Kathy Weiss: Making a difference as Durham's director of economic development and tourism Canadian Design and Construction Report special feature Kathy Weiss, Regional Municipality of Durham’s direc- tor of economic development and tourism, came to the industry, as many others have, through an indirect route. Over the years, she has built her reputation as a provin- cial economic development leader. From her start as a computer operator, Weiss moved into a career in sales and then became the St. Catharines Chamber of Commerce's general manager. There she got her first exposure to economic development. She then moved to Kitchener, where she worked as manager of business facilitation and then moved into the role of director which included the Waterloo Region Small Busi- ness Centre. “After that I worked for Chatham-Kent and that was where I got my first exposure to international invest- ment.” Weiss just returned from an investment mission to Holland on behalf of Durham and says China is another investment market relevant to the region. Along the way, she says she has seen a growing num- ber of women entering the field, even in international markets where one might assume gender could be an issue. She says economic development at its most basic level is about creating jobs and making communities liv- able, sustainable and healthy. “Along the way you build business relationships and hope- fully secure enough bricks and mortar that demonstrates the hard work.” Weiss says her work with poten- tial economic development clients – starting as an information source, helping develop a solution and then bringing that relationship into the community – is very satisfying. EDO She also works to maintain relationships within the construction industry, understanding that construction and economic development go hand in hand. As part of her role, she is a member and past presi- dent of EDCO (Economic Development Council of On- tario). She is also a member of the local chambers of commerce and boards of trade. During 2015 she has set a goal of finding a hobby and is considering a group for women in economic development as a way of branching out and connecting with other women in the industry. Weiss says she would recommend an economic de- velopment career to any woman with the right personal- ity. “Economic development requires a sales/close the deal kind of person who has people skills and an ability to think outside the box to see the bigger picture.” She takes advantage of ongoing training opportuni- ties to stay up on changes in the industry and feels very fortunate to be in a role in which she is meeting people and making a differ- ence. The Canadian Design and Construction Report — Winter 2015 – 21