The mission of the Northeast Florida Economic Development Corporation is to empower the Northeast Florida region through strategic economic initiatives, fostering public-private alliances, catalyzing business growth, and enhancing workforce opportunities, all aimed at securing a resilient and prosperous future for all stakeholders. The NEFEDC is committed to establishing, sustaining, and enhancing collaborations between public institutions and private enterprises. The group aims to be catalysts for business growth, focusing on innovative sectors that add substantial value to the region.
Setting businesses up for success
Strategic guidance, networking opportunities, professional guidance, site selection assistance, identifying funding, and access to talent are just a few ways the NEFEDC helps businesses achieve success.
“We have state support, and have built relationships with Florida commerce,” says Strategic Alliances Business Partner Amber Shepherd. “So when businesses are ready, we can move quickly and talk about incentives available in the state. Florida has great incentives, especially for high-impact sectors, large manufacturers looking to move.”
One of these advantages is the Capital Investment Tax Incentive. It starts at $25 million in CapX investment and 100 jobs. Companies can recoup 50 percent of their investment via taxes for 20 years, which increases with greater investment. At an investment of $100 million or more, and 100 jobs created, companies are eligible to recoup 100 percent over 20 years from the corporate income tax revenue, up to 50 percent of the total revenue. At the 21st year, they can begin drawing down as much as available from revenues and can continue up to the 30th year.
Another advantage of the area is the JAXPORT FTZ No. 64. At this designated Free Trade Zone, “goods can be imported, stored, and processed with deferred or reduced customs duties and increased savings,” according to the NEFEDC. A few of the well-known companies taking advantage of the FTZ include Bacardi, Bridgestone, Mazda, and Shoreside Logistics.
Unlike some larger municipalities where space is tight, Bradford County has an ideal site available—OSCEOLA 301 & 16 Greenfield. Currently zoned for agricultural and low-density residential, future land use includes commercial and high-density residential, with the highest and best land use being distribution freight/logistics.
“Bradford County is nicely nestled on the west side of Northeast Florida, very close to Central Florida,” says Shepherd. U.S. 301 runs right through the county and through the city of Starke. They have created a track route to go on the outside of it, which opens it up for new development, and we also have greenfields available for development. And then, we are very close to I-95, I-10, and I-75, so having that major highway system makes us a great place for warehousing, logistics, and distribution,” she shares.
“I would love to see these buildings that may have been dormant for some time be utilized and brought back to life,” she says. “Every time a business opens up a new location, it’s really a startup in that space. I have a heart for startups and what it takes for them to be successful.
Support, support, and more support
“In our membership, we have tiers that range from an individual membership at $250 all the way up to the government membership level at $10,000,” Shepherd explains. “And for every single one of those membership opportunities, we offer strategic advice and guidance… But we also offer some operational support at a discounted rate,” she says.
“That’s one thing that separates us from a lot of other organizations out there. We are more than just, ‘Put your name on a website and logo and join the member list. We really are about helping businesses grow and thrive in our region. We have a great community that wants businesses to immerse themselves and become part of that community.”
Simply put, “We are looking for visionaries,” she says. “We want to build, and not be outdated for the next movement. We want to build Bradford County for the future.”
A team effort
The Northeast Florida Economic Development Corporation (NEFEDC) is guided by a seasoned leadership team with deep expertise in business growth, infrastructure, education, and regional planning. With backgrounds spanning global executive consulting, real estate development, military leadership, finance, and workforce development, the board and executive team are uniquely equipped to support the evolving needs of the region. Together, they work to connect businesses with the tools, partnerships, and strategic guidance necessary to fuel expansion, attract investment, and strengthen the economic landscape across Northeast Florida.
Strategic Alliances Business Partner Amber Shepherd’s economic development journey began about 15 years ago. Working for a staffing agency in Jacksonville, Florida, Shepherd hoped for an opportunity where she could help others reach the next level. She became a career services advisor for Everest University, where she helped graduates secure employment in their chosen fields.
Soon, she realized the institution was ill-equipped to prepare students for genuine success. She developed a curriculum and progressed from career services advisor to career services manager. Just a few years later, Shepherd transferred to Fortis College as director of career services. “I was able to branch out on my own and build out a full-scale presentation and curriculum,” she says. “Students learned how to write résumés, prepare portfolios, present those portfolios and interviews, answer tough interview questions, follow up, and all the nuts and bolts of how to be employable.”
Shepherd noticed early on that many technical career colleges waited until students graduated to offer them career support services, so she focused on providing that education from the beginning. “They needed an extra measure of attention, so I provided that to them,” she says.
Her efforts saw a graduate placement increase of about 85 percent in most programs from 2010 until 2019, when she left. “I could help both organizations turn their graduate placement rate from way below industry standard to well above,” she says. “I really worked to prove an easy to repeat methodology that helps people drive success.”
