About Us
Our Team
Leadership & Management
Randy Thelen
President & CEOAs President & CEO of The Right Place, Randy leads economic development strategy through collaboration with local, State, and national organizations and stakeholders. His role is central to the organization’s core work of business retention, expansion, and attraction within the community, 同时与The Right Place的使命保持一致,即推动大急流城地区的可持续经济增长和共享繁荣.
Brad Comment
Senior Vice President, Strategic InitiativesAs Senior Vice President of Strategic Initiatives, Brad is responsible for The Right Place's strategic projects and initiatives, business intelligence, fundraising and public policy. 他与各种合作伙伴组织合作,领导与The Right Place 2020-2022年战略计划密切相关的项目.
TaRita D. Johnson
Senior Vice President, Talent & DiversityTaRita is the Senior Vice President of Talent and Diversity at The Right Place Inc. She works to collaborate with workforce development organizations, employers, and investors to lead strategies to ensure West Michigan attracts, develops, and retains diverse talent.
Tim Mroz
Senior Vice President, Community DevelopmentAs Senior Vice President of Community Development for The Right Place, Tim is responsible for leading The Right Place’s place-based strategy and work. 他关注的领域包括社区发展支柱,如智能增长规划、基础设施 & transportation, community leadership & engagement, placemaking, transformational site redevelopment and more.
Brent Case
Vice President, Business DevelopmentBrent works to recruit new business investment and jobs to the region. 他还在扩张过程的决策部分协助西密歇根州的公司概述本地增长的好处,而不是州外.
Terry Hossink
Vice President, Manufacturing ServicesTerry is responsible for The Right Place’s Manufacturing Services team. 他也是密歇根制造技术中心大急流城办公室团队的区域总监. 该团队与西密歇根州的中小型制造商合作,帮助他们获得持续改进的机会, development, growth, and transition with advanced manufacturing technologies.
Jennifer Wangler
Vice President, Technology | Director, Technology Council of West MichiganJennifer为肯特郡的Right Place客户提供保留和扩展协助,并为国内和国际IT和技术公司提供现场定位协助. She also serves as the Director for the Technology Council of West Michigan.
Julie Burrell
Senior Economic Development Director - Newaygo County朱莉担任纽瓦戈县经济发展伙伴关系的高级经济发展总监. In this role, she provides business support services to companies in Newaygo County.
Rachel Gray
Executive Director, Hello West MichiganAs the Executive Director for Hello West Michigan, Rachel leads the organization’s strategy, operations, and membership. She helps educate employers and prospective candidates about the region.
Staff
Jackie Beering
Senior AccountantJackie provides accounting support as well as oversight of all project tracking, collections and records management. She is responsible for processing accounts payable and accounts receivable transactions. Jackie also manages grant reporting for The Center-West, and is responsible for investor billing and record maintenance.
Jakob Bigard
Executive Director, Montcalm Economic AllianceJakob serves as Executive Director of the Montcalm Economic Alliance. In this role, he provides business support services to prospective and existing companies in Montcalm County. 雅各布致力于通过人的视角不断改善该县的整体经济状况, place, and prosperity.
René Booker
Program Manager, The Center-Westrenee Booker是密歇根制造技术中心西部(中西部)的项目经理。, providing support for events, marketing, and internal continuous improvement efforts. 她还支持The Right Place/中西部制造商和供应链管理委员会.
Curtis Burdette
Executive Director, Oceana County Economic AllianceCurtis serves as the Economic Development Director for the Oceana County Economic Alliance. In this role, he provides business support services to companies in Oceana County.
Shawna Covell
Accounting and Operations Assistant肖娜在会计部门和公司的日常行政运作中执行各种各样的职责.
Jillian Elliott
Manager of Conferences and EventsJillian is the Manager of Conferences and Events. 在她的角色中,她领导the Right Place和the central - west的活动规划和管理.
Donna Ford
Assistant to the President and CEODonna provides executive assistance to the President & The Right Place的首席执行官,并为The Right Place董事会和执行委员会提供行政支持.
Brandon Hamilton
Executive AssistantBrandon provides executive assistance to the Sr. Vice Presidents of Business Development and Talent and Diversity. Brandon implements a variety of administrative duties, balance multiple priorities, and contributes to key projects within our talent, diversity, and business development initiatives.
Eric Heys
Marketing CoordinatorEric provides graphic and layout support for all printed communication needs of The Right Place, and he works with local printers to see production through to the final printed materials.
Chloe Hoekstra
Marketing and Communications Intern, Hello West Michigan克洛伊正在加尔文大学学习营销管理和英语,将于2025年春季毕业. 她是Hello West Michigan的市场传播实习生,协助团队使用社交媒体, crafting newsletters, and writing blogposts.
Eric Icard
Senior Director of Business DevelopmentEric provides retention and expansion assistance to Right Place clients. He provides site location assistance to national and international life sciences firms. He also serves as the facilitator for the MiDevice group.
Victor Joaquin, SHRM-CP
Talent Program ManagerAs Talent Program Manager for The Right Place, Victor works on establishing collaborative relationships between businesses, colleges, universities, and organizations dedicated to the flourishing of communities in West Michigan.
