'The Atlanta Fed Is Truly Present in Our Communities': A Conversation about Collecting Economic Intelligence

11/21/2024

Tom Heintjes: Hello, and welcome back to another episode of theEconomy Matters podcast. I'm Tom Heintjes, managing editor of the Atlanta Fed'sEconomy Matters magazine, and today we're sitting down with Michelle Dennard, vice president and regional executive at the Atlanta Fed's Jacksonville Branch. As a regional executive, Michelle plays an integral role in our Regional Economic Information Network-or REIN, as we call it. Michelle joined the Atlanta Fed only last year, but she's wasted no time in settling into her new position. Before joining the Atlanta Fed, she spent many years in workforce and economic development in Florida. She's also served as the director of the Division of Strategic Business Development at the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, which is now Florida Commerce , and she was deputy director for the Florida Office of Tourism, Trade and Economic Development. I wanted to get her on the podcast to talk about how the Atlanta Fed gathers economic information, and how she sees her role-and that of the Jacksonville branch-in the monetary policymaking process. So, with no further ado-Michelle, thanks for being with us today. It's good to meet you.

Michelle Dennard: I'm so happy to be here.

The Atlanta Fed's Michelle Dennard. Photo by Stephen Nowland

Heintjes: Michelle, first of all, I wanted to ask you how the opportunity of regional executive came to your attention. What attracted you to the Atlanta Fed?

Dennard: Well, I was lucky enough to get to work with the Atlanta Fed in some of my previous roles. I got to learn more about some of the Advancing Careers work, and work with some of our esteemed experts that I now get to call colleagues. And what struck me about that experience was how the Atlanta Fed is truly present in our communities, but often working behind the scenes toward an economy that works for everyone.

Heintjes: With you following in the footsteps of Chris Oakley, who was the RE at the Jacksonville Branch for many years-and I know his tenure overlapped with yours-what was that onboarding process like for you?

Dennard: I think I'm really lucky to have been able to learn from the best. I don't think I could try to fill Chris's shoes, but I'm grateful for his leadership-and definitely for his work in establishing a way for business and community leaders throughout the Sixth District to have input into the monetary policy process. It was really fun to get to overlap with Chris, and it was really wonderful to see how his business contacts really appreciated him-of course, as a representative of the Atlanta Fed, but also as a friend. And it gave me a great sense of the gravity of responsibility, to first make people comfortable sharing business intelligence with us, and second, also being the face of the Fed: living and being active in our communities. And I'll say that the whole REIN team was instrumental in my first few weeks and months with the Fed. Adrienne Slack, the coordinating regional executive, continues to be such a great resource for me and reminds me that there are no outlandish questions, and that it takes time to develop the kind of expertise that already exists in the REIN team. So, I can't say enough about how she and the other regional executives have been helpful to me in my first year and supporting me as I find my footing.

Heintjes: Well, the Atlanta Fed is a complex organization, shall we say, so anything that flattens the learning curve is a good thing. Michelle, Florida has two branches, and I know the North Florida economy differs significantly from the South Florida one, where the Miami Branch has its role. What would you say is the footprint of the Jacksonville Branch, as far as gathering economic intelligence?

Dennard: The diversity of Florida is something that I love most about it. I'm a fifth-generation Floridian, from the Panhandle of Florida. I've also had the chance to travel to all 67 counties, and the people and the businesses are all so proud of their communities-as they should be. And so, the area I get to work out of, out of the Jacksonville Branch, covers from around Tallahassee through the Big Bend area, and down to about Sarasota, and across to Florida's Space Coast. So even if you think about the economy of that area, it's really a diverse cross-section of communities and businesses. It includes the financial sector in Jacksonville, the robust tourism communities in central Florida, we have deepwater ports on both sides of Florida, and even farmland. And I think it's important to point out that, of the counties that I get to work in, most of them are rural communities. And that's something else that's pretty close to my heart, having grown up in rural Florida.

Heintjes: Well, as a native Floridian, and as a well-traveled Floridian, I know you came into your role already very familiar with Florida's economy. But even so, did you learn aspects of it that were new to you?

Dennard: I learn new things about Florida's economy every day, and the wonderful thing about that is that I'm learning it directly from those who make up our economy. I get information directly from those who build businesses, who create jobs, who have families, and care about their impact on our economy and their outlook, how they're experiencing the economy, changes every day.

Heintjes: Well, the Fed is an organization that strives to be transparent, but despite that, people often have misconceptions about us and our role in the economy. I want to ask you if your employment here at the Fed helped to dispel any misconceptions that you yourself had-and if so, can I ask you what they were?

