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Grand Prairie introduces three new economic development team members
Summary
City staff introduced three new members of Grand Prairie’s economic development team and described their roles in business retention, incentives and site management; staff also noted one remaining open industrial redevelopment post.
The Grand Prairie City Council on an unspecified date heard introductions of three new members of the city’s economic development team: Pharrell Oteano, Michelle Hernandez and Frankie Nealon.
City staff said the hires will focus on business retention and attraction, incentive programs, and site and real-estate management for the city’s redevelopment efforts.
An economic development staff member told the council, “I'm really excited and thrilled to present some new members to the city's economic development team,” and introduced the three new staffers. Pharrell Oteano was described as an experienced economic development practitioner who previously led business retention and attraction work in the Seattle region and served on a catalytic team in Dallas that oversaw incentive agreements and redevelopment projects. Staff said Oteano will work on tax increment financing (TIF) realignment, incentive programs, business retention and real estate redevelopment, and on financial modeling using data-driven approaches.
Michelle Hernandez was presented as a versatile practitioner in place-making and destination marketing who will lead efforts to attract and support businesses, manage training programs and handle complex request-for-information (RFI) packages for site selectors. The presenter said Hernandez has experience in key account management, business retention and complex real estate transactions.
Frankie Nealon was introduced as a member of the department since November 2023 who has been assisting with business development materials, site visits, CRM contact management, payroll and vendor and contract administration. The presenter said Nealon served previously as a paralegal and unemployment examiner and has experience drafting legal documents and managing operations.
Staff also told the council that one position remains open: the industrial redevelopment role formerly held by Terry Jones, who retired after about 25 years. Council members asked whether the new staff would attend upcoming local events; the presenter replied they would attend a chamber expo and that a small-business program will be announced.
The introductions concluded with staff offering to take questions from the council. No formal council vote or personnel appointment motion was recorded in the available transcript excerpt.
