The Greater Minneapolis-Saint Paul Economic Development Partnership (GREATER MSP) is thrilled to welcome Amanda Taylor as Director of Research and Daniel Sopdie as Regional Strategy Manager. Both start in their new roles on Monday, June 25.

Amanda spent the past seven years with McCallum Sweeney Consulting, a site selection consulting firm located in Greenville, South Carolina, where she led data and analytics efforts for corporate siting and economic development clients.

During her time at McCallum Sweeney, Amanda managed, facilitated, and informed location selection decisions for companies, and led comparative analysis of key factors like workforce, site readiness, business climate, and quality of life. 

She’s not entirely new to the Midwest, however. Amanda grew up in a small town in Michigan and showed livestock at the county fair. She’s excited to share in the Minnesota State Fair experience with her family. 

Daniel Sopdie comes to GREATER MSP from the University of Minnesota’s Office of Economic Development and Technology Commercialization, where he has been working as a Senior Project Manager on issues ranging from integrating immigrant populations into the state’s workforce to the University’s contribution to our region’s Amazon HQ2 proposal. His previous experience includes extensive work on a global stage with the Starkey Hearing Technologies Foundation.

Daniel’s hobbies include travel, fishing and sports, namely soccer, basketball, football and tennis. As for Minnesota, he loves the diversity of people and access to foods from around the world.  And he points to the state’s tradition of supporting education and its culture of investment in private and public institutions as reasons he is proud to make this his home.

Please join us in welcoming Amanda to the region, and both Amanda and Daniel to the GREATER MSP Partnership!