Thomas A. Waltermire joined Team NEO in March 2006 as its Chief Executive Officer, following a 31 year career with major Northeast Ohio corporations: BFGoodrich, The Geon Company and PolyOne Corporation. Tom served as Chairman and CEO of both Geon and PolyOne.

Team Northeast Ohio (Team NEO) is the 18-county region’s private sector, economic development hub, with strong ties to the major metropolitan chambers of commerce and the key region-wide development organizations. In this capacity, Team NEO facilitates regional economic competitiveness strategy, markets the region world-wide to attract new businesses and also serves as the regional Network Partner for JobsOhio, the State’s economic development arm. Team NEO’s service area spans north to south from Cleveland to Akron and Canton and east to west from Youngstown to Sandusky and Mansfield. Team NEO is supported by the business community via the metropolitan business organizations, by the Cleveland Foundation and the Fund for our Economic Future, a consortium of foundations in the region and by JobsOhio. Team NEO is one of the three creators of the Cleveland+ marketing campaign.

Tom Waltermire grew up in the Akron area, and joined BFGoodrich in 1974 following degrees from The Ohio State University and the Harvard Business School. He held a range of financial, operating and general management positions, until becoming Geon’s CFO when it spun off from BFGoodrich in 1993. In 2000, as Geon CEO, Tom led the formation of the $3 billion PolyOne Corp. when Geon acquired Cleveland-based M.A. Hanna Corporation. PolyOne’s global polymer operations spanned 25 countries. He served as PolyOne CEO from its formation until late 2005, a record earnings year for PolyOne. Waltermire today serves on the Board of Directors of Westfield Bank, Flow Polymer, AlSher Titania and Collaborant, Inc.

Waltermire’s active engagement in economic development of Northeast Ohio and the State of Ohio includes having served as Chair of NorTech (NEO regional technology consortium) and on the executive committees and boards of Cleveland Tomorrow, the Greater Cleveland Partnership, JumpStart, Inc. and the Ohio Business Roundtable. Tom is the founding Chair of the Ohio Polymer Strategy Council and has been appointed by two Ohio Governors to Ohio’s Third Frontier Advisory Board, a major state initiative in technology-based economic development. He also has served as Board Chair of the worldwide Ohio State University Alumni Association and as Board Chair of Business Volunteers Unlimited. He currently serves on the Boards of the Cleveland Orchestra, ideastream and Baldwin-Wallace College.

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Business Attraction : Major Projects

Jay Foran
Senior Vice President, Business Attraction

Jay Foran is responsible for generating business attraction and expansion lead opportunities, with an emphasis on high-growth industry clusters. He fosters mutually beneficial relationships with site selectors and corporate clients, and steers opportunities through the regional economic development framework, partnering with local and state economic development groups.

Prior to joining Team NEO, Mr. Foran was Vice President, Business Development for The Lake West Group LLC, a management consulting firm, that provides technology, strategic planning, process redesign and change management services primarily to the retail industry. He also served in a variety of key leadership positions with Procter & Gamble during a lengthy and distinguished career. Mr. Foran was responsible for a variety of business building initiatives that have been emulated throughout the consumer products industry.

Mr. Foran has an extensive record of leadership in enabling successful civic advocacy organizations, private and public campaigns, and assessments to support community sustainability. He has served as the Chairman of Lakewood Schools Facility Assessment Committee, led multiple successful bond and levy campaigns, and is the 2005 Recipient of State of Ohio NPRSA "Friend of Education" Golden Apple Awards. He also sits on the Board of Trustees for Lakewood Hospital Foundation – Lakewood Public Schools Alumni Foundation and is a Lakewood Alive Founder, Officer and Board Member.

Mr. Foran received his Bachelors in Marketing Management from Miami University. Additionally, he is a graduate of the Center for Creative Leadership in Greensboro, NC and is a member of the Leadership Cleveland Class of 2011. He resides in Lakewood with his wife and four children.

jforan@teamneo.org | 216-363-5407

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Thomas ("Tom") Sudow
Vice President, Business Attraction

Tom Sudow Thomas ("Tom") Sudow is Vice President, Attraction for Team NEO and in this role he works with Cleveland Clinic Innovations as Director of Business Development for the Global Cardiovascular Innovation Center (GCIC). Tom is charged with attracting bioscience and medical device companies to the GCIC.

