Meet Kimber Lanning
Kimber Lanning is the founder and CEO of Local First Arizona, one of the nation's most recognized local business coalitions and a leading force in building equitable, resilient local economies.
An entrepreneur, community development strategist and nationally recognized advocate for locally owned businesses and privately held companies, Lanning has spent more than two decades challenging conventional economic development models and helping communities create systems where local businesses, entrepreneurs and residents can thrive.
Local First works to develop entrepreneurs and small businesses across all sectors and geographies, and in multiple languages, to ensure access to resources in urban, rural and tribal communities across Arizona.
Under Lanning's leadership, Local First Arizona has become a nationally respected model for place-based economic development. Lanning’s work is rooted in the idea that local ownership, coupled with capital access, creates more resilience in the local economy, where communities are better equipped to withstand challenges and share prosperity more broadly.
Throughout her career, Lanning has worked at the intersection of entrepreneurship, economic development, public policy and community building. She is a frequent speaker on topics including:
Local and inclusive economic development
Entrepreneurship and small business ecosystems
Rural economic development and wealth creation
Food systems that improve healthy food access while creating local food economies
Access to capital and creative finance
Rural and Tribal partnership opportunities
Sustainable economic growth and green business development
Placemaking and community identity
Localism as an economic development strategy
Lanning has received numerous awards recognizing her leadership and impact. In 2014, she was named Citizen Leader of the Year by the International Economic Development Council, helping bring national attention to localism as an economic development strategy. She received the Distinguished Citizen Planner Award from the American Planning Association in 2013 for her work advancing adaptive reuse and community-focused development in Phoenix. Additional honors include the Athena Award from the Greater Phoenix Chamber, Leader of the Year in Public Policy from Arizona Capitol Times, recognition as one of Arizona Business Magazine's 50 Most Influential Women in Arizona and Valley Leadership's Woman of the Year Award in 2021.
Lanning continues to advocate for an Arizona where opportunity is built locally, ownership remains rooted in communities and economic development is measured not only by growth, but by health and wellbeing.
“I’m the kind of person when I see something that is unjust, I am motivated and inspired to change it. This is my home, this is my state, and I want to leave it better than I found it. So I’ve dedicated my life to building a better Arizona.”
Request Kimber Lanning as a Speaker
Kimber regularly speaks with business leaders, policymakers, community organizations, universities, conferences and economic development groups about building stronger local economies and creating more resilient communities.
Get to know Kimber Lanning & hear what drove her to focus her life’s work on improving local economies.