Dennard: Well, in my own experience, from the outside before joining this really fantastic team, the Fed was kind of this impenetrable organization making these really big, important decisions that impact our lives every day. And prior to joining the Fed, I would read the public statements, take advantage of the research done by these really expert economists-but I didn't have the chance to make a real human connection with the organization. So, joining the team here, I expected to encounter a much more formal-perhaps insulated-environment, and while the people here take the responsibility of their roles very seriously, it's also a very warm and welcoming, supportive environment where people care deeply about the work that we do.

Heintjes: Michelle, you are overseeing quite a complex information-gathering network. Could you briefly describe it? How do you manage it-or maybe keep it from managing you?

Dennard: I am so lucky to have joined a team in Jacksonville that has such deep connections with the business communities in our area. I'm also really lucky to have amazing professionals working with me in the Jacksonville branch. Sarah Arteaga has helped me prepare for meetings. She helps me talk through what we learn from our network, and has really been instrumental in my first year in this role. And I think she would agree with me that Christine Viets is the true backbone of how we manage this complex, information-gathering network. She knows all of our contacts, she knows their executive assistants, she knows their professional history. She can remember instantly the last time we talked with them-and the fun part about that is they enjoy connecting with her, too. And so, both of them-Sarah and Chris-are founding REIN team members, helping to establish this program. They both have really important historical perspectives, but they also keep an eye towards how we can continuously improve, by new approaches to new contacts. I'm really grateful to both of them, who really make all this work.

Heintjes: Yes, it's nice to give a shout out to them, too. Can you talk about why you gather all this economic information? In your view, what role does the information play in what the Atlanta Fed does?

Dennard: In many ways, how the REIN program has grown since it started, really speaks to the "why" question. And of course, we're focused on gathering business intelligence, gathering information about what's happening in our communities, with businesses, with nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, to form a view of the economy that ultimately helps us inform our president, Raphael Bostic, and his decisions around monetary policy. And I think what makes it distinct is that it provides that real-time and real-life perspective of why businesses make certain decisions. I think prioritizing direct business intelligence sets the Atlanta Fed apart, and what I've learned since taking on this role is that there's also the opportunity to be a face of the Fed, on the ground in our communities. It's important to be able to share our president's messages, to better explain our processes-and mostly, to let people know that their experiences in the economy matter to the Atlanta Fed, and how decisions are made.

Heintjes: Well, as we now know, you receive a great deal of information about your area's economy. I wonder if there must be times when what you hear anecdotally doesn't align with what the data or economic models tell us? You know, data looks backwards, there are gaps and weak signals-all these situations. What do you do in those cases where there's daylight between what you're hearing, and what the data tells us-and how do you settle on what your own outlook is-and, as you mentioned, what the outlook that you bring to Raphael is?

Dennard: That's a really fun question, because those are some of the most interesting discussions that we have. And yes, it happens frequently-which I think also speaks to the unique perspectives of REIN. Sometimes things will be different based on location or industry sector, and it's important that each of those distinctions are recognized. But there are also times where there may be a few outlying perspectives to major trends that maybe deserve a little more attention and conversation. It leads us to asking why, and it encourages us to listen to those differences and how they shape conversations with our network. And sometimes outliers can be specific to a particular business or person, but it's important that we keep our senses tuned to the possibility that we might hear it from others, and maybe a new trend is emerging.

Heintjes: Michelle, the Sixth District-the Southeast-is a very diverse region in many ways, including economically. What makes your own region unique? What could we observe about the Jacksonville area that we couldn't necessarily see in, say, Nashville or Birmingham?

Dennard: Yes. So, we talked a little bit about how diverse Florida is, and Jacksonville and the area surrounding it is certainly no exception. Florida is welcoming hundreds of new Floridians a day, and they're bringing their expertise, their businesses and their families to Florida, so we're adding to that diverse makeup, for sure. I would also point out that our region is unique in the diversity of communities. Tallahassee is very different from Tampa, and I think being in tune to how each of those communities is diverse and letting it influence our conversations really leads to us gathering some interesting perspectives.

Heintjes: How do you decide what to ask your contacts about? I know they're all very busy people, so you can't ask them a zillion questions-yet I know there's so much you want to find out from them. How do you focus your conversations with them and settle on what you're going to discuss?