Prior to joining Team NEO and the GCIC he served as Executive Director of the Beachwood, Ohio, Chamber of Commerce. In his role with the Chamber he also coordinated economic development efforts for the City of Beachwood. During his tenure as Executive Director, he recruited more than 20 international companies to establish their North America headquarters in Beachwood.

Mr. Sudow is actively involved in the Northeastern Ohio community and served a three-year term as chair of the Northern Ohio Area Chambers of Commerce (NOACC), an association of 123 chambers with more than 35,000 members. The largest independent Chamber organization in the US. During Tom's Chairmanship NOACC membership increased by over 100%.

He also served as President of the Beachwood Chamber of Commerce; President of the Beachwood Transportation Management Organization; President of the Cleveland Indians Wahoo Club; President of the Cleveland Cavilers Rebounder organization; and he serves on the board of several community organizations.

Sudow is also an active community leader and has worked with and for nonprofit organizations for nearly 30 years. He is a frequent guest columnist in publications such as Crain's Cleveland Business, Inside Business and the Cleveland Jewish News. In addition, he is frequently called upon to lecture and has taught a course in fund-raising management for seminars sponsored by Case Western Reserve University. He has also appeared on radio as a host of several programs.

He has been recognized with awards from many economic development and community organizations.
Tom holds a B.A. from Kent State University and an MSW from the Wurzweiler School of Social Work.

tsudow@teamneo.org | 216-363-5421

Jacob Duritsky
Director, Business Attraction

Jacob Duritsky

As Director for Business Attraction, Jacob Duritsky is the regional facilitator responsible for developing relationships with site selection consultants for recruitment of new business investment in Northeast Ohio. These consultants, hired to help companies decide where to invest, are an audience primary to the mission of Cleveland Plus Business and Team NEO. In addition, Jacob leads Team NEO's efforts for developing the advanced energy sector.

Jacob has been with Team NEO since 2008 and previously served as an integral part of the organization's research efforts. In this role, he was instrumental in developing and refining the Quarterly Regional Economic Review, a holistic picture of the collective 16-county region. This report is used widely by media, real estate firms, businesses and developers.

Prior to joining Team NEO, Jacob was a graduate and research assistant for The Center for Public Management/Great Lakes Environmental Finance Center where he conducted a regional economic impact study for the Cuyahoga County Department of Development, co-developed metrics for use by the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA), and developed social indicators for pending U.S. EPA litigation. Jacob holds a Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies from Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs, Cleveland State University, where he also holds a Master of Science in Urban Studies. Jacob is currently pursuing his Doctoral of Economic Development from Cleveland State. He is a member or the Urban Studies Association, American Economics Association and American Planning Association.

jduritsky@teamneo.org | 216-363-5424

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Bernardine van Kessel
Director, International Business Attraction

As Director for International Business Attraction, Bernardine van Kessel is responsible for developing and implementing strategies for active recruitment of new international business investment in Northeast Ohio. She collaborates with Northeast Ohio cities, counties, chambers of commerce, economic development organizations and industry groups that are actively recruiting international investment to help enhance message consistence and deal assistance region-wide.

Ms. van Kessel brings more than 15 years experience in international economic development to Team NEO. She has a wide range of experience in the public, private as well as non-profit sectors. Most recently she was with Kennemer Consulting and the City of Hudson.

As Economic Development Director for the City of Hudson, van Kessel was responsible for all of the City's business retention, expansion and attraction efforts. In her three years with the City, she attracted 14 new companies to Hudson, resulting in an investment of more than $45 million. She furthermore helped direct the development of the new, award-winning downtown, public-private partnership re-development project "First & Main."

Ms. Van Kessel also worked as Director of the Northeast Ohio-based International Trade Assistance Center (ITAC) and has assisted the state of Ohio in its world-wide marketing efforts by participating in the State's international trade and marketing missions.

