Episode 7: 7. City of Akron, Julie Pryseski Beckert | How an entrepreneurial spirit led Julie to host one of the top Pride events in the Midwest

Julie spent many years as an entrepreneur before joining the City of Akron.  Since 2015, Julie Pryseski has worked for the Office of Economic Development for the City of Akron. Julie’s focus is on all aspects of growing and maintaining businesses throughout the City. Julie is also the City liaison to many of the neighborhood business districts and downtown retail businesses.Prior to joining the City, Julie had extensive experience in special event coordinating, sales and marketing. Julie participated in the planning and implementation of multiple community events including, Akron Flair Fest, Gay Games 9, Akron Square Fest, Akron Arts Expo, Open Streets and the Inaugural Akron Pride Festival. Julie is a graduate of the University of Akron and a proud lifelong resident of Summit County.In this episode we talk about:The need for boots-on-the-ground support for local businessesHow Julie's entrepreneurial skills as sales and marketing experience help her with economic developmentHow Julie leads Pride in Akron and helped create one of the top Pride events in the Midwest, from 8,000 participants in 2018 to 35,000 participants in 2022How to find the organizations who are out there to jump in and take actionTips for new government officials that want to take action