and organizations with innovative private and public solutions, and connect resources to those in need.

The leadership team of NFIN is Jack Murphy, Nancy Diamond, and Kathy Swahn.

Jack Murphy

Jack Murphy is a volunteer with The Society of St. Vincent de Paul and is Chair of the North Fulton Improvement Network. He is also in his 21st year of working for the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce.

Prior to the Chamber, Jack worked for and with Fortune 500 companies in operations, human resources, training, and quality areas. Jack was a senior adjunct professor for Quality & Operations Management at Keller Graduate School for 14 years.

He has served on both the National and Georgia Boards of The Society of St. Vincent de Paul, responsible for Diversity, Advocacy, & Systemic Change. Jack is currently the national SVDP chair of Systemic Change and Advocacy.

Jack received a BA in psychology from Belmont Abbey College and a M.Ed. from UNC-Greensboro. Jack and his wife, Nancy, a retired elementary school principal, have two grown daughters and two grandchildren. They live in Alpharetta, Georgia.

Kathy Swahn

Kathy has resided in the North Fulton area for almost 45 years. She has watched the community evolve from what was “unincorporated Fulton County” to a six-city bustling suburban community. Her history has been characterized by a focus on children: she was a stay-at-home mother who raised two daughters, she spent years in leadership roles in school PTAs and Girl Scouts, the National Charity League, the North Fulton Council of PTAs, and she served as chair of the Superintendent’s Advisory Council.

Kathy transitioned back to work by jumping into the non-profit world. She joined the team at North Fulton Community Charities, running their Holiday Program, becoming Development Director and successfully managing the $3 million capital campaign for their Elkins Road location. Along the way, she also served on the DFACS Board and chaired the board of the Fulton County Continuum of Care for four years.

After having the opportunity to join in the Greater North Fulton Chamber of Commerce Leadership Program, Kathy was surrounded with a dynamic group of folks who worked to create The Drake House. Since 2004, she served as board chair for the first four years, executive director for nine years, and is now retired. Over those years, The Drake House served over 500 single mothers with over 1,000 children and grew the assets of the organization to over $4 million.

Kathy continues to serve The Drake House on the Advocacy Committee, along with her work for NFIN.

She spends much of her time traveling to the DC area, where her children and grandchildren reside.

Sponsor for North Fulton Voices: John Ray and North Fulton Business Radio, LLC

The North Fulton Voices show series is proudly sponsored by John Ray Co. and the North Fulton affiliate of Business RadioX®.

John Ray is a podcast show host and producer and owns North Fulton Business Radio, LLC, the North Fulton (Georgia) affiliate of Business RadioX®.

John also operates his own business advisory practice, Ray Business Advisors. John’s services include advising solopreneurs and small professional services firms on their value, their positioning and business development, and their pricing. His clients are professionals who are selling their expertise, such as consultants, coaches, attorneys, CPAs, accountants and bookkeepers, marketing professionals, and other professional services practitioners.

John is the author of the #1 nationally best-selling book, The Generosity Mindset: A Journey to Business Success by Raising Your Confidence, Value, and Prices.

John is the host of North Fulton Business Radio and The Price and Value Journey. North Fulton Business Radio, the longest-running podcast in the North Fulton region of Georgia, features a wide range of business and community leaders. The Price and Value Journey is devoted to solo and small-firm professional services providers and covers issues such as pricing, value, and business development.

Edward Lindsey, Dentons

September 22, 2022 by John Ray

Business Beat

Edward Lindsey, Dentons

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Frazier & Deeter’s Business Beat: Edward Lindsey, Dentons

Edward Lindsey, head of the Georgia State Government Affairs team at Dentons, joined host Roger Lusby on “Business Beat,” and discussed the impact key issues like transportation, education, and healthcare have on Georgia’s status as the best state for doing business. Ed also talked about his role on the state election board, and the importance of making sure that people have confidence in the outcome of elections. Ed also offered advice to businesses on how to approach government officials about their issues, emphasizing the importance of understanding the other side’s perspective. If you want to get things done in politics, he said, today’s opponents may be tomorrow’s allies.