She speaks Dutch, German and French, and is the Founder & President of the Netherlands Ohio Chamber of Commerce. Van Kessel holds a degree in Public Administration from the Universiteit Leiden, Leiden, the Netherlands as well as a BA in International Relations from Kent State University. In addition to her responsibilities with Team NEO, Ms. van Kessel is a volunteer translator for the International Institute of Akron, is a member of the Lieutenant Governor's Global Trade Advisory Board, a trustee of the Hudson Economic Development Corporation and a co-founding board member of the Dutch School in Cleveland. She enjoys golf, soccer, skiing, reading and traveling. She resides in Hudson with her husband and four children.

bvankessel@teamneo.org | 216.363.5415

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Camille Chin Billups
Director, Business Attraction

Camille Billups As Director of Business Attraction, Camille Chin Billups is responsible for managing projects that lead to the attraction of domestic and international companies to the Cleveland Plus region. Her focus is attracting minority owned companies to grow Northeast Ohio’s diversity in the business community. Ms. Billups manages client relationships and helps to execute projects by connecting prospective businesses with a variety of resources including: identifying the best properties, helping to determine potential supply chain partners and determining the most appropriate financial incentive package.

Ms. Billups joined Team NEO with 8 years of deal execution experience in the banking industry. While at Bank One (now JPMorgan Chase) and Societe Generale, she structured and helped to sell Asset Backed Securitization bonds in a variety of industries. She holds a bachelor's degree in Economics and Management from Albion College and a Master of Public Administration degree from Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University.

cbillups@teamneo.org | 216-363-5434

Mary Cierebiej
Manager, Business Attraction

As a member of the business attraction team, Mary Cierebiej manages and executes business attraction projects that lead to investments in the Cleveland Plus region. She does this by working with regional partners to connect opportunities for prospective businesses with a variety of resources including properties, supply chain partners and appropriate financial incentive options.
Before joining Team NEO, Mary was manager, attraction and expansion for Team Lorain County, one of the region’s major metropolitan chambers of commerce. In this capacity, she worked on a number of successful attraction projects bringing new jobs and investment to Lorain County. She also worked with existing Lorain County businesses to facilitate meeting their retention and expansion needs within the county.
Prior to entering the economic development arena, Mary was a Transportation Planner, Project Manager and Marketing Manager for HNTB in Cleveland. She has a variety of public and private sector experience and has a strong public involvement background including planning and coordinating meetings and making presentations to a wide range of public and private sector clients.
Mary currently serves as a member of the Planning Commission for the City of Lakewood and is a member of LakewoodAlive, a community development group. She is a member of the 2009 class of Crain’s Cleveland Business “40 Under 40.” Mary holds a Master’s degree in Urban Studies and Economic Development from Cleveland State University and a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Dayton. Mary is a Certified Planner (AICP) and a member of the Executive Committee for the Cleveland Chapter of the American Planning Association. She resides in Lakewood with her husband and two children.

mcierebiej@teamneo.org | 216.363.5411

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Business Attraction : Europe

Jonas Taeger
Deputy Director, Business Attraction Europe

As Deputy Director of the Cleveland Plus Business Office in Europe, Jonas Taeger works closely with the Director, International Business Attraction, to identify opportunities for European companies to expand in Northeast Ohio. In addition to proactive investment promotion activities, the European office also networks with high-ranking politicians, industry representatives and business organizations across Europe to offer assistance and professional support. Mr. Taeger has more than seven years experience in national and international business development. He works as a Consultant for PM & Partner Marketing Consulting GmbH, a consulting company which is exclusively engaged to represent Northeast Ohio throughout Europe. Through his work at PM & Partner he has a wide range of experience in the fields of investment promotion and regional development as well as in consultancy for enterprises with special emphasis on cross-border business development. Jonas Taeger currently resides in Munich, Germany.

