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Mid-Ohio Development Exchange

A significant investor in One Columbus, the Mid-Ohio Development Exchange (MODE) is a membership-based organization with a vision to be the most talented group of economic development professionals in the country.

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Membership Benefits

MODE provides educational, networking and collaboration opportunities to its members in order to strengthen and improve the profession, communities, and the Columbus Region.

Professional Development

Enhance your economic development skills and knowledge through training and programs.

Networking

Connect with the economic development community across the 11-county Columbus Region.

Collaboration

Work together to address issues that affect the development and business community.

Support

Capitalize on partner services.

Types of Membership

MODE members includes municipalities, counties, public sector organizations, private-sector businesses, and utility providers throughout the Columbus Region.

Any individual government, association of governments, public sector organization, or non-profit public sector organization that is engaged in or supports economic development activities and located within (or serving) the Columbus Region. Public sector members may have up to four attendees per organization at programming events.

Board Meetings

April 2 | 1 p.m.
Location: virtual

May 2 | 8:45 a.m. 
Location: TBD

June 4 | 1 p.m.
Location: virtual

July 11 | 8:45 a.m. 
Location: TBD

August 6 | 1 p.m.
Location: virtual

September 5 | 8:45 a.m. 
Location: TBD

October 1 | 1 p.m.
Location: virtual

November 7 | 8:45 a.m. 
Location: TBD

December 10 | 1 p.m.
Location: virtual

Programs

March 7 | MODE Annual Meeting
Location: OSU

April 4 | Practical Crisis Communications
Location: City of Powell
Host Crisis Counsel
Time: 12 – 3 p.m.

June 3 | MODE Mixer with MORPC Interns
Location: TBD
Time: 4 – 6 p.m.

June 6 | Confidentiality and NDAs
Location: TBD
Time: 12 – 2 p.m.

Q2 (TBD) | 1/2 Day Workshop | Economic Development Practice – Incentives Calculations & Community ROI
Location: TBD
Time: TBD

August 13 | Cultural Competency – Understanding Japanese Business Cultural Practices
Location: TBD
Time: 1 – 4 p.m.

September/October | Social Event Mixer
Location: TBD
Time: TBD

November 7 | Entrepreneurship – The Intersection of Entrepreneurship & Placemaking
Location: TBD
TIme: TBD

December 5 | ED411
Location: Hyatt Regency Columbus

Files and Documents

Download MODE Documents

MEMBERSHIP application

For membership inquiries reach out to Haley Young at hy@columbusregion.com.

MODE Education, Training, & Travel Application

Full, public-sector MODE members who are interested in applying for an education, training, or travel reimbursement, please click the link above to access the application. View the guidelines here.

For issues accessing the reimbursement link above, please complete this spreadsheet and submit it (along with other supporting materials) to the MODE Education Chair, Sean Hughes (shughes@cityofpowell.us).

membership bylaws

Meet the Board

  • Rick Szabrak

    Rick Szabrak

    President
    Fairfield 33 Development Alliance

  • Ben Vollrath

    Ben Vollrath

    Vice President
    Logan County Chamber of Commerce

  • Rachel Ray

    Rachel Ray

    Treasurer
    City of Westerville

  • Jeff Gottke

    Jeff Gottke

    Programming Chair
    Knox County Area Development Foundation

  • Sean Hughes

    Sean Hughes

    Education Chair
    City of Powell

  • Jeremiah Gracia

    Jeremiah Gracia

    Director-at-Large
    City of Dublin

  • Colleen Gilger

    Colleen Gilger

    Director-at-Large
    The Ohio State University

  • Quinten Harris

    Quinten Harris

    Director-at-Large
    City of Columbus

  • Matt McCollister

    Matt McCollister

    Director-at-Large
    One Columbus

  • David Meadows

    David Meadows

    Director-at-Large
    City of Hilliard

  • Eric Meyer

    Eric Meyer

    Director-at-Large
    City of Reynoldsburg

  • Eric Phillips

    Eric Phillips

    Director-at-Large
    Union County

  • Ruchelle Pride

    Ruchelle Pride

    Director-at-Large
    Franklin County

  • Jackie Russell

    Jackie Russell

    Director-at-Large
    City of New Albany

Current MODE Members

Full Public Sector Members

  • City of Canal Winchester

    Lucas Haire
    Development Director

    lhaire@canalwinchesterohio.gov
    614-837-1894

  • City of Columbus

    Quinten Harris
    Deputy Director of Jobs and Economic Development

    QLHarris@columbus.gov
    614-645-0772

  • City of Delaware

    Nic Langford
    Economic Development Director

    nlangford@delawareohio.net


  • City of Dublin

    Jeremiah Gracia
    Economic Development Director

    jgracia@dublin.oh.us
    (614) 410-4655

  • City of Powell

    Sean Hughes
    Economic Development Administrator

    shughes@cityofpowell.us
    (614) 885-5380, ext. 1043

  • Delaware County

    Dana McDaniel
    Economic Development

    DMcDaniel@co.delaware.oh.us
    614-206-3311

  • Fairfield 33 Alliance

    Rick Szabrak
    Economic and Workforce Development Director

    rick.szabrak@fairfieldcountyohio.gov
    740-652-7162

  • Franklin County Economic Development and Planning

    Ruchelle Pride
    Interim Director of Economic Development & Planning

    ruchellepride@franklincountyohio.gov
    614-525-3095

  • City of Gahanna

    Laurie Jadwin
    Mayor

    laurie.jadwin@gahanna.gov
    614-342-4045

  • City of Grandview Heights

    P’Elizabeth Koelker
    Director of Planning and Community Development

    pkoelker@grandviewheights.org
    614-488-3159 x254

  • City of Grove City

    Kyle Rauch
    Development Director

    krauch@grovecityohio.gov
    614-277-3010

  • City of Groveport

    Michael Loges
    Director of Development

    mloges@groveport.org
    614-830-2044

  • City of Hilliard

    David Meadows
    Economic Development Director

    dmeadows@hilliardohio.gov
    614-334-2357

  • Knox County Area Development Foundation, Inc.