Business Beat is presented by Alpharetta CPA firm Frazier & Deeter and is produced by the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX®

Dentons

Dentons is the world’s largest law firm, delivering quality and value to clients around the globe. Dentons is a leader on the Acritas Global Elite Brand Index, a BTI Client Service 30 Award winner and recognized by prominent business and legal publications for its innovations in client service, including founding Dentons Global Advisors. Dentons’ polycentric approach and world-class talent challenge the status quo to advance client interests in the communities in which we live and work.

Company website | LinkedIn

Edward Lindsey, Partner, Dentons

Edward Lindsey is a partner in Dentons’ Public Policy practice and serves as the head of the Firm’s Georgia State Government Affairs team. His focus is on advancing the public policy interests and objectives of clients in the transportation, infrastructure, health care and education sectors.

Edward has more than 38 years of legal, political, and leadership experience, including 10 years as a Georgia state representative and 3 terms as the House majority whip. He also served on the House Appropriations, Judiciary, Education, Ways and Means, and Rules Committees. In addition, he served as a member of the Uniform Law Commission and the Georgia Commission on Family Violence. James Magazine, a statewide political journal, recognized him as one of Georgia’s most influential legislators.

Immediately prior to joining Dentons in 2016, Edward was a partner and head of the litigation practice at Goodman McGuffey Lindsey & Johnson LLP, an Atlanta-based firm he co-founded in 1990.

Frazier & Deeter

The Alpharetta office of Frazier & Deeter is home to a thriving CPA tax practice, a growing advisory practice and an Employee Benefit Plan Services group. CPAs and advisors in the Frazier & Deeter Alpharetta office serve clients across North Georgia and around the country with services such as personal tax planning, estate planning, business tax planning, business tax compliance, state and local tax planning, financial statement reviews, financial statement audits, employee benefit plan audits, internal audit outsourcing, cyber security, data privacy, SOX and other regulatory compliance, mergers, and acquisitions and more. Alpharetta CPAs serve clients ranging from business owners and executives to large corporations.

Roger Lusby, host of Frazier & Deeter’s Business Beat, is an Alpharetta CPA and Alpharetta Office Managing Partner for Frazier & Deeter. He is also a member of the Tax Department in charge of coordinating tax and accounting services for our clientele. His responsibilities include a review of a variety of tax returns with an emphasis in the individual, estate, and corporate areas. Client assistance is also provided in the areas of financial planning, executive compensation and stock option planning, estate and succession planning, international planning (FBAR, SFOP), health care, real estate, manufacturing, technology, and service companies.

You can find Frazier & Deeter on social media:

LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter

An episode archive of Frazier & Deeter’s Business Beat can be found here.

Update on Georgia Legislative Session and Public Policy

April 5, 2021 by Mike

Gwinnett Studio

Update on Georgia Legislative Session and Public Policy

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Paul Oh/Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce

Paul Oh serves as the Manager of Public Policy & Community Affairs for the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce.

The mission of the Gwinnett Chamber is to strengthen existing businesses, facilitate the growth of quality job opportunities, and enrich the community’s quality of life. In addition, the Gwinnett Chamber is the forum for business, government, education, healthcare, arts/culture/entertainment, and philanthropic and public-service communities to come together to advance the region’s economy and enrich Gwinnett’s quality of life.

Dean Collins/Axis Companies

Dean Collins, the Founder & President of Axis Companies, serves as the Vice-Chair for Public Policy with the Gwinnett Chamber.

Axis Companies was founded in 2016 when Dean Collins recognized a significant need within the development industry. An innovator, Dean tapped into his more than 25 years of experience leading transportation and site development projects for large engineering consulting firms and formed Axis Companies to fill the need.

Simply put, Axis offers a unique blend of services in land development, design, project management and construction management services. This “Development Suite”, paired with significant industry experience, allows for these services to reside under one professional management team. Their Development Suite allows you the flexibility to choose either individual services to supplement in-house staff, or turnkey services to manage an entire project or program. Regardless of your selection, you will have confidence knowing that your project is being managed by industry experts.

