Child Care as Critical Infrastructure: Solving the Workforce Gap with Nicole Riehl
From Site Selectors Are People, Too · 1:05:20
Show by Devin Hillsdon-Smith
If your new plant runs three shifts, who is watching the kids at 2 a.m.? In this episode of Site Selectors Are People, Too, Devin sits down with Nicole Riehl, President and CEO of EPIC (Executives Partnering to Invest in Children), to explore why child care belongs on the infrastructure list right next to water and power. Nicole brings a unique perspective to the table, combining her early career as a teacher in an on-site corporate child care center with her experience in corporate finance for a national homebuilder. She breaks down the "child care pro forma" and explains how economic developers, site selectors, and employers can collaboratively solve one of the biggest bottlenecks to labor force participation. Key Takeaways: Sizing the Gap: How to measure local child care supply and demand, and why a child care capacity audit is just as important as a utility capacity letter during the RFI process. Creative Financing & Cost-Sharing: An inside look at public-private funding strategies, including state-level Tri-Share models, Colorado’s 50% Child Care Contribution Tax Credit, and the Vail/Avon "Lettuce Patch" partnership. Zoning & Real Estate: How restrictive local zoning and building codes unintentionally block home-based child care, and why industrial park master plans should intentionally carve out space for child care facilities. Actionable Employer Tools: An overview of EPIC’s Employer-Based Childcare Design Lab and the U.S. Chamber's EmployerChildcareNavigator.org, helping employers move from concept to keys. Resources Mentioned: EPIC: epicimpact.org Employer Childcare Navigator: EmployerChildcareNavigator.org Podcast: The Drop Off (Hosted by EPIC)
More episodes of Site Selectors Are People, Too
More episodes
- Housing as Infrastructure: Marisa Conatser on Building for the Workforce
- From Public Service to Private Partnerships: Keeley Stingel on Mastering the Network
- The Hyperscaler Hangover: Surviving the Zoning Meeting
- The Clawback Conversation: What Happens After the Ribbon Cutting
- The Preferred Site Problem: When the Client Already Has the Answer
- The Silent Cut: Why You Lost the Project (and Nobody Told You)
- Operating in the Hot Zone: Bruce Talley on Geopolitics and Global Supply Chains
- (Trailer) What Is a Site Selector? The Human Side of Corporate Site Selection
- Site Selectors & Economic Developers Explained: Who They Are and How They Work Together
- The Site Selector–Economic Developer Relationship: Pressure, Grace, and Getting Deals Done
podsearch is a free, independent podcast search engine. Read about podsearch, the privacy policy or contact us.