Citizen Potawatomi Nation

Vedrana Milakovic

Economic Development Builder

Vedrana Milakovic is a planning and economic development professional specializing in international business, trade compliance and economic growth. She applies her expertise in customs, exports, and strategic planning to support sustainable development and strengthen economic opportunities.

Turning Industrial Growth into Local Opportunity

The economic impact of Iron Horse Industrial Park is already taking shape through job creation during construction and the potential for more full-time positions in manufacturing, logistics, warehousing and management. The development is also expected to generate broader economic activity for local contractors, suppliers, restaurants and small businesses throughout Pottawatomie County.

Oklahoma’s global competitiveness is ensured when Iron Horse and the surrounding communities maintain their status as a premier, shovel-ready destination that attracts high-quality industrial tenants to the State of Oklahoma.

Making Trade Changes Easier to Manage

Having an in-house certified FTZ expert helping entities navigate the HTS code, Section 301 or 232, anti-dumping duties, and the constant changes in the import/export world helps companies mitigate their tariffs and risk. Having that support helps companies make future decisions and know that if something changes, they can adapt accordingly.

Today, that is the first question I get when speaking with companies: if we have room in the designated Foreign Trade Zone Area. It is an approved federal program with a structured framework designed for import/export purposes and is a leading program in an uncertain world.

Having a Foreign Trade Zone in a community can bring good-paying jobs and support local economic activity. The 2024 Annual Foreign Trade Zone Report shows the scale of that impact, with 964 billion dollars in merchandise received, 134 billion dollars in exports and 543,000 people employed in FTZs. The report also recorded 381 active FTZ production operations. These figures make a strong case for communities to explore whether establishing an FTZ could benefit their local economy.

Creating a Connected Industrial Ecosystem

Iron Horse Eco-Industrial Park was created to diversify the tribe's revenue stream and to ensure and protect sovereignty, self-governance, and our people. The intent for the park is to use the available acres to attract manufacturing companies that want to be in the ecosystem, where companies work together, share resources, minimize waste, and share warehouse space and transloading services.

In today’s economic environment and economic uncertainty, it’s important to have reliable funding streams. Those funding streams should not just have diversity but also diversity within, such as using trust land for leasing opportunities, the transloading for logistics, and using different federal programs like HUB zone, Foreign Trade Zone, Opportunity Zone and New Market Tax credits to benefit companies.  

Keeping Projects Moving through Change

Economic development involves many changes, and adaptability is crucial. Therefore, it is a more personal skill that requires you to lead a project at a fast pace, multitask and keep moving daily activities forward at the same time.

Planning is important, but the ability to adapt to change is more vital. With that said, you have to like people because, in the end, that is who we are doing it for.