Ever wonder how reporters decide which stories to cover and who to interview? Phoenix Business Journal Senior Reporter Angela Gonzales joins ABI Multifamily Minute in studio and lets ABI Multifamily President & CEO John Kobierowski turn the tables, asking Angela everything from the best way to pitch her, to her favorite story, to what she would be doing if she weren’t a reporter (hint: this woman's singing voice will blow you away!) You won’t want to miss Angela’s insight coming from 30 years of experience covering healthcare, education and most recently, real estate in the Phoenix market.

In this episode of the ABI Multifamily Minute, John Kobierowski interviews Thomas Maynard, Vice President of Business Development for the Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC).

The role of GPEC is to help plant the flag and show companies the many reasons why they should come to the metro-Phoenix area. Founded in 1989, GPEC was created to consolidate the strategy for the greater Phoenix area, and market the entire region. GPEC is a nonprofit and its services are completely free. 40% of GPEC funding comes from the cities themselves, and the remainder comes from the 180 companies that are members of organization, including law firms, banks, commercial real estate firms, developers, brokers, anybody who has the shared goal of growing the economic base of the region.

The organization helps companies understand demographic and population breakdown, what cities are growing, where the growth areas are within the region, and where the right talent can be found. Thomas’ role at GPEC is to walk companies through considerations like partnerships with educational institutions and economic incentives. As Phoenix continues to grow, GPEC is working hard to coordinate the efforts of cities, state, universities, and other parties to drive the continued economic development of greater Phoenix.  GPEC research and resources can be found at GPEC.org.

In this episode of the ABI Multifamily Minute, John Kobierowski interviews Howard Epstein, founder of the Arizona Housing Fund, on the challenges and complexities of Arizona's growing homeless problem. Last year 36,000 people in Arizona experienced homelessness (or 1 in 184 Arizonians) - this number has been increasing for six consecutive years. The Arizona Housing Fund gives equity grants to agencies & nonprofits that build housing for those that experience homelessness. Howard discusses how the fund is set up and managed, how one hundred cents of every dollar goes to the cause, and how you can help. Learn more at: https://arizonahousingfund.org/