Economic Forecast for 2020 and Beyond E2

June 2, 2020 by Karen

AZ TechCast

Economic Forecast for 2020 and Beyond E2

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Economic Forecast for 2020 and Beyond E2

At the start of 2020, most investors and economic analysts expected the 11-year bull market to continue. And then the spread of COVID-19 changed everything. As a result of the pandemic, the global economy is projected to contract sharply by 3% in 2020. In addition, there is a huge amount of uncertainty about the future of the outbreak and the economic impacts associated with it. While the epidemic’s economic impact is difficult to predict, the economic forecast says we are on track for a major downturn. The question is how bad and for how long.

Economic experts Jim Rounds, George Hammond, Dennis Hoffman and Steve Zylstra join the Arizona Technology Council’s May 29th podcast to share their assessment of the damage, needed measures for economic growth and the prospects of recovery in the coming months.

Featured guests covered:

Arizona’s economic recovery
Hard-hit industries that will take the most to recover
Expected growth rates for Arizona
How 2020 compares to the crash of 2008 and the Great Depression
How can IoT and renewable energy help kickstart an economic recovery
The innovation and opportunity a downturn can spur

While the epidemic’s economic impact is difficult to predict, we are on track for a major downturn. The question is how bad and for how long.

Rounds Consulting Group advises both public and private sector entities on matters of policy and economics. The firm specializes in economic development; data collection and analysis; fiscal planning including revenue forecasting and budget development; strategic planning and marketing; impact and market studies; litigation support, and keynote speaking, and more.

Jim Rounds is president of Rounds Consulting Group, a firm specializing in economic development and tax policy analysis; education research; transportation economics; fiscal planning including revenue forecasting and budget development; strategic planning and marketing; impact and market studies; and litigation support.

He regularly provides economic advice to policymakers at the State Capitol, mayors throughout the state as well as city council members, county board members, and other public and private sector leaders in the community.

Rounds a Senior Fellow at the Goldwater Institute and serves on many boards and foundations, including the Maricopa County IDA, the Helios Education Foundation, Achieve 60 AZ, the Rodel Foundation, the Arizona Board of Regents and various state universities, among others. He serves as the lead economist for multiple rural and urban area healthcare and hospital associations and is a member of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee’s Finance Advisory Committee. He has also served on scores of committees and task force efforts at both the state and local levels.

His recent areas of study include advanced workforce analysis; minimum wage impact analysis; State Trust Land finance; public employee pension reform; utility infrastructure investment; and state and local area tourism planning. Recently, Rounds has been supporting the concept of “growing from within,” which includes efforts to better understand small business development issues, and strategic investment in education and workforce training.

Rounds began his career as a Senior Economist and Senior Budget Analyst with the Arizona Joint Legislative Budget Committee and has been engaged in policy related economics for more than two decades. He has a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Science degree in Economics from Arizona State University.

Follow Rounds Consulting on LinkedIn, Facebook, and connect with Jim on Twitter.

Founded in 1913, the Eller College of Management at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Ariz. is one of the largest colleges at the University of Arizona, with over 5,400 undergraduate students and nearly 700 graduate students. Employing over 130 faculty members, the business school offers programs in accounting, economics, finance, marketing, management information systems, operations management, entrepreneurship and business administration.

Its interdisciplinary program in entrepreneurship is perennially ranked one of the world’s best. As the highest-ranking college at the University of Arizona, Eller also boasts the #1 Public Management Information Systems and ranked #7 Entrepreneurship programs nationally. The MIS program has been ranked in the Top 5 by U.S. News since the inception of the rankings, one of only three programs in the U.S. with such a distinction.

George W. Hammond directs the Economic and Business Research Center in the Eller College of Management. A specialist in econometric forecasting for more than two decades, Hammond has designed, built and used economic models to produce more than 100 forecasts for state and local economies, and completed more than 50 regional economic studies on topics including economic and workforce development, energy forecasting and the impact of higher education on human capital accumulation.

