E167 Jennifer Wakefield: How to Market an Entire City

Jennifer Wakefield, APR, is the President and Chief Executive Officer for the Greater Richmond Partnership (GRP). In her role, she is responsible for collaborating with public and private sector stakeholders to set and drive the organizational vision.She assumed her current role in February 2021 after joining the organization in 2017. During her time as President and CEO, she created a new strategic framework for the organization, doubled the size of the Board, added new investors and increased the private sector budget over 70 percent in the last 3 years. Prior to GRP, Jennifer served as the Vice President of Marketing and Communications for Orlando’s regional economic development organization for 11 years. She worked on numerous transformational projects including the Amway Center, Citrus Bowl, Lake Nona Medical City, SunRail, and the merger of two Orlando-area economic development groups.In her 20+ year career, she has garnered extensive experience in strategic planning, marketing and communications, operations and management and is a recognized thought leader in developing marketing strategies for economic development. Jennifer also has experience in the transportation, utility and financial services industries.