Securing a master’s degree that same year in Human Resource Management, Shepherd reached the pinnacle of her college career as a director but wasn’t able to move up in the organization. Encouraged by colleagues to move forward, Shepherd worked for a time at a local non-profit in Jacksonville, helping to develop a unified data systems management solution. It was an opportunity for her to go further into software and tech, and to learn more about Application Programming Interfaces (APIs).
COVID-19 hit a few months later, and the grant under which Shepherd had come on board was not renewed. Undeterred, she soon connected with boutique executive management consulting firm Massive Dynamics Labs (MDL), based in California. Starting as a business analyst, she soon worked her way up to director of consulting services, providing the same sort of guidance she had previously given to graduates, but now to CEOs regarding how to build their sales organizations.
“Sales is really about relationship-building,” she says. “And when you recognize that, it’s very easy to get into conversations—people buy from people they like. As I listen to people, I learn to understand their needs and find a solution to fill that need.”
She did just that in her work with MDL, securing contracts and arranging meetings with South Korean SMEs looking to expand their footprint into the United States. Soon, a contract came through with the Korean Business Development Center in Washington, DC, operated by KOSME, the Korean SMEs and Startups Agency. It was at an accelerator hub in Washington, where South Korean businesses were invited to come and build a footprint at the American facility. A consultant was needed to provide strategic advice on how to tap into the market, and Shepherd stepped into the role.
Making connections
One organization housed at the accelerator hub was a bio-supplement producer. The company wanted to bring a new product to market, but had only had testing done in South Korea, and couldn’t afford to do it in the United States. To find a solution, Shepherd reached out to farms local to her area. She found a willing hay farmer, testing was performed, and the network was expanded.
It was also around this time that she connected with the Bradford County Development Authority, as it was called at the time. Simultaneously, South Korean entities were utilizing services to start conversations and support delegations being sent from South Korea to America by arranging meetings with manufacturers for the purpose of expanding manufacturing in South Korea. “I thought, ‘I need to do this for Florida,’” she says, after seeing a PowerPoint about trying to attract manufacturers to South Korea. In 2023, Governor Ron Desantis passed the edict to cancel special tax districts, including the Bradford County Development Authority (BCDA).
While the BDCA could have filed for an exemption, a decision was made to reform as a private entity, which helped businesses keep their proprietary information secret. Following the closure of the development agency, the Northeast Florida Economic Development Corporation (NEFEDC) was created in July 2023, with Shepherd on the board.
At the same time that Shepherd was attending the Florida Rural Economic Development Association (FREDA) summit, a request for proposal (RFP) came through looking for properties. “There was an opportunity for me to support the organization in that moment, utilizing the tools and techniques I had identified while setting up these conversations before with South Korea,” she tells us.
When the RFP came through, the NEFEDC realized it was not well enough equipped to support them and needed someone to provide operational support on more than just a volunteer basis. Their bylaws said directors could not receive compensation, so Shepherd resigned from the board and linked up in an operational support role. This meant establishing an organization essentially from the ground up.
Soon, Shepherd developed the NEFEDC website, creating customer relationship management (CRM) strategies, building relationships, and more. In May 2024, the corporation supported Bradford County by writing the application submitted for a community planning technical assistance grant for Bradford County, the first of its kind. Shepherd requested $75,000, the full amount, for creating an economic development strategic plan, developing marketing materials, and implementing outreach using tools and techniques she’d learned while consulting. After several months, the full grant was awarded.
“Bradford County is a fiscally constrained community,” says Shepherd. “It is a rural area of opportunity, so it is challenged financially. And so we have to look at grants to get Bradford to where it needs to be.”
Working tirelessly, Shepherd submitted the economic development strategic plan in February, which was approved by Florida Commerce. The team also created the site landing page on the NEFEDC website, which includes an introductory video and site selection inventory list, along with details of incentives and resources available in Bradford County. “It really was a nice kickstart to this economic development outreach.”
The coming months saw the NEFEDC send out thousands of emails and conduct direct marketing via LinkedIn. Connection rates were impressive, with about 25 percent (1,077) connecting through Shepherd’s profile. Her persistence paid off, with expressions of interest, meetings, and diverse international and national executive teams coming to the community.
Identifying opportunities
Amber Shepherd understands all too well that Northeast Florida holds tremendous business opportunities. Centrally positioned, it offers convenient access to Jacksonville, Gainesville, Lake City, and Clay County. And with more industries realizing just how much the area offers, Shepherd is seeing considerable interest.
She is currently in talks with an organization based in India that wasn’t initially looking at the U.S. but, thanks to her team’s outreach, is considering building an innovation and manufacturing hub in Northeast Florida on 500 acres for smart technology manufacturing including hydrogen components. The company was recently awarded $1 billion from investors globally, making this project a real potential for the region.
Florida is also home to countless aerospace businesses, and the NEFEDC is having conversations with an American organization that builds rocket capsules for transporting items into space. And, owing to its many waterways, an electric boat manufacturer is considering expanding manufacturing into the state. Yet another interested company is eyeing the area for manufacturing land-to-rail transferable vehicles; others include a company building smart HVAC systems.
“There are many interesting technology outfits looking at the community,” says Shepherd.
