Steve Dust joined us to talk about about trends in our area economy, in Talent, Technologies and Transformations, along with brief updates on area projects of interest.
 
Steve Dust is a certified economic developer who leads a team of professionals at Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber who work every day to expand and strengthen the economy of the Cedar Valley of Iowa. That team works to recruit and retain talented people in the Cedar Valley, recruit and encourage expansion of Cedar Valley businesses of all sizes, advocate for infrastructure and amenities improvements in economic area, and promote the Cedar Valley. The Alliance & Chamber also includes TechWorks Campus and Leader Valley Foundation.
 
In addition to his work at the Alliance, he represents the Cedar Valley on the boards of directors for the Waterloo Airport Commission, Future Ready Iowa Alliance, Iowa Association of Business & Industry, the Iowa Industry Political Action Committee, and Minority Unemployment Subcommittee of the Iowa Workforce Development Board. Last fall, Steve was recognized by ABI with their Advocacy Award for his role in advancing the message of business in the public policy arena. He’s also a terribly back-slidden Rotarian.
 
Steve and his spouse, Donita live in Waterloo. Their son Alex is a cook and food stock manager at the Isle Casino Hotel, and son Andrew is a senior associate in transfer pricing and microeconomics with PriceWaterhouseCooper in Arlington, VA. Steve’s a Hawkeye, Mule, Cornhusker, and Panther, by degrees, heritage and affiliation.