Michelle Caba
Michelle Caba leads initiatives to drive business growth, attract capital investment, develop the workforce, and promote tourism. With a background that includes experience on Wall Street, entrepreneurship, business ownership, and economic development, she offers a distinct perspective on strengthening communities, supporting local businesses, and creating opportunities for long-term economic growth.
Current Roles and Responsibilities
Economic development is typically assessed through tangible outcomes, like new businesses opening, job creation, investment projects commencing, or increases in tourism numbers. While those results matter, they are usually the product of work that happens long before any announcement is made. Building relationships, supporting local businesses, creating partnerships, and connecting people with opportunities are often the foundations for sustainable growth.
That philosophy shapes how I approach economic development in Deerfield Beach. My role includes attracting capital investment, supporting local businesses, helping drive workforce development, encouraging job creation, and increasing tourism. While each of these responsibilities serves a different purpose, they all contribute to supporting local businesses, attracting investment, creating jobs, and promoting Deerfield Beach as a place to live, work, and visit.
Supporting Businesses beyond Incentives
One of the most rewarding parts of economic development is helping businesses grow. While incentives and resources are important, business owners often need visibility, connections, and practical support just as much as financial assistance.
That thinking inspired the Grow Deerfield Beach and Spend Local, Save Local programs. Through the initiative, participating businesses offer special promotions to residents, employees, and visitors. In return, the city helps promote those businesses through its website, weekly newsletter, and social media channels. Since launching the program in October 2025, approximately 50 businesses have joined, and more than 5,000 Grow Deerfield Beach cards are circulating throughout the community.
The program has helped increase exposure for local businesses while encouraging residents and visitors to support the local economy. More importantly, this reflects a comprehensive approach to economic development that combines attracting investment with ongoing support for local businesses and helping existing businesses succeed.
Education has become another important part of that effort. Recently, we hosted a two-day AI workshop attended by more than 40 businesses. Rather than simply discussing AI concepts, participants brought their laptops and worked directly with the tools, learning practical ways to use AI platforms to improve and scale their businesses.We are continuing to expand programming through additional initiatives, including sales training programs developed in partnership with organizations such as Dale Carnegie.
Our goal is to create an environment where business owners feel supported and have access to the resources they need to grow.
Partnerships Expand Possibilities
One lesson I have learned throughout my career is that economic development is fundamentally a relationship-driven profession. Cities cannot achieve their goals in isolation.
Invest in relationships and never underestimate the value of telling your community’s story. Relationships help move initiatives forward, while effective communication ensures people understand the opportunities your city has to offer.
Our team is relatively small, which makes partnerships essential. We work closely with local chambers of commerce, business organizations, regional publications, tourism agencies, and community stakeholders to expand the reach of our initiatives and create opportunities that would be difficult to accomplish alone.
Those partnerships have also strengthened our collaboration with organizations such as Broward County and Visit Lauderdale. Through those relationships, Deerfield Beach participated in IPW, the world’s largest international tourism trade show, for the first time. With approximately 5,000 attendees from around the world, the event highlighted both the opportunities available to our city and the importance of continuing to elevate Deerfield Beach’s profile as a destination.
Experiences like these reinforce an important reality: strong partnerships create access to opportunities that would otherwise remain out of reach.
Positioning Deerfield Beach for Growth
As cities compete for talent, investment, and business growth, understanding what makes a community distinctive becomes increasingly important.
One of the characteristics that differentiates Deerfield Beach is its openness to public-private collaboration. As a city, we are actively exploring new partnerships and opportunities to attract investment, support businesses, and strengthen economic growth. That willingness to collaborate creates opportunities to work more closely with business leaders, community organizations, and regional partners to advance shared goals.
Location is another significant advantage. Situated between Boca Raton and Fort Lauderdale, and serving as the last city in Broward County before Palm Beach County, Deerfield Beach is uniquely positioned within South Florida’s economic landscape. Businesses benefit from proximity to three airports and three seaports, creating strategic advantages for supply chain operations, warehouse and distribution businesses, and companies that depend on regional and international connectivity. The city’s location also makes it attractive for corporate headquarters seeking access to major transportation networks throughout South Florida.
Tourism also plays an important role in that strategy. We are currently activating a tourism center at the city’s pier that will help visitors learn more about Deerfield Beach, discover local businesses, and connect with experiences throughout the community. By strengthening tourism and increasing awareness, we create additional opportunities for local businesses while reinforcing the city’s identity as a place where people want to live, work, and play.
Bringing an Entrepreneur’s Perspective to Economic Development
My perspective on economic development has been shaped by experiences both inside and outside government. Before entering this field, I spent two decades on Wall Street and later built, scaled, and sold businesses of my own. I understand the challenges entrepreneurs face since I have experienced many of them firsthand.
That background influences how I approach business support, capital investment, and community development. When speaking with business owners, I understand the realities of growth, uncertainty, and decision-making firsthand. It allows me to view economic development not only from the perspective of a city but also from that of the people building businesses within it.
If there is one lesson I would share with fellow economic development leaders, it is this: invest in relationships and never underestimate the value of telling your community’s story. Relationships help move initiatives forward, while effective communication ensures people understand the opportunities your city has to offer.
Economic development is ultimately about creating opportunity. The stronger the connections between businesses, residents, community organizations, and public institutions, the greater the potential for long-term growth. In my experience, relationships are one of the most important drivers of economic development because they help expand reach, build partnerships, and create momentum around shared goals.
At the same time, communities should not be afraid to tell their story. Marketing and promotion go hand in hand with economic development. Whether attracting investment, supporting local businesses, or increasing tourism, it is important to communicate what a city has to offer and ensure people understand the opportunities available within the community.