Jonas.Taeger@clevelandplusbusiness.eu | +49 89/ 45 21 34 - 94

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Markus Wellmann
Deputy Director, Business Attraction Europe

As Deputy Director of the Cleveland Plus Business Office in Europe, Markus Wellmann is responsible for coordinating external contact efforts for business attraction as well as managing the office team of Cleveland Plus Business Europe in Frankfurt, Germany. His main competence is the management of the specialized CRM System. In his work for Cleveland Plus Business Europe, Mr. Wellmann prospects specific firms in target industries, to promote business attraction for Northeast Ohio. Mr. Wellmann has been with PM & Partner Marketing Consulting GmbH since 2000 and has led projects throughout Europe in addition to managing market analysis projects for a variety of large companies. Markus Wellmann holds a Diploma of Health Care Management from the University of Applied Sciences in Frankfurt. Mr. Wellmann is married and resides in Leipzig, Germany.

Markus.Wellmann@clevelandplusbusiness.eu | +49 69/ 66807719

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Finance + Administration

Laura Koballa Hudak
Vice President, Finance and Administration

Laura Hudak Laura Koballa Hudak is responsible for overseeing the financial, information systems, human resource and fundraising functions for Team NEO. In addition, Laura supports many attraction projects through special assignments such as workforce development, talent attraction and diversity and inclusion initiatives.

Mrs. Hudak previously served as senior manager in Deloitte & Touche's Enterprise Risk Services (ERS) group. She has more than 17 years of experience in a variety of IT platforms including MVS, AS/400, NT, Unix and Novell. In addition, Mrs. Hudak has considerable experience with Oracle Financials.

During Laura's tenure at Deloitte, she was instrumental in leading regional HIPPA activities for the healthcare industry and employers with self-insured health plans. In addition, she was one of the national facilitators of Sarbanes-Oxley regulations. Past client experience includes KeyCorp., National City Bank, Charter One, The City of Cleveland, The City of Akron, Parker Hannifin, Eaton Corporation, Medical Mutual of Ohio, Cleveland Clinic Health System and University Hospitals of Cleveland.

Prior to joining Deloitte, Laura spent 11 years at Ernst & Young. She worked in the capacity of a financial and information systems security auditor, splitting time in the Cleveland, National and London offices. At Ernst & Young, Ms. Koballa primarily served the financial services, manufacturing and health care industries in both Ohio and Michigan.

Mrs. Hudak is a Cleveland native and holds a bachelor's degree in accounting, computer science & business management from Kent State University. In addition, she is a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Information Systems Auditor.

Laura is also involved with various civic and not-for-profit causes outside of Team NEO. Laura sits on the boards of the Animal Protective League, Cleveland Leadership Center and The Club at Key Center. Laura has been a volunteer for the United Way in various capacities since 1988. In addition, Laura is a 2003 graduate of Cleveland Bridge Builders.

lkhudak@teamneo.org | 216-363-5404

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Richard J. Seifritz, Jr.
Director, Research

As a member of the research team, Rick Seifritz supports Team NEO's core mission of business attraction, retention, and expansion by managing and tracking research projects that the organization undertakes. His role involves conducting research, providing technical assistance, collecting data, providing analyses and forecasts, and writing reports for both internal and external clients. His responsibilities include economic impact analyses with Regional Economic Models, Inc. (REMI) software and data analysis with Environmental Services Research Institute's (ESRI) ArcView geographic information system. These analyses are used to gain insight into location decisions, policy discussions and viability of economic development projects.

Mr. Seifritz has contributed to several regional economic development projects for Team NEO, including: Impact analyses for mixed-use development projects in Cleveland and Seven Hills; data structuring and collection in the form of the regional Starting Wage and Benefits Survey; an industry and occupation profile for the City of Stow; demographic and industry-based research for the DFAS retention effort and the NASA Shared Services attraction effort; and economic and workforce estimates for the Region's Department of Labor's WIRED grant proposal.

Mr. Seifritz holds a Masters in Urban Planning, Design and Development from the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University, where he also received graduate certificates for specialized training in Urban Economic Development and Geographic Information Systems. He completed his undergraduate studies at the State University of New York at Brockport.

rseifritz@teamneo.org | 216-363-5433

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Sylvio Mecone
Associate, Research

As a member of the research team, Sylvio Mecone supports Team NEO's core mission of business attraction and expansion by researching and analyzing industry and employment trends in Northeast Ohio, as well as competing regions. His responsibilities include data collection, assembly, analysis and presentation in support of Northeast Ohio's advanced energy efforts. In addition, Mr. Mecone helps provide the business case for site selectors nationwide.

