For starters, let’s just say that Brent Willett’s economic development career was an accident. 

He majored in English and political science at the University of Iowa, and he started out in communications. He did some public relations work for the Iowa Department of Economic Development, now the Iowa Economic Development Authority, and that got him interested in how Iowa lands businesses or expands what it has. He ended up leading the “Sell Iowa” marketing outreach program.

His career path was set. And he never regretted the English major. “You’ve got to be a real effective communicator in an economic development world,” he said.

His wild card: His mother was an English teacher. “That served me well,” he said.

Willett has to be “on” all the time, because even when he goes shopping, there is a good chance he’ll be stopped and end up giving an extemporaneous speech on value-added agriculture. 

“Whether you are at the grocery store or whatever, you are approached by people who have their own idea of how to do things,” which sometimes can lead to frustrations, Willett acknowledged. 

“I had a city councilman once in one of the other communities I worked in,” Willett said. “He approached me. He had read an article about Toyota looking to locate an auto manufacturing facility somewhere in the U.S. He was really adamant that we pursue this lead. He thought our community was a perfect place for a 10,000-acre, 15,000-job auto facility. I had to say, ‘We don’t have an inland port.’ You have to listen to them. You can’t just promise to say I will look into it and that’s the end it.”

In general, he has to be ready to present to audiences “from the retired gentlemen’s coffee to the boardroom.”

Willett enjoys using that communication to improve the state he has called home since growing up in Davenport. 

“I have a real affection for my home state,” Willett said. “Working in a community development role allows me to work to improve the community I’m in but also to work to impact policy at a state level. It is a cool profession.”

Reasons he’s a forty:

• He serves on the Greater Des Moines Partnership Regional Economic Development Board.
• In Fairfield, he helped an emergency food pantry organize holiday donation drives.
• He served as 2013 president of Professional Developers of Iowa.
• He volunteered as a one-on-one mentor at Capitol View Elementary School.