About Shawn Neidorf

Shawn Neidorf currently serves as senior vice president of research at the Arizona Commerce Authority, based in Phoenix, Arizona.

The Arizona Commerce Authority is the state’s leading economic development organization with a mission to grow and strengthen Arizona’s economy. The authority is overseen by a board overseen by Gov. Doug Ducey and composed of members of the public and private sectors.

Neidorf has been the senior vice president at the Arizona Commerce Authority since 2018. She oversees research teams and oversees the state’s efforts around Opportunity Zones, including the Arizona Opportunity Zones Network. She also managed an Opportunity Zone conference in 2018 that drew nearly 400 attendees to learn about the federal tax incentive program.

Neidorf has been with the Arizona Commerce Authority since 2013, first serving as the director of research. Prior to that, she worked at the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press as a research associate. She also worked as a journalist for about a decade at the San Jose Mercury News and other publications, where she covered business, education, health care and other topics. Neidorf also taught sociology as a lecturer and teaching assistant while at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Neidorf has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a master’s degree and Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Illinois at Chicago.