MCDC Board names Shawnna Silvius as new MCDC director

Montgomery County Development Corporation has added a new face to the organization.

Shawnna Silvius was selected as MCDC’s new economic development director at a meeting Thursday. She’ll be located at the Red Oak Chamber & Industry Association office.

Born in Imperial, Neb., Silvius has spent the majority of her life in Nebraska, and has also lived in Colorado, Iowa, and Minnesota, following her husband’s career. She and her family now reside in Nebraska City, where they’ve lived since 2004. Silvius has a bachelor’s degree in business administration and marketing, as well as a master’s degree in organizational management, economic development, and entrepreneurship emphasis, and has served in a number of capacities.

“I’ve worked for Morris Publishing Company in Kearney, before moving to Curtis & Associates, Inc., who helped people who were on welfare become self-sufficient and get jobs. That’s kind of where my whole workforce and talent development started. And I believe all people, given the right mentors and opportunities, can do good for themselves. I believe that to the core,” Silvius said.

Silvius later worked for Kearney Hub publishing, before moving to Colorado with her husband to serve as the executive director of the American Cancer Society in Longmont, Colo. After moves to Minnesota and Iowa, Silvius and her family moved to their current home.

In Nebraska City, “The hospital sponsored a community coalition meeting, and identified five priorities. One was leadership development. I’d been through a leadership program and met with the economic development director for the city. We started a program and a position was crafted for me to work for the chamber and economic development. I worked in that position for four years, and I got my master’s degree and certifications during that time. Also while I was there, I coordinated the economic development conferences for the state association, the Center for Rural Affairs, the Nebraska Energy Office, and Grow Nebraska, among others,” said Silvius.

Silvius also served as president, community developer, facilitator, trainer, and consultant for iShine Productions, LLC; director of talent solutions for the Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development; the director of economic development for the City of Crete; and the economic/workforce development consultant and site selector for Webster Global Site Selectors.

“I’ve worked with many communities on strategic planning and workforce development. A lot of my focus is on the workforce, economic development, workforce development staff, education, and regional employers. The workforce is a regional issue. I’ve been working on that since March, and saw this opportunity in Red Oak, and I thought it would be a great opportunity,” commented Silvius.

Silvius is seeking housing here. She starts her duties Aug. 21.

“I’ll be getting familiar with the office and the files. One role I have in this position is to make sure the board knows their role, and my role, and what I’ll be looking to them for is to be very strong in helping the leadership of the organization,” Silvius advised. “I’ll be equipping all of them on the level playing field so that they understand roles and expectations and are running the organization as transparently and effectively as they can. I feel strongly that every person is a piece of the puzzle. It takes all of us to make that puzzle complete. I want to make sure we’re all engaged and good partners moving forward.”

Like Silvius, many of the members of the MDCD board are new, and she believes they all have a shared vision of where the rural community should be going and on what they need to focus to be successful.

“I’m looking forward to meeting all the business and industry folks and leaders as I get out into the community, and I’ll meet with anyone who has input they want to provide. I also look forward to the first big win we have collectively. I think we’ll look at doing a strategic plan that involves the citizenship of the entire county and letting them come up with what our priorities are and what direction we should go. When that comes together, I can’t wait to feel the energy of everyone wanting to work together.”

Silvius added she wants to hear from people in person and have open and honest conversations on what has been going well, what some of the challenges are, and what opportunities are available they think can be tackled together.

“I hope that they all know I’m here for them, I’m their partner in all of this, and I want to see them grow,” Silvius said.