Westchester Eco. Development Director Gibbons Elected to NYS Economic Development Council Board

COOPERSTOWN, NY—Bridget Gibbons, Emily Marcus, and Zoë Nelson were elected to serve their first two-year terms on the New York State Economic Development Council (NYSEDC) Board of Directors at its 2021 annual meeting held in Cooperstown this week. Additionally, nine board members were re-elected to the NYSEDC board.

Gibbons is the Westchester County Director of Economic Development. In this role, she is focused on attracting and retaining businesses and talent in Westchester. Since the pandemic started, she has focused on providing critical funding, information, and crisis advisory programs to help businesses recover and become more resilient. She has led the administration of the county’s $14-million grant program for small businesses and nonprofits, which provides critical funding to small businesses throughout Westchester County. Gibbons has a Bachelor’s degree in International Studies from American University in Washington DC, and certificates from Columbia University in Computer Technology and NYU in Social Media.

Marcus is an Assistant Vice President at the New York City Economic Development Corporation, where she serves as the Deputy Executive Director of both the New York City Industrial Development Agency and the Build New York City Resource Corporation. In these roles, she oversees NYCIDA and Build NYC’s portfolios of projects focused on industrial, renewable energy, life sciences, food retail, commercial office and not-for-profit development. She is a graduate of Tulane University as well as The London School of Economics and Political Science, where she earned a master’s in urban planning.

Nelson is the Associate Director of State Relations for Cornell University. She represents the university’s legislative and budget agendas before the legislative and executive branches of state government. As a major research university and New York’s Land Grant institution, Cornell is involved in a range of issues and programs with New York State in addition to those that affect higher education. Nelson graduated from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell and holds a master’s degree in childhood education from Brooklyn College.

“We are honored to welcome Bridget, Emily, and Zoe to our board of directors. Each represents a different geographic region of the state and their professional experience, industry representation, and unique perspective on economic development will serve as an asset to our organization,” NYSEDC Executive Director Ryan Silva, “The NYSEDC continues to provide strong leadership that delivers value to our 900+ members through advocacy, professional development, communications, networking, project lead generation, and the creation of opportunities to retain and attract new investment and jobs to our communities.”

Additionally, the following members were re-elected to the NYSEDC Board of Directors: Fred Braun, Board Chairman, Town of Brookhaven IDA, Victoria Duley, Executive Director, Adirondack EDC, Stacey Duncan, Executive Director & President, The Agency Broome County & Binghamton Chamber of Commerce, Keith Hayes, Senior Vice President, New York Power Authority, Steve Hyde, President & CEO, Genesee County EDC, Mike Manikowski, Executive Director, Ontario County Office of Economic Development, Katie Newcombe, Chief Economic Development Officer, The Center for Economic Growth (CEG), Karen Utz, Director & Program Administrator, Business & Entrepreneur Partnerships, University of Buffalo and Jennifer Waters, Vice President, Mohawk Valley Edge

The New York State Economic Development Council is the state’s principal, nonprofit membership organization representing public, private, and nonprofit economic development professionals. Its mission is to provide strong leadership that delivers cost-effective value to members through advocacy, professional development, communications, and networking. NYSEDC has been serving New York’s economic development professionals for more than 30 years. Its more than 900 members work to build vibrant, diverse and sustainable communities throughout New York State.