    Jeff Gottke
    President

    jeff@knoxadf.com
    740-507-0099

  • Grow Licking County

    Alexis Fitzsimmons
    Executive Director

    alexisf@growlickingcounty.org
    740-281-3463

  • Logan County Chamber of Commerce

    Ben Vollrath
    President

    bvollrath@logancountyohio.com
    937-599-5121

  • Madison County

    David Kell
    Assistant County Administrator

    david@madison.oh.gov
    740-490-8110

  • Marion CAN DO!

    Gus Comstock, CEcD
    Director

    gusc@marioncando.com
    740-387-2267

  • Morrow County

    Jamie Brucker
    Director of Operations, Morrow County Commissioners

    Jamie.brucker@co.morrow.oh.us
    419-947-7535

  • City of New Albany

    Jennifer Chrysler
    Director of Community Development

    jchrysler@newalbanyohio.org
    614-245-8755

  • Village of Obetz

    Steve Adams
    Director of Economic Development and Promotion

    sadams@obetz.oh.us
    614-409-4403

  • Pickaway Progress Partnership

    Tim Colburn
    Executive Director

    tcolburn@pickawayprogress.com
    740-420-6498

  • City of Reynoldsburg

    Eric Meyer
    Development Director

    emeyer@reynoldsburg.gov
    614-322-6807

  • City of Upper Arlington

    Steven Schoeny
    City Manager

    sschoeny@uaoh.net
    614-583-5042

  • City of Westerville

    Rachel Ray
    Economic Development Director

    rachel.ray@westerville.org
    614-901-6409

  • City of Whitehall

    Joe Long
    Economic Development Director

    joe.long@whitehall-oh.us
    614-338-3103 ext. 1343

  • City of Worthington

    David McCorkle
    Assistant City Manager & Economic Development Director

    David.McCorkle@worthington.org
    614-436-4518

  • Union County-Marysville Economic Development

    Eric Phillips
    Executive Director

    ephillips@unioncounty.org
    937-642-6279

Associate Members

  • Adena Corporation

    Dwight Farmer
    Sr. Vice President

    d.farmer@adenacorporation.com
    419-529-4456 ext. 239

  • American Structurepoint

    Shawn Goodwin
    Vice President

    sgoodwin@structurepoint.com


  • ARCO Design/Build

    Blake Burgess
    Director of Business Development

    bburgess@arcodb.com
    (614) 699-3060

  • Aspyr Workforce

    Windy Murphy
    Senior Director of Business Solutions

    wmurphy@aspyrworkforce.org
    614-559-6051

  • Bricker Graydon

    Jeffry Harris
    Of Counsel

    jharris@bricker.com
    614-227-4860

  • Central Ohio Community Improvement Corporation-Franklin County Land Brand

    Curtiss Williams
    President/CEO

    cwilliams@cocic.org
    614-724-4938

  • CESO

    Amy Elsea
    Business Development Director

    amy.elsea@cesoinc.com
    (614) 794-7080

  • Columbia Gas of Ohio

    Tommy Young
    Economic Development Manager

    thomasyoung@nisource.com


  • Columbus-Franklin County Finance Authority

    Patty Huddle
    President

    phuddle@columbusfinance.org
    614-427-0394

  • Del-Co Water Company, Inc.

    Rick Dunlop
    Director of Economic Development

    rdunlop@delcowater.com


  • Dublin Building Systems

    Cory Rolfes
    Director of PreConstruction

    crolfes@dublinbuilding.com


  • Exxcel Project Management

    Don Smith
    Project Manager

    dsmith@exxcel.com


  • Frost Brown Todd LLC

    Emmett M. Kelly
    Member

    ekelly@fbtlaw.com
    614-559-7255

  • Hocking County CIC

    Joy Davis, CEcD
    Executive Director

    jdavis@hockingcountycic.com
    740-380-0446

  • Huntington Bancshares, Inc.

    Todd Bailey
    SVP, Director- Regional Economic Development

    todd.bailey@huntington.com
    614-480-4757

  • Lehman Daman Construction Services, Inc.

    Brian Reed
    Business Development

    breed@lehmandaman.com
    614-252-3400

  • Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission

    Eileen Leuby
    Membership Services Officer

    eleuby@morpc.org
    614-233-4135

  • Montrose Group

    Nate Green
    Director, Economic Development

    ngreen@montrosegroupllc.com
    740-497-1893

  • Ohio Economic Development Association (OEDA)

    David Zak
    President and CEO

    dzak@oeda.com
    (866) 986-4041

  • Ohio's Electric Cooperatives

    Dennis Mingyar
    Director, Economic Development

    dmingyar@ohioec.org
    614-430-7876

  • Terracon

    Phillip Maxon
    Client Development Manager

    Philip.Maxon@terracon.com
    (614) 863-3113

  • The Pizzuti Companies

    Jim Russell
    Executive Vice President

    jrussell@pizzuti.com
    614-280-4038

  • The Ohio State University

    Colleen Gilger
    Director of Economic Development

    gilger.17@osu.edu
    614-247-9501

Learn More

Contact us if you’re interested in learning more or becoming a member.

Learn More about MODE