Prior to joining Team NEO, Mr. Mecone worked for Cresco Real Estate. In this capacity, he conducted market research to collect and report market data and commercial property and listing information.

Mr. Mecone is a 2012 candidate for Masters in Public Administration from the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University where he also received his undergraduate degree in Urban Studies.

smecone@teamneo.org | 216-363-5430

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Derek Taylor
Associate, Research

Derek Taylor works with geographic information systems (GIS) to analyze data and provide insights into workforce, location decisions and land use, as well as the regional economy. He also uses GIS to provide information that assists Team NEO's international attraction efforts, such as maintaining and updating an extensive database of foreign-owned companies in Northeast Ohio.

Prior to joining Team NEO, Mr. Taylor worked for the City of East Cleveland, assisting in the administration of the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program. He also worked at the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA).

Mr. Taylor holds a Masters in Urban Planning, Design and Development from the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University, where he also earned a graduate certificate for specialized training in GIS. He completed his undergraduate studies at Hiram College.

dtaylor@teamneo.org | 216-363-5413

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Marketing + Communications

Jenny W. Febbo, APR
Vice President, Marketing and Communications

As Vice President of Marketing and Communications, Jenny Febbo leads regional business attraction branding initiatives that position Northeast Ohio as an attractive location for business investment among domestic and international companies. As a member of Team NEO's senior management team, she also actively promotes engagement in Team NEO's business attraction mission among regional leaders and the 16-county Cleveland Plus community.

During an extensive and award-winning career, Ms. Febbo has directed marketing, advertising, public relations, analyst relations, research and corporate communications initiatives for leading business and professional services organizations. She also has developed, written and produced numerous publications, books and reports.

Before joining Team NEO, she was with Ernst & Young and led marketing and communications for major global service lines and industry sectors. She served in many marketing leadership roles for the "big four" professional services firm's array of domestic and global business services. Prior to joining Ernst & Young she was with Penton Media, the largest independent business-to-business media company in the U.S, where she ultimately became Director of Corporate Communications.

Jenny is accredited (APR) by the Public Relations Society of America and has received numerous awards for her work. She has been a frequent presenter for business and professional organizations. She has a bachelor's degree in journalism from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh and is a graduate of the Columbia University Graduate School of Business, Marketing Management Program. She is a member of the Public Relations Society of America, The International Association of Business Communicators, and the American Marketing Association.

She contributes her time and talents to both the marketing and development committees for The Beck Center for the Arts in Lakewood, Ohio and also is very active in fund-raising initiatives for the youth ministry at Avon United Methodist Church.

She resides with her husband and their two children in Avon, Ohio.

jfebbo@teamneo.org | 216-363-5426

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Nina Holliday
Director, Marketing

Nina Holliday is responsible for marketing and communications programs to support Team NEO's outreach activities.

With more than 15 years of experience in marketing, Ms. Holliday has extensive experience in all aspects of sports marketing, event planning, and media relations.

Before joining Team NEO, Ms. Holliday was regional marketing supervisor for Alltel, a communications company with almost 13 million customers and $8 billion in annual revenues. At Alltel, she managed public relations, events/sponsorships, sports marketing, crisis management, employee communications, community relations and philanthropic giving for a five-state region.

Ms. Holliday also was senior account executive with Liggett-Stashower, Inc., one of the largest communications companies in the Midwest, with annualized billings of more than $80 million. She worked with clients such as Cole Vision Corp, Forest City Properties and Motorists Insurance.

