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Jim Devine    President and CEO Jim Devine joined LSEDC in 1999. With over 30 years of experience as a consultant or chief executive, Jim has worked for cities, counties, states, chambers of commerce, management consulting and real estate firms in 22 states in the U.S.A. He has managed multimillion dollar marketing and public relations campaigns in the United States and Europe; industrial parks; labor force studies; foreign trade zones; enterprise zones; downtown and redevelopment programs, and strategic plans for communities throughout the west. He served as the chairman of Washington, DC based International Economic Development Council (IEDC), representing over 4,000 economic development professionals. Jim is a Ford Foundation Scholar, holds a Masters in Public Administration from Syracuse University and a BA cum laude from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. He is a graduate of the Japan Business Institute, Tokyo, Japan; the Economic Development Institute, Norman Oklahoma; and the Institute for Participatory Management and Planning, Monterey, California. Jim’s wife Elayne, graduated from Lee’s Summit High School, is an ordained Unity minister and clinical psychological counselor.

Teresa Evans    Vice President Teresa Evans joined the LSEDC staff in August 2002. Teresa came to LSEDC with 20 years of experience in education. She was employed by the Metropolitan Community Colleges working in student services as an academic advisor, and more recently in employee development by coordinating and facilitating training needs for over 1,000 employees. Teresa holds an Associate in Arts from Longview Community College and a Bachelor of Science in Social Psychology summa cum laude from Park University. Teresa completed the Heartland Economic Development Course through the University of Northern Iowa in 2003, is a graduate of Leadership Lee's Summit 2004, has completed variety of business retention based e-Synchronist courses, training through the Missouri Economic Development Academy.  In June 2008, Teresa earned Business Retention and Expansion Project Coordinator certification through Business Retention and Expansion International. Teresa's husband Bob works for Kokam America as Network Support Specialist. Their daughter Cara (a 2001 Lee's Summit High School graduate) is employed by The Stowers Institute for Medical Research as Staffing Specialist.

Shannan Cunniffe    Office Manager Shannan Cunniffe joined LSEDC in November 2004, with over 13 years of experience in office administration and office management. Shannan worked for 2 years in the non-profit sector and for over 11 years at two local engineering firms. In those roles, she helped prepare, edit and distribute proposals, reports and presentations; she has experience in meeting planning and preparation, and in creating invitations for various events. She has applied her previous experience in her new role as Office Manager for LSEDC. Shannan is a 2006 graduate of Leadership Lee's Summit and completed the Heartland Economic Development Course in April 2006.  She has a degree in English from Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Missouri.  Shannan and her husband Tom live in Independence and recently welcomed triplets Simon, Scarlett and Gavin to the family.

Holly Braswell    Administrative Assistant Holly Braswell joined LSEDC in February 2008 with 5 years of experience in the Human Resources Department with Sprint. In her role at Sprint, she served as a point of contact for employees on policies and procedures, provided reports to monitor progress of meeting business goals and attended career fairs and interview days. Holly looks forward to utilizing her previous experience in her new role as Administrative Assistant for the Lee’s Summit EDC while learning about the field of economic development. Holly is a graduate of Lee’s Summit High School. She and her husband Matt live in Raymore with their two kids Hayden and Lily.