Dennard: Well, nearly every conversation I have is different. And while we try to always focus on some basic elements of their business operations, like demand conditions or pricing, labor market conditions-we also ask questions that may be specific to their business or industry. If you think about the special nature of maybe a port, or a retail business: those are very different kinds of questions we would ask. We're also guided by the continuous process of what we learn from trends or emerging signals that we may be on the lookout for. It's another opportunity to hear and react, in real time, to what's happening in the economy.

Heintjes: I know that no two days in your job are exactly alike, but would it be possible for you to describe a "typical" day in your work for REIN-or does such a thing exist?

Dennard: Well, that's one of the things I like most about this position, is that every day is a little bit different-but really, without fail, each morning starts with a review of news headlines for the day. As you can imagine, our network of contacts is really in tune with what's happening in the economy, so it's important to also think about what may be on their minds. And then I meet with contacts in a variety of ways: sometimes they'll come in and join me at the Jacksonville Branch, or over a videoconference. But you know, my favorite days are the ones where I'm visiting a business or an organization at their location, in their community. It lets me have the opportunity to build relationships with that business, get a real sense of their operations from day to day-and I think it makes them feel more comfortable sharing with me, so I like to spend some time talking about the nature of their work. And then when the discussion concludes, I work to summarize that meeting as soon as possible so that I can capture what I heard, kind of the nature and the sense of that meeting. Also in any given day, there are opportunities to work with team members across the Sixth District, so I'm really grateful for the culture at the Atlanta Fed that's really collaborative, and I love having the opportunities to work on special projects or initiatives that give me time to learn from our other Sixth District colleagues.

Heintjes: We've talked a lot about all of your contacts, and I wonder how you balance the type of contacts you have. I know you want representation from different types of businesses, and sizes of businesses, and so on. How do you strike that composition?

Dennard: Oh, you're right on target-we absolutely think about how to capture diversity in both industry and geographic makeup in any given cycle. We want to hear from small businesses, from large businesses-and there may even be some seasonal influences: Think about a pickup of retail activity, perhaps after the holiday season. Very practically, however, is that some of that depends on scheduling. Our contacts are high-level professionals who all have really busy schedules, so sometimes we work within how we can reach someone, and how we can hear from them.

Heintjes: Michelle, can you describe the challenges you face in forming all of these relationships? Since they rely on trust and confidentiality, how do you recruit people to be REIN contacts, and really get them to be candid with you?

Dennard: As a fairly new regional executive, any way I can. [laughter]

Heintjes: That's the short answer, but you can give me a slightly longer answer?

Dennard: The best way I've found is through referral. We really appreciate it when a branch board director, or advisory council member, or long-standing contact can make an introduction for us, and that helps provide some trust. It builds instant credibility, and if a contact can speak to the value of the relationship, that works both ways-that's a great scenario. Also, any time I get to visit with a community or industry group, either through participation or maybe giving them a speech, there's an opportunity to connect with people there. And while we share our work outwardly, our goal is to let the business communities in our areas know that we're there to listen, and that their voice and their impact matters.

Heintjes: As you do this work, what are some things that have surprised you along the way?

Dennard: Well, while not maybe necessarily a surprise, but something that continues to impress me is how our network of contacts continues to grow. Businesses across the Sixth District are engaged. They're happy to hear that their perspectives are important to us, and they want to contribute. And I think that speaks to the importance of our work and the spirit of continuous improvement that we approach it with.

Heintjes: Michelle, as we get to the end of the episode, I'm going to give you an opportunity for some civic boosterism, shall we say. What is the thing that you love or value the most about your city?

Dennard: That's a great question-and, well, I'm a new resident to Northeast Florida. I'm not new to Florida, so Florida certainly has a big piece of my heart. But in Northeast Florida, there's beaches, there's vibrant culture-but most of all, nice people. I really feel lucky to have been able to join the community there.

Heintjes: That's great. Well, Michelle, this has been a really enjoyable conversation, and I appreciate your taking the time to sit down with me today.

Dennard: Thank you. I've enjoyed it very much.

Heintjes: And that brings us to the end of another episode of theEconomy Matters podcast. Again, I'm Tom Heintjes, managing editor of the Atlanta Fed'sEconomy Matters magazine, and as always-I appreciate you spending some time with us. On the Atlanta Fed's website at atlantafed.org, you'll be able to read about the regional economy we've been discussing today, and you can learn more about the REIN team's efforts to further our understanding of the complex tapestry that is the southeastern economy. I also encourage you to follow us on social media as well, so you can get updates on new information. Thanks again for listening, and let's meet again next month.

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