News

Deb Heffner, CEcD, is the Business Outreach Director for the Greater Reading Chamber Alliance (GRCA). She brings over 16 years of experience to this position, along with an incredible passion for the region.

Deb leads GRCA's Local Business Outreach initiative, which works with existing businesses to help them prosper and connect them to resources. She also serves as the primary person for all external prospect outreach, which includes attending conferences and tradeshows, relationship management and site visits. Additionally, she administers Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority (PIDA) loans and manages their Family Business Alliance and Building Berks initiatives.

Deb earned the designation of Certified Economic Developer (CEcD) from the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) in 2016. She was awarded the Industrial Asset Management Council (IAMC) Fellow designation, and currently sits on the Board of Directors of IAMC.  

As a native of Berks County, Deb has stated many times that she is blessed to work on behalf of a community she loves. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Oley Valley Community Education Foundation. Deb enjoys camping and motorcycle riding with her family, and is currently working towards the goal of camping at every Pennsylvania State Park.

In your submission, please include your name, title, organization, phone number, email address, and mailing address and send via email to PEDA at conferences@peda.org.

• Explain your proposed session topic, title, and overview.
• Explain what is innovative about your proposed session and topic(s) of focus.
• Explain your presentation approach / style.
• Describe what the key takeaways will be for conference attendees.
• Provide any information you feel will help us better understand what you want to do as a presenter.
• Provide name / title / organization for each of the speakers / presenters you're recommending for consideration.

Late this spring, PEDA released the initial results of its EDC Impact Study. The study, as discussed at the time, was aimed at documenting both the effort required by our EDC community to successfully compete on a global scale and the impact that results from their efforts to serve as the cornerstone for social and business networks that propel the local economy.

Since that time, PEDA's work with Fourth Economy Consulting and Econsult Solutions, Inc., has continued, as a full report has been developed to provide a broader understanding of the underlying processes through which the data was collected, the impacts were estimated, etc. We welcome you to review the full report (or the Executive Summary) and encourage you to share this information with legislators and key stakeholders in your communities.

Click here to access the press release.

In response to requests by members and partners, and in an effort to ensure the continued development of a talent pipeline within the economic development profession, PEDA is offering a one-time, discounted young professional membership promotion in 2020.

Individuals under the age of 40 who are both new members to PEDA and who represent net new memberships to PEDA from their particular organizations are eligible for this promotion. More specifically, any organization renewing the same number and types of full price PEDA memberships in 2020 as it had in 2019 will have the opportunity to also add an additional qualifying member at a reduced rate of $ 200 for 2020.

To determine your eligibility to take advantage of this one-time promotion or to learn more about PEDA's plans to further involve young professionals via some of the sessions and after-hours gatherings being developed for 2020 conferences, please contact PEDA at pedastaff@peda.org.

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Notes: Individuals for whom discounted membership is requested must be eligible new members joining PEDA for 2020, who also represent net new memberships to PEDA from their particular organizations. The discounted rate only applies to the net new member's 2020 dues. After the discount period, dues renewal rates for 2021 will be at the regular rates for the specific membership type. Net new members may not be existing members. PEDA's board of directors makes all formal decisions regarding approval of membership applications. PEDA reserves the right to suspend or end this promotion at any time. Some restrictions apply. 

Click here to read more.

Kathy Henderson has been Director of Economic Development for Carbon Chamber and Economic Development Corp. (CCEDC) since 2014. In that time, she has counseled numerous business start-ups and new entrepreneurs, helped existing businesses to grow in the county, recruited a large medical waste processing company to the CCEDC warehouse, earned Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority (PIDA) certification for the CCEDC and resuscitated the Business and Education Partnership, which also organizes and runs the CCEDC's annual Hippie Run. This event raises money for scholarships for graduating seniors from each of the County's 6 school districts.

Her work responsibilities include property management of the CCEDC's warehouse and office building. She also underwrites loan packages for the CCEDC's Small Business Expansion Loan Fund and the Carbon County Industrial Development Authority's Revolving Loan Fund.

In 2018 she helped to facilitate Carbon County's completion of the Return on Environment Study along with Audubon Pennsylvania, and John Rogers of Keystone Conservation Trust.

Mrs. Henderson is a member of numerous Boards, including the Northeast PA Alliance (NEPA), Commuter Services, CTC Manufacturing, Carbon/Schuylkill/Luzerne STEM Ecosystem, Lehighton Main Street Steering Committee and the Lehigh Canal and Recreation Commission (LCRC).  

She is the vice-chair of the NEPA MPO Policy Committee, a member of the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber's Public Policy Committee and the Pennsylvania Economic Development Association (PEDA) Advocacy Committee and Convention and Professional Standards Committee.  

In her past life, she was a licensed Realtor in both Florida and Pennsylvania. What spare time she has she devotes to acting as the Committee Chair for her church's Boy Scout Troop and is a member of the church's audit committee. She enjoys bicycling, camping, fishing, hiking and gardening.

Late this spring, PEDA released the initial results of its EDC Impact Study. The study, as discussed at the time, was aimed at documenting both the effort required by our EDC community to successfully compete on a global scale and the impact that results from their efforts to serve as the cornerstone for social and business networks that propel the local economy.

Since that time, PEDA's work with Fourth Economy Consulting and Econsult Solutions, Inc., has continued, as a full report has been developed to provide a broader understanding of the underlying processes through which the data was collected, the impacts were estimated, etc. We welcome you to review the full report (or the Executive Summary) and encourage you to share this information with legislators and key stakeholders in your communities.

Lew Villotti is the President of the Beaver County Corporation for Economic Development (BCCED), the lead economic development organization for Beaver County, Pennsylvania.

Born and raised in southwestern Pennsylvania Lew began his professional career working for the Washington County Planning Commission in Washington, PA, were he spent nearly nine years, the last two as the Assistant Director. Lew is a graduate of California University of Pennsylvania, with a Bachelor's in Urban Affairs and a Masters in Geography and Regional Planning and, prior to joining BCCED, served as the Planning and Development Director for the Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission (SPC) and Vice President of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Corporation. Lew also held previous positions of Transportation Program Manager at SPC and was a Project Manager for Michael Baker Corporation.

Lew has also served as a peer consultant for the Federal Highway Administration's scenario, planning initiatives in Birmingham, Alabama; Newark, New Jersey; and Richmond, Virginia. Lew lives in Avella, Pennsylvania with his wife Beth and daughter Maria, where he is an active member of the community and has served on the board of the Independence Cross Creek Joint Sewer Authority and coached soccer for 12 years.