Meet the Team Behind the Mission: Q&A with Hannah Taphorn
In its mission to recruit companies and grow jobs, the REDI Cincinnati team amplifies our region’s unique story to national and international audiences. This series flips the script for a look at what makes these passionate economic development professionals tick — and what they love most about living and working in Greater Cincinnati.
Hannah Taphorn is a naturally curious person, who will tell you she’s happiest when unraveling complex “riddles” that reveal hidden truths about consumer behavior. What she won’t tell you is that her laser-sharp focus and deep understanding of human interaction enabled her to graduate magna cum laude from top-ranked Wittenberg University and, more recently, earned her promotion to REDI Cincinnati Senior Manager of Research & Strategy.
A member of the team since REDI’s inception, Hannah has spent the last four years performing deep, thoughtful analysis of relevant market data, economic indicators and regional information to support REDI’s mission-critical focus on job creation and capital investment. In her new role, Hannah takes on additional responsibilities to enhance and extend REDI’s research capabilities even further.
Outside of work, Hannah enjoys exploring the diverse Northside neighborhood where she lives with her husband. “Northside is a place where you’ll never be bored,” she says. “From live music to ethnic restaurants, book clubs and art openings, we have fun every night of the week.
Describe your background and how you came to be part of the REDI team?
After college, I took a position as a contractor at Procter & Gamble, where I was engaged in consumer research, looking at things like how different colors on packaging could impact consumer decisions. From that role I came to REDI, where my passion for communication has helped me assist in marketing and communication initiatives, manage client- and investor-driven requests and further REDI’s internal strategy-based analyses.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
My favorite thing is that I truly believe in what I’m selling. I made a conscious decision to come back to Cincinnati after college and I’ve never regretted a moment of it. I also love doing the job of translator — helping distill complex data into consumable bites. That could involve changing how something is explained in talking points for a client presentation, or finding the right data visualization to make companies give Greater Cincinnati a second look. Overall, the data is the same, but how we communicate it is what matters.
What excites you most about the future of Greater Cincinnati?
I’m excited to see where the conversations around public transportation will take us in the near future. I’m also excited for more people to discover what we’ve all known for years — that our region is an incredible place. I love seeing the expressions on people’s faces the first time they see our beautiful skyline, or meet Fiona, or experience Derby Day, or catch an FCC game, or try goetta. There are truly so many ways to fall in love with this region, and it’s even more exciting when the person falling in love is a new neighbor, colleague or friend.