Ms. Holliday is a Cleveland native and holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from Baldwin-Wallace College. She is on the Board of Trustees for the Substance Abuse Initiative of Greater Cleveland. In addition, she is a marathon runner and member of Women in Sports and Events (WISE) and Friends of the West Side Catholic Center.

nholliday@teamneo.org | 216-363-5428

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JobsOhio Regional Office

Christine Nelson
Vice President, Regional Business Development
JobsOhio Regional Office

Christine Nelson manages the JobsOhio Regional Office and oversees a staff that assists companies and communities seeking support from JobsOhio for growth and job creation. She brings 20 years of economic and community development expertise at the city, county and regional levels.

Ms. Nelson, who joined Team NEO in 2008, most recently served as vice president, business attraction. Previously she was the Economic and Community Development Manager for Cuyahoga County. In this capacity, she was directly responsible for creating two national award winning economic development programs leveraging research, consensus building, funding and implementation.

Prior to this, Ms. Nelson held economic development roles with the City of Bedford and the City of Lakewood. In these roles she designed, developed and implemented comprehensive economic development programs.

A graduate of Hiram College, Ms. Nelson also received a Master’s of Public Administration degree from Cleveland State University and is a Certified Economic Developer by The National Development Council. In addition to her responsibilities with Team NEO, Ms. Nelson is the President of the Board of Trustees for the Greater Cleveland Community Improvement Corporation, serves on the Board for The Community Partnership for Arts and Culture and is a National New Market Tax Credit Reader for the U.S. Department of the Treasury. She resides in Lakewood with her husband and twin sons.

cnelson@teamneo.org | 216-363-5414

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Steve Fritsch
Business Development Director
JobsOhio Regional Office

Steve Fritsch works closely with local economic development professionals throughout the region to help companies and communities seeking support from JobsOhio for growth and job creation.

He recently served as a Business Systems Analyst for Agency Automation at Westfield Insurance. In this role, he worked with independent insurance agents and Westfield business units to understand the needs and translate the values that technology can bring to the personal lines policy quoting, underwriting and agency management workflows.

Prior to that, Steve served as Director of Marketing & Business Attraction for Team NEO. As part of the Cleveland Plus campaign, Steve managed Team NEO’s outbound business development efforts towards siteselection consultants. He also led Team NEO’s online marketing efforts, which included web, email, search and social media marketing. His innovative approach increased awareness with key stakeholders and customers, producing double-digit increases in key metrics & impactful results for our organization and Northeast Ohio. By acting as a strategic business consultant to companies considering business location investment, he was able understand & analyze decision drivers, shareholder value concerns and asset requirements then create data-driven solutions that mitigate risks, minimize costs and increase bottom line performance.

Steve has served on the Board of Directors of the Ohio Economic Development Association and the Industrial Asset Management Council Demographics Committee. Steve graduated from Kent State University with a Bachelor of Arts and Sciences. He is actively involved in the United Methodist Church of Kent and The Greater Akron Alumni Chapter of the Sigma Chi Fraternity.

Steve and his family reside in Hudson, Ohio.

sfritsch@teamneo.org | 330-414-4676

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Walt Good
Business Development Director
JobsOhio Regional Office

Walter Good Walt Good works closely with local economic development and business professionals throughout the region to help them access state incentives and services for projects and transactions that spur economic development.

Walt brings 17 years of economic development experience from the Youngstown/ Warren Regional Chamber, most recently as vice president, economic development, business retention and expansion. He was instrumental in leading local development efforts there from 2004 – 2011 that resulted in 156 projects with almost $2 billion in new investment, 9,200 new jobs and 15,600 retained/maintained positions.

Prior to that, Walt worked for the Cafaro Company, one of the nation’s most prominent and successful retail real-estate developers.

Walt holds a bachelor of science in business administration from Youngstown State University. He is a former vice president and board member of the Ohio Economic Development Association, board member of CASTLO Community Improvement Corporation, president of the Mahoning County Community Improvement Corporation and liaison to the Western Reserve Port Authority. He resides in the Youngstown area with his wife and three children.

wgood@teamneo.org | 330-519-7205

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Stephanie Mercado
Business Development Director
JobsOhio Regional Office

smercado@teamneo.org | 440-864-3369

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Kim Merik
Project Coordinator
JobsOhio Regional Office

kmerik@teamneo.org | 216-363-5422

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