Jessica Kuster
Program Manager, Hello West MichiganJessica serves as the Program Manager for Hello West Michigan, where she oversees the internship and candidate connection programs, marketing and communication needs, and facilitates member orientation and training programs.
Mia LaMontagne
Marketing & Communications InternMia is an Advertising & Public Relations student at Grand Valley State University and is graduating in Spring 2025. As the Marketing and Communications intern at The Right Place, Mia assists the marketing team with social media, web content management, email marketing, and public relations.
Peter Lee
Business Development InternPeter是韩国加尔文大学的学生,主修市场营销管理,辅修供应链管理和信息系统. As the Business Development intern at the Right Place, 他将协助业务开发团队进行研究和分析,并协助各种行政活动.
Steven Lopez
Business Development Specialist, The Center-WestSteven Lopez是密歇根制造技术中心西部的一位经验丰富的业务发展专家, affiliated with The Right Place. Specializing in plant and production management, Steven has a deep passion for operational excellence and lean processes. 他在推动工业4的卓越运营和创新方面的专业知识得到了广泛认可.0. As West Michigan's lead Industry 4.0 assessor, Steven conducts comprehensive Industry 4.0 assessments across West Michigan's 13 counties, focusing on identifying technologies that enhance operational performance. Serving small and mid-size manufacturers in Barry County and parts of Kent, 他的工作在推动技术创新和促进密歇根州充满活力的制造业增长方面发挥了重要作用. Through these efforts, Steven在确保区域制造业在不断变化的全球格局中保持竞争力和创新方面发挥着至关重要的作用.
Kristi Lucas-Zimmerman
Economic Development Director, Chamber Alliance of Mason CountyKristi serves as the Economic Development Director of the Chamber Alliance of Mason County. In this role, she provides business support services to prospective and existing companies. She works to improve the overall economic state of Mason County through business retention, expansion, and attraction. Additionally, 克里斯蒂促进社区发展,目前正在为梅森县的住房和小径倡议工作.
Emily Mace
Investor Relations SpecialistAs Investor Relations Specialist, Emily works to build and implement a comprehensive fundraising strategy for The Right Place. 这包括管理必要的行政基础设施,并与当前和未来的投资者建立关系.
Rafael Martinez
Business Intelligence & Research ManagerRafael works as a Business Intelligence & Research Manager for The Right Place. In this role, he provides business intelligence and economic research for the organization, and to investors and other stakeholders.
Sadie McKinstry
Business Development Specialist, The Center-WestSadie McKinstry是密歇根制造技术中心西部的业务发展专家, primarily serving small and mid-sized manufacturers located in Ottawa and Allegan counties.
Allyssa Murphy
Marketing and Communications ManagerAs the Marketing and Communications Manager, Allyssa manages the website, social media channels, blog, email and digital marketing campaigns for The Right Place and The Center-West team.
Jodi Nichols
Executive Director, Lake County Economic Development AllianceJodi serves as the Executive Director of the Lake County Economic Development Alliance. In this role, 她为潜在的和现有的雇主提供商业支持服务,并领导关键的社区发展倡议,以改善县的整体状况和社区的生活质量.
Tristan Reuben
Business Development CoordinatorTristan is a Business Development Coordinator at The Right Place. He works with companies in Kent County on expansion and retention projects, 同时还为希望来西密歇根的公司提供选址服务.
Matthew Streeter
Business Intelligence Intern马修目前在伟谷州立大学(Grand Valley State University)学习经济学和统计学,将于2025年春季毕业. As the Business Intelligence (BI) intern, Matthew assists the BI team in research, data collection, analysis, and communication.
Angela Violet
Human Resources ManagerAs Human Resources Manager, Angela handles the day-to-day Human Resources functions for the organization. 她是团队成员和组织的资源,因为她致力于改善员工体验. Angela handles team member onboarding and orientation, benefits administration, management of organizational policies, and compliance matters.
Kelly Wawsczyk
Executive Director, Mecosta County Development CorporationKelly serves as the Executive Director for the Mecosta County Development Corporation. In this role, she leads the promotion of economic development in Mecosta County through the attraction, retention and expansion of business and industry.
John Wiegand
Business Intelligence & Research ManagerAs Business Research & Intelligence Manager for The Right Place, John provides business intelligence and economic research for the organization, investors and other stakeholders.
Ryan Wilson
Executive Director, Ionia County Economic Alliance瑞安在发展和实施以人为本的经济发展计划方面发挥领导作用, Place, and Prosperity and in alignment with both local needs and regional strategies.
Amy Winkler
Client Coordinator, The Center-WestAmy Winkler是the Right Place密歇根制造技术中心西部地区办事处的客户协调员, Inc. Amy coordinates customer consulting and training projects, user groups and workshops, and monitors these activities’ compliance with contractual reporting requirements.
Ben Wood
Business Development Specialist, The Center-WestBen is responsible for working with small to medium sized manufacturers in West Michigan, focusing on Mason, Lake, Osceola, Oceana, Newaygo, Mecosta, Muskegon, Montcalm, Ionia, and Northern Kent Counties. He helps them assess their opportunities for continuous improvement and growth.
Upcoming Events
All EventsHello West Michigan Intern Connect 2024
Intern Connect是一个为期半天的专业发展会议,旨在向实习生介绍西密歇根州的生活方式和丰富的经济机会.