YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Dani Robbins, the newly named CEO of Lake to River Economic Development, said Friday she sees the unity of the four counties that came together to form the organization as its strength.
Robbins, named to the CEO position Nov. 12, and other Lake to River officials held a news conference Friday at the organization’s offices downtown.
Lake to River was established last year as the seventh and final JobsOhio region, covering Ashtabula, Columbiana, Mahoning and Trumbull counties.
“For four communities to come together and lobby at the state level to have their own region is unity. For people to have to have representation from every community on the board is unity,” she said. “There’s a lot of economic development and a lot of communities out there that are not unified.”
Joining Robbins at the news conference were Alexa Sweeney Blackann, who has served as interim CEO since April 2024; Sarah Boyarko, vice president of economic development; Michael McGiffin, vice president of engagement and investor relations; and Greg Myers, executive director and chief administrative officer at Growth Partnership for Ashtabula and a member of the Lake to River board of directors.
Blackann, a retired car dealer, described serving as Lake to River’s interim CEO as “one of the most exciting, challenging, delightful experiences ever.” She recalled being “voluntold” to serve in the position by Gov. Mike DeWine and former Youngstown State University President Jim Tressel – now DeWine’s lieutenant governor – and emphasized that she viewed the role as “a short-term opportunity” to help launch the organization.
“I have four children. I’m looking forward to getting back to them,” she said.
“When this organization launched in 2024, we knew one of our most critical tasks would be to identify the right permanent leader to succeed Alexa and guide us forward,” Myers said. “We were looking for someone with leadership, experience, strategic vision and the ability to build lasting relationships.”
Robbins shared a vision – which she expects to evolve once she learns more about the needs, wants and aspirations of Lake to River’s board, team and stakeholders across the region – “to continue to build and grow an integrated, intentional and strategic four-county regional organization that advances economic development” and let Lake to river take its “rightful place as the seventh and final economic development region in Ohio.”
Her 30-day agenda features a listening tour that includes talking with board members, staff members, economic development partners and elected officials. “I want to make sure that I understand what their goals are so that we can start mapping out what the vision is for this community, the larger community,” she said.
Robbins recently returned to Ashtabula County after serving in senior leadership positions in Washington, D.C., and across Ohio. Most recently, she led the educational strategy at BoardSource, a national nonprofit focused on board governance, according to the JobsOhio release following her hiring.
Before that, she was the director of the nonprofit administration graduate programs at John Carroll University and a small business owner. She also has served as chief executive of domestic violence shelters/rape crisis centers and Boys & Girls Clubs.
In Ashtabula, Robbins said her first job out of graduate school was serving as executive director of a domestic violence shelter. When she learned about the Lake to River opening, she recognized an opportunity to take all that she had learned being an executive, as well as her experiences as a consultant and professor, and use them to grow the region.
“Good jobs and growing economies build strong communities, and economic development is about bringing together different sectors to align the work and to get everybody marching on the same page, and that’s what I’ve spent my whole career doing,” she said.
Robbins’ career has been defined by “transformational leadership,” and she brings years of experience building coalitions, securing resources and delivering results, “often in complex and high stakes environments,” Myers said.
“She understands that economic development isn’t just about buildings and incentives. It’s about people; it’s about partnerships; and it’s a shared vision of what this region can become,” he continued. “We believe the best predictor of future success is a track record of making things happen, and Dani has that in spades.”
During the news conference, Boyarko provided an update on the organization’s efforts so far this year. Lake to River completed nine industrial projects with formal company decisions being made, for investment totaling $856 million across the board, and 642 new jobs, with associated payroll of $79 million. Those projects include Kimberly-Clark Corp.’s $800 million plant now under construction and Vallourec’s recently announced expansion.
Lake to River also received 158 property inquiries and is actively working 82 leads as a result of those inquiries. “We do hope that some of those become future projects. We are in tight competition with a handful of other communities, other states and other parts of the world, in some cases,” she said.
Among the recently announced possible projects is a proposed Kimberly-Clark regional distribution center. “That’s something that is pending, and we’re keeping our fingers crossed that that’s announced before the end of the year,” she said.
Pictured at top: From left are Dani Robbins, Alexa Sweeney Blackann, Greg Myers and Sarah Boyarko.