The role of Executive Director of the Conroe Economic Development Council suits both Danielle Scheiner's business and personal lives. She is equally comfortable leading the CEDC, as she is being a mother and spouse, mainly because she feels her business and personal lives have come full circle.
We all know the population in Montgomery County is on the rise. This year alone, it's estimated to grow by almost four percent and is forecasted to reach 876 thousand by 2029. Scheiner's job involves finding places to put all of these people to work.
"The Council is a Conroe City office, funded by a half-cent sales tax levied in 1994. I was elevated from my role of Deputy Director, which I'd held since 2013, and assumed the executive director position in 2018," says Scheiner.
The mission of the economic development division is to enhance the strength and stability of the greater Conroe economy by supporting existing industries and attracting manufacturing and service sector businesses, or basic industries, that bring new capital and employment opportunities into the community.
As Executive Director of the CEDC, Danielle is responsible for marketing the community to new and expanding businesses. In the last three years, she and her team have attracted 18 new projects to Conroe with an estimated $665 million in capital investment and the addition or retention of 1,486 jobs. It is no wonder she was named one of 2018's Top 50 Economic Developers in North America by Consultant Connect.
Years before she was making big deals in Conroe, Danielle worked in Austin at the Capitol's Visitor Center. "My husband was a teacher and coach and got a job here, so we moved," she said.
Once in Conroe, she hit the ground running, joining the Conroe Convention and Visitors Bureau staff in 1999. After a brief detour to work for Entergy's Economic Development department, she returned to her public service roots.
For years, she enjoyed the mantle of 'Coach's Wife,' likening it to the strength typically displayed in military families. Eventually, her husband left coaching and moved into the oil and gas industry. Danielle and her husband, Stacy, have been married for 27 years, and they elected to have their two sons relatively late in life, in their 30s.
"Being 'older parents' definitely gives more perspective," she says. "I'm enjoying my elder son at his current age (he's a freshman at A&M) because we get to talk like adults about things of consequence."
In their free time, her family loves saltwater fishing and attending Aggies games. Family is essential to Danielle, especially after the recent loss of her mother to glioblastoma. "We spend great quality time with my dad, and he with his grandkids," she says.
Danielle's mother, who had long been involved in real estate, has always been a role model to her. She says, "I want to be a mentor to women like she was to me. In the end, I don't want accolades for things I did; I want to be known as trusted and valued."
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