These forecasts and reports reach thousands of business leaders, policymakers and citizens each year through conferences, public presentations, publications, EBRC’s websites and social and traditional media. Hammond is a frequent contributor to local and national news services. His analysis and commentary have been featured on NBC Nightly News, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Bloomberg Businessweek and The New York Times.

In addition to directing EBRC and spearheading EBRC’s Forecasting Project, Hammond is also a research professor with academic research interests focusing on the determinants of local economic growth in the U.S., the impact of state and local policies on economic growth and the contribution of higher education to local workforce development.

Follow Eller College of Management on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

The L. William Seidman Research Institute serves as a link between the local, national and international business communities and W. P. Carey School of Business. It collects and disseminates information about local economies, benchmarks industry practices and identifies emerging business research issues.

Dennis L. Hoffman is a Professor of Economics at Arizona State University where he has published numerous academic articles and a book in the area of macroeconomics and econometrics. He has received both teaching and research awards from ASU. He received the Distinguished Faculty Research Award in 1992 and has held the title of Dean’s Council of 100 Distinguished Scholar since 1996. He served as a visiting research scholar at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis during the summer of 1996. In 1997, Dr. Hoffman was named the Arizona Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation.

In addition to his academic appointment, Dr. Hoffman has held several administrative appointments; Associate Dean for Graduate Programs, 1998-2004, Associate Dean for Research; 2004-2008, and Director of the Seidman Research Institute, 2004-present. Dr. Hoffman is also director of ASU’s Office of the University Economist, 2005-present.

In his role in the Seidman Institute – as University Economist, Dr. Hoffman is responsible for the production of policy white papers with regional, education, fiscal, and labor market emphasis. This work is supported directly by the Office of University President Michael Crow. In addition, Seidman serves as the applied contract research arm of the W. P. Carey School averaging approximately $800,000 per annum in external research contracts meeting the needs of government, community and business clients primarily in the southwest. This activity is summarized at https://seidmaninstitute.com/. Seidman is also responsible for responding to the majority of business/economic media inquiries received by the university and has considerable connections with both local and national media outlets.

Dr. Hoffman’s sponsored project efforts include the construction and maintenance of the tax revenue forecasting model used by the Executive Budget Office of the State of Arizona each year since 1982 – serving eight different Governors. Dr. Hoffman headed groups of economists who measured the economic impact of several fiscal initiatives for the State of Arizona in 1989 and in 1990. The 1989 study was commissioned by Governor Mofford as an input to fiscal initiatives that were contained in her State of the State speech in 1989. The 1990 study was requested by the Joint Select Committee on Fiscal Reform of the Arizona Legislature. In 1996 Dr. Hoffman was appointed to the Joint Select Committee on Economic Incentives of the Arizona Legislature. He also served as technical advisor for Governor Napolitano’s citizen’s fiscal reform committee (2004). At the Governor’s request, Dr. Hoffman served on the Board of the Arizona State Retirement System (ASRS) from 2012-2017. As Director of the Seidman Research Institute,

Dr. Hoffman has closely studied the regional economy in Arizona. His extensive experience with the state and local economy positions him for his current research interests that include defining and measuring the role of research universities in regional development, quantifying the value of education investments to the economic prosperity of a region, and measuring the impact of various fiscal initiatives on regional development. These current research interests align with Dr. Hoffman’s administrative assignment, Director of the Office of the University Economist, undertaken as a strategic university initiative at the direction of Arizona State University President Michael Crow. Dr. Hoffman is the faculty director of the Center for Competitiveness and Prosperity Research where he directs the Productivity and Prosperity Project.

Connect with Dennis on LinkedIn and follow Seidman on Twitter.

About the Show

AZ TechCast is dedicated to covering innovation and technology in Arizona and beyond.

