Amanda Ohlensehlen has been named the city of Springfield’s director of economic vitality, effective March 28. Ohlensehlen most recently served as the community and economic development manager for New Bern, North Carolina.
“We are excited about Amanda and the opportunity she brings to the table for the city of Springfield. The new department is a great chance for the city to advance a lot of the goals set forth in the comprehensive plan and the city council priorities,” Springfield Deputy City Manager Maurice Jones said.
The Springfield Department of Economic Vitality was created in July 2021. Its mission is to focus on Springfield’s vibrancy, to take a proactive approach to helping businesses and entrepreneurs and to positively impact the region’s economy. The department’s primary services are entrepreneurial development and support, business retention, tourism support and business expansion and attraction. The staff works directly with business owners and developers in an effort to draw and/or keep a business in Springfield.
Ohlensehlen will also work closely with Springfield’s regional economic development partners, like the Springfield Business Development Corporation and the Springfield Regional Economic Partnership, to leverage resources and enable the city to be attractive to quality investors.
Ohlensehlen is a Missouri native
Ohlensehlen is a Missouri native who holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Missouri, and a Master of Science in Sustainable Tourism from East Carolina University.
“I am extremely excited to come home to Missouri and join the team in Springfield. This is a wonderful community and I appreciate the commitment to placemaking. I look forward to helping guide the vision of the department and build on past successes,” Ohlensehlen said. “Springfield is such a special place with so much to offer and everyone has been so helpful. I am ready to jump in to ensure a vibrant future for Springfield and the region.”
Ohlensehlen has directed economic and community development programs, created affordable housing and launched workforce development initiatives in North Carolina. Prior to serving in New Bern, she was the economic development coordinator and director of the tourist and event center in Havelock, North Carolina.
Vitality vs. development
“Economic vitality” is the term of choice at Springfield City Hall, in lieu of saying “economic development.”
“We changed that from ‘economic development,’ because ‘economic vitality’ is a much broader approach to this,” Springfield Mayor Ken McClure said in a February 2022 interview with the Daily Citizen. “We will have a strong section, we always do, on economic vitality and quality of place, because that really focuses on what we offer.”
The concept of economic vitality is a key component of a comprehensive plan for Springfield for the next 20 years that is presently under development and slated for completion later in 2022. It is entitled “Forward SGF.”
In 2000, Springfield’s population was 151,580 people. In 2020, U.S. Census data put Springfield’s population at 169,176, a gain of 17,596 people and a gain of 11.6 percent.
The creation of the Department of Economic Vitality formally separated Springfield’s economic development function from the Department of Planning and Development. This was done to separate the business retention and expansion effort from the Planning and Development Department’s role of land zoning regulation.
Ohlensehlen becomes the first person to hold her job with the city of Springfield since the department split.
