ABOUT
me.
Katie Milton Jordan, MBA, ACC, CBI, CEPA is the Founder & CEO of SimpleEDO.ai and a nationally recognized authority on AI execution for mission-driven organizations. A former Deputy Director and Interim Executive Director, Certified Business Intermediary, and Certified Exit Planning Advisor, she brings operator-level credibility to AI strategy — focusing on execution, governance, and human accountability rather than hype or tools.
She founded the AI Performance School for Economic Developers and the AI ROI Association for EDO Pros. She runs four ventures with a team of two — using the same AI systems she teaches — and helps leaders across economic development, business transition, and civic leadership build AI-enabled workflows with measurable ROI.
MBA
ACC
CBI
CEPA
4x IEDC GOLD
Innovation should restore humanity, not replace it.
How I Got Here
CAREER history.
I didn't start in AI. I started in economic development — the kind of work where you negotiate incentive packages by day and chase down site-selection paperwork by night. That's where I learned what "systems that actually work" means, because I watched what happens when they don't.
Kerrville EDC
Deputy Director → Interim Executive Director
Led business retention & expansion, site selection, and incentive negotiations. Learned economic development from the inside — the budgets, the politics, the stakes — before I ever touched a prompt window.
Business Brokerage
Certified Business Intermediary (CBI)
Business sales and exit planning. Earned the CEPA designation alongside it — the discipline of helping owners plan an exit taught me almost everything I now teach about planning an AI transition: sequencing, risk, and what actually transfers.
Today
Founder & CEO, SimpleEDO.ai (Freenew LLC)
Four-time IEDC Gold Award recipient. Founded the AI Performance School for EDO Pros, the AI ROI Association, and built a team of two running four ventures — proof, not theory, that the systems work.
"I get an unreasonable amount of satisfaction from finishing an entire tube of toothpaste. Imagine what I do with your budget."
I was the last person in most rooms to adopt anything new — Dewey Decimal, then a typewriter, then MapQuest, then finally my first computer at 30. I know what it feels like to be behind. That's exactly why I'm fluent in how to catch up fast, and it's the bridge I build for every leader who walks in the door feeling like AI passed them by already. (More on that in the blog.)
What I Run
THE venture map.
Four ventures, one team of two, all run on the same AI systems I teach. Personal brand feeds credibility and speaking; speaking feeds SimpleEDO training; training feeds the platform. The Townie keeps me honest about what AI should feel like in a small town.
Primary Venture
SimpleEDO.ai
AI education and consulting for economic development leaders. Home of the AI Performance School, AIWE Certification, RISE+DONE, and the Humans+Agents Platform.
Visit SimpleEDO.ai →
Membership Community
AI ROI Association
A membership community for EDO professionals proving AI ROI in their own organizations — peer accountability, not just another course.
Visit AI ROI Association →
Weekly Newsletter
The Townie
A hyperlocal newsletter for Mason County and the Texas Hill Country — the modern-day front porch of rural America, blending AI with grassroots journalism.
Visit TheTownie.ai →
B2B Brokerage
Mineral Man LLC
A bulk sand brokerage, co-owned with my husband. Proof that the operating discipline behind AI systems works just as well for moving freight as it does for moving ideas.
Fractional CFO
ERNA Sands LLC
Light manufacturing, where I serve as fractional CFO. The numbers side of the same discipline I bring to every other room.
On the Road
SPEAKING & events.
I speak at the conferences where economic developers actually gather — not generic "AI for business" circuits. Recent and recurring stops:
TEDCTexas Economic Development Council
MEDAMunicipal Economic Development Association
OEDAOhio Economic Development Association
IEDCInternational Economic Development Council
LocalGreater Mason County Venture Fest
Want me at your conference or in front of your team? Get in touch.
Who Else Is Here
THE team.
SimpleEDO runs lean on purpose. Right now, that means a team of two.
AI Workflow Expert & Field Coordinator
Chelsea Fore
Formerly of Kerrville EDC (Executive Assistant → Marketing & Events Coordinator) and Co-Owner & COO of OffRoad Spray Co. Based in Mason, TX. Joined SimpleEDO's team to help build and run the workflows we teach.
LET'S talk.
If any of this sounds like where your organization is headed, I'd love to hear from you.