Through the art of connected conversation, AZ TechCast’s guests will share their expertise, success stories, news and analysis about the region’s leading startups, companies and emerging technologies, as well as the latest industry trends and critical issues propelling the state’s growing technology ecosystem.

About Your Hosts

Steve Zylstra serves as president and CEO of the Arizona Technology Council, a role he assumed in 2007. He is responsible for strategy, operations, finance and policy development. Zylstra is a vocal spokesman for the value technology can provide in raising social and economic standards in Arizona.

Zylstra serves on numerous councils, committees and boards, was named “Leader of the Year, Technology,” by the Arizona Capitol Times, and “Most Admired Leader” by the Phoenix Business Journal. In addition, he was awarded an honorary doctorate of science in technology from the University of Advancing Technology in Tempe, Ariz.

Zylstra earned a bachelor’s degree in automotive engineering technology from Western Michigan University.

Karen Nowicki is a successful author, speaker and the creator of Deep Impact Leadership™ and SoulMarks Coaching™. She is a two-time recipient of the prestigious national Choice Award® for her book and personal development retreat. Karen was crowned the first-ever “Mompreneur of the Year” Award in 2010 for the southwestern states. She was recognized for her leadership, business acumen, and work-life balance.

Karen has been an expert guest on regional TV and radio shows, including Fox Phoenix Morning Show, Sonoran Living, Good Morning Arizona, The Chat Room, and Mid-Day Arizona. She has been a regular contributor to many print and online magazines – publishing articles and blogs for business and education.

In addition to working with private coaching clients, Karen is also the Owner & President of Phoenix Business RadioX. The Business RadioX Network amplifies the voice of business – serving the Fortune 500,000, not just the Fortune 500. Phoenix Business RadioX helps local businesses and professional associations get the word out about the important work they’re doing to serve their market, profession, and community.

Of all the experiences Karen has had the privilege of participating in over her vast career, she shares that Phoenix Business RadioX is a pinnacle adventure!

Connect with Karen on LinkedIn and follow Phoenix Business RadioX on Facebook and Instagram.

About Our Sponsor

The Arizona Technology Council, Arizona’s only statewide organization serving the technology sector, fosters a climate of innovation to enhance technology in Arizona.

A trusted resource in strengthening Arizona’s technology industry, the Council proactively eliminates impediments that companies face, accelerates the entrepreneurial mindset in the state’s expanding innovation ecosystem, and works to create a destination for companies to be, thrive and stay.

Follow Arizona Technology Council on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.

Arizona Technology Council with Steve Zylstra Bob Witwer David Lee and Eric Miller

June 12, 2019 by Karen

Arizona-Technology-Council-with-David-Lee-Eric-Miller-Steve-Zylstra-and-Bob-Witwer2

Phoenix Business Radio

Arizona Technology Council with Steve Zylstra Bob Witwer David Lee and Eric Miller

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Arizona Technology Council with Steve Zylstra Bob Witwer David Lee and Eric Miller

The Arizona Technology Council is the driving force behind making Arizona the fastest-growing technology hub in the nation by connecting and empowering the state’s technology community.

As Arizona’s premier trade association for science and technology companies, the Council is recognized as representing a diverse and professional business community. That has contributed to its growing into the largest technology council in North America. Its mission is to promote, advocate, educate, inform and connect members and their enterprises.

Listen in with Host Karen Nowicki and members of the Arizona Technology Council Steve Zylstra Bob Witwer David Lee and Eric Miller as they discuss the surge in innovation, growth and attraction of technology-based industries to Arizona and what that means for our economy.

Steven G. Zylstra, age 65, serves as president and CEO of the Arizona Technology Council, a role he assumed in December of 2007. He is responsible for strategy, development, and accomplishment of policy development business goals and objectives and all financial matters related to the Council.

Zylstra is a leading advocate for improving science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education. As a spokesman for the value technology can provide in raising social and economic standards in Arizona, he was named “Leader of the Year, Technology,” by the Arizona Capitol Times, a “Most Admired Leader” by the Phoenix Business Journal, and “Executive of the Year” by the Arizona Society of Association Executives (AzSAE).

