Nathan Steele is having a big impact on your life. You just may not know it.
As the City of Maricopa’s director of economic and community development, he helps blaze a path for Maricopa’s economy and recruits new businesses. In his two years working with City Manager Rick Horst, the city has seen considerable growth.
He and his wife Diana live in town with their four young boys and are eagerly awaiting the arrival of their fifth. A Utah native, Steele earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Brigham Young University, served his church mission in Texas and gained more responsibilities in public administration positions in Utah, Wisconsin and California
before taking the Maricopa position.
JT: What attracted you to Maricopa besides the job?
NS: I love how family-friendly it is here. I love going to Copper Sky for a football game with my kids and seeing hundreds of other kids and families having fun. There’s nothing better.
Can you describe Maricopa in 2040?
As we grow, I see Maricopa becoming less reliant on the Phoenix area, as more services and jobs will be provided here locally. Yes, we will continue to get more and more higher-quality retail and dining options, but we will also see more jobs and services in hospitality, healthcare, manufacturing and others from every industry. I would hope that, more than anything else, Maricopa continues to be all the things that Maricopa is now that make it such an incredible place — a tight-knit community that is still growing and welcomes families and individuals from all backgrounds to come live here.
What would people be surprised to learn about you?
I have a great passion for music. My poor kids regularly get lessons from me on what good music is, from rock and rap to R&B and bluegrass. I love it all! Nearly everyone in the house plays music. We all play piano, and my kids play a variety of instruments (violin, cello, drums, etc.) and I love listening to it all. I have played piano all my life and in the last few years have picked up guitar and banjo.
What is the best thing you’ve done or seen in Arizona?
My love of music is probably only matched by my love for food. We have found some incredible hidden gems of food throughout the state. You can bet that after I find particularly good ones, I’m talking to the staff in charge about expanding to Maricopa! As for good food, I always prefer to go local.
What’s one thing you haven’t done in Arizona you want to?
We love hikes in our family, but for one reason or another, we haven’t all visited the Grand Canyon yet. Once our youngest gets a little bit older, we will absolutely go check it out together. We’ve loved just getting lost around the Superstition mountains. I’ll take my boys there every now and then and just pick a different route each time and we’ll all just explore.
This story appears in the July issue of InMaricopa magazine.
