Christian Price, president and CEO of Maricopa Economic Development, has earned an AZED Pro designation from The Academy of Arizona, the formal education program of the Arizona Association for Economic Development.

To earn an AZED Pro certification, economic-development professionals must complete seven courses, including Economic Development in Arizona; Business Retention and Expansion; Taxation, Finance and Incentives; Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development; Marketing and Business Development; Workforce Development; and an elective.

This program ensures that Arizona’s economic-development professionals receive the most-current and relevant training in topics.

“Like anything you do, the more education you have in it the better off you are,” Price said. “It helps in a variety of ways. It broadens your knowledge base. You meet people along the way, make connections, you learn the tricks of the trade. You never know when someone you meet or something you learn during a process like this will be the one thing that puts you over the top and helps you land a big deal.”

Price was recognized for this accomplishment alongside eight other economic-development professionals during the recent 2022 AAED Fall Forum at Harrah’s Ak-Chin Casino.

The work began for Price well before he resigned as mayor this year and took leadership of MEDA.

“I was taking these classes when I was mayor,” Price said. “I’ve always been interested in the economic-development aspects of what I’ve done, and I wanted the designation because I thought it would help me be a better mayor. You’re learning from people who have been doing this stuff for 30 years, so I thought it would help the city of Maricopa. And now it’s helping in a way I never thought it would.”

Maricopa Economic Development Alliance is a public-private partnership that develops strategies and solutions to bring new businesses to the city. The agency works with the business, government, education and civic sectors to develop policies that facilitate investment, growth and workforce development in conjunction with elected officials and public-sector executives.