Heather Kasten, President and CEO, Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce

July 2026 — Invest: sat down with Heather Kasten, president and CEO of the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce, to discuss how the Chamber is expanding workforce pathways, strengthening advocacy at the local level, and responding to growth pressures like housing affordability. “Plan the work, and then work the plan,” Kasten said.

What key changes over the past year have had the greatest impact on the Chamber, and in what ways?

Over the past year, our programs have continued to grow and expand, and that has had the biggest impact.

Two areas I’m especially proud of are CareerEdge and our newly rebranded ThinkBIG initiative. Career Edge is our workforce and talent division, and it focuses on four industries: healthcare, the trades, manufacturing, and transportation and automotive. It’s designed to identify people in non-growth jobs and move them into training that leads to stronger careers.

That can include CNA training, electrical programs, or HVAC training. We help fund training, support participants through certification, and then work to place them with Chamber member companies so they can build careers and afford to live in our community.

We also rebranded our internship program to ThinkBIG, with BIG standing for Build, Invest, Grow. This year, we will fully fund 50 interns across companies in the Sarasota region through an eight-week internship model. Under ThinkBIG, we also continue our entrepreneurship work, including Hustle Bar, a 10-month program with monthly classes on practical entrepreneurial topics.

What early results or feedback have you seen from these efforts so far?

We are seeing meaningful outcomes, especially through CareerEdge. Last year, we trained over 500 individuals and fully funded training and certifications. We also helped with practical needs like tools, and then worked to place people into jobs.

We deployed over half a million dollars in local training grants to local companies, typically supporting employers who want to train and promote a cohort of workers.

That is real workforce mobility, and it matters. Getting people up on the pay scale is a tremendous form of economic development, and that is what we are doing.

What business or economic trends are most shaping Sarasota right now?

Businesses are looking for more certainty so they can plan. That shows up in areas like permitting, tariffs, and workforce. Companies want to develop a game plan, plan the work, and then work the plan, even when conditions shift.

Our role is to provide resources and local intel that help members navigate uncertainty. For example, we recently hosted an economic update with Dr. Sean Snaith from UCF, who broke down the data not just for Florida, but specifically for Sarasota County, which is the level of insight businesses can use.

What makes Sarasota County an ideal place to come, live, and do business?

It starts with Florida being business-friendly and having no state income tax, which is attractive for both employers and workers.

Sarasota’s edge is quality of life, especially what we offer beyond the beach. We’re a smaller city, but we punch above our weight in arts and culture. On any given night, you can find Broadway-style shows, concerts, opera, live music, and multiple museums, including the Ringling Museum of Art.

That kind of place attracts talent, and businesses need people. When people want to live somewhere, it strengthens the case for companies to grow there.

How does the Chamber engage with local government, nonprofits, and civic organizations to support inclusive economic growth?

A big part of our role is showing up for the business community in public policy conversations. Business owners are busy running companies and making payroll, and the Chamber can be the consistent voice that ensures the business perspective is not left out.

This past year, we added a director of government affairs and hired Marlon Brown, the former city manager of Sarasota. We believe many business-impacting decisions are hyper-local, happening at the city and county level.

Affordable housing remains a major advocacy focus for us, and we also engage on issues tied to a vibrant downtown, water quality, transportation, and insurance reform. We stay active locally and at the state level, including meeting with legislators in Tallahassee.

How would you describe Sarasota within the broader Tampa Bay and Florida economic ecosystem?

Florida is a major economic engine. If Florida were a country, it would rank among the largest economies in the world, which speaks to the scale of business activity happening here.

Sarasota is benefiting from strong in-migration, and the local economy is moving in a positive direction. With that growth comes pressure, and affordable housing is one of the clearest challenges.

When people move in from higher-cost markets, pricing shifts quickly, and that puts strain on young professionals and essential community workers like teachers, police officers, and firefighters. A healthy, diverse community has to include those groups, so the housing conversation is central to long-term competitiveness.

What are your key goals and priorities for the Chamber for the next five years?

We want to keep building a strong support system through the Chamber for businesses in our community, and a major priority is strengthening the Sarasota Chamber of Commerce Foundation so we can secure grants and other funding that sustains our programs.

That includes CareerEdge, ThinkBIG, Leadership Sarasota, and our Young Professionals Group. We’re also excited that we were notified in December about a $1 million endowment gift to support CareerEdge, which is a strong vote of confidence in the impact of this work and a foundation we plan to build on.