How Oklahoma City Turned Voter Investment Into Real Growth with Christy Gillenwater

In this episode of the Econ Dev Show, Dane Carlson talks with Christy Gillenwater, President and CEO of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber, about how Oklahoma City has built sustained economic momentum through its unique MAPS program, a voter-approved, pay-as-you-go funding model for transformational community investments.

Christy explains how decades of strategic spending on quality of place, infrastructure, and people have reshaped the city’s trajectory, enabled major wins like hosting Olympic events, and strengthened key industries such as aerospace, energy, and life sciences.

The conversation also explores the power of business leadership engagement, the growing role of data and AI in economic development, and practical advice for communities looking to unlock their own growth.

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10 Actionable Takeaways for Economic Developers

1. Bundle major projects into a single, clear vision and take it to voters as one package.
2. Avoid debt when possible and tie project execution directly to collected revenue.
3. Invest consistently in quality of place, not just incentives or recruitment.
4. Engage top CEOs as active partners, not just passive supporters.
5. Build long-term strategies that evolve with community needs over decades.
6. Use data continuously to reassess competitive positioning and refine strategy.
7. Align economic development, tourism, and community development under one structure when possible.
8. Focus on expanding existing industries and assets, not just chasing new ones.
9. Leverage anchor institutions to guide sector strategy and investment.
10. Treat community engagement as part of both planning and execution, not just a checkbox.

• Christy Gillenwater | LinkedIn
• Christy Gillenwater (@CAGillenwater) / X
• Greater Oklahoma City Chamber
• Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...and Others Don't Hardcover by Jim Collins — Christy's favorite book: His focus on "Level 5" leaders... prioritizing the organization - in our case also our community's - success over personal gain. Prioritizing getting the right people on the bus then in the right seats on the bus. The Hedgehog concept - applies for organizations and for communities.