Prior to serving as President of the Arizona Technology Council, Zylstra served as president and CEO of the Pittsburgh Technology Council, Catalyst Connection and the Pittsburgh Biomedical Development Corporation, an affiliated organization of the Pittsburgh Technology Council that invested in start-up biomedical and biotechnology companies.

Connect with Steven on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

Bob Witwer retired in 2017 after 40 years with Honeywell. He was the Vice President of Advanced Technology for Honeywell Aerospace for the last 8 years of his career, responsible for defining and implementing the technology strategy for Honeywell Aerospace’s entire product portfolio.

Bob has a passion for STEM and has engaged with hundreds of Arizona students over the last two decades to share that passion. He has also taught adult classes on leadership, innovation, human-centered design, and aircraft avionics.

Bob was Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Arizona Technology Council for 3 years, is the current Board Chairman of the Az Tech Council Foundation (aka SciTech Institute), and is on the Advisory Board for the Northern Arizona University School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems.

A pillar in the Arizona business community since 1986, MSS Business Transformation has guided organizations through foundational business and digital transformation in a quickly changing technology landscape, while helping them evolve their cultural identity. MSS leverages a holistic approach adapted to each unique organization to meet their strategic goals and objectives as we extend your business knowledge with our depth of expertise.

David Lee is a truly global executive who has helped build agile, responsive organizations at Fortune 500 and global enterprises, state & city government, and a Big 10 University among others. He has led transformation, facilitated innovation, and taught change management techniques across five continents and 60 countries.

David speaks and facilitates advanced programs on topics related to transformation and innovation including Responsive Change, Mature Innovation, Customer-Centric Strategy, and High Performance Team Development. He is a founding member of Responsive Org (Phoenix), and on advisory councils at Thunderbird, the School for Global Management at Arizona State University, Grand Canyon University, and Norther Arizona University.

Connect with David on LinkedIn.

PADT is an engineering product and services company that helps customers who develop physical products by providing Numerical Simulation, Product Development, and 3D Printing solutions. PADT’s worldwide reputation for technical excellence and experienced staff is based on its proven record of building long-term win-win partnerships.

The company was founded in 1994 in Tempe, Arizona by PADT Co-founders and Principals Eric Miller, Ward Rand and Rey Chu. The group started the company because they saw the promise of driving product development through the proper application of simulation and 3D printing tools early in the design process. Today, PADT is dedicated to providing a full spectrum of simulation services to its customers and is the only ANSYS engineering simulation software Elite Channel Partner covering the entire Southwest.

PADT inserts innovation into all that it does, whether that is helping NASA get to deep space, introducing the first 3D Printing factory in the Southwest, or helping the local technology community grow. The company was founded on the idea of being the premier provider of “making innovation work,” and it takes a true innovator to hold to that promise for 25 years.

With over 90 employees, 80 of whom are in Tempe, PADT services customers from its headquarters at the Arizona State University Research Park and from offices in California, Colorado, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Texas, and Utah.

As an industry veteran of 33 years, Eric Miller has perfected a diverse set of skills that he implements as co-founder and principal of Tempe-based PADT. His role encompasses oversight of simulation and product development consulting, IT, marketing, operations, human resources and administration.

Miller graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. He began his career as a summer intern at Lockheed doing design work on satellite subsystems. After college, Miller provided simulation and process improvement services to Garrett Turbine Engines in Phoenix (now Honeywell) for a total of eight years.

Miller is not only a successful businessman and engineer but also a mentor to start-ups and small businesses. He often speaks on the use of simulation to drive product development, as well as the effective application of 3D printing. Eric also serves on the board of directors at the Arizona Technology Council, the BioAccel Advisory Council, the screening committee of Arizona Technology Investors and is a mentor for the Arizona Commerce Authority’s Venture Ready program.

Miller writes a weekly column for the Phoenix Business Journal’s TechFlash section, and recently published his first book, “Better Blogging for your Business.”

Connect with Eric on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.