Downtown Ithaca Alliance names its next CEO

ITHACA, N.Y. — The Downtown Ithaca Alliance (DIA) has announced its next CEO, who will begin her new duties in early July.

John Guttridge, who chairs the DIA board of directors, announced that Nan Rohrer will succeed Gary Ferguson, who is retiring after serving 24 years as executive director.

Rohrer will come to Ithaca from Baltimore, Maryland where she has spent more than 20 years leading and working with organizations focused on downtown/neighborhood revitalization and economic development, per the DIA.

The announcement follows a nationwide search conducted by HRS, a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania–based executive search firm. Ashley Cake, a former chair of the DIA board of directors, and a group of six volunteer search committee members, led the search process.

“After conducting a national search Nan stood out from among a crowded field of excellent candidates,” Guttridge said in a release. “I’m looking forward to working with her on guiding the DIA on its next chapter of growth and vitality.”

In her new role at the DIA, Rohrer will lead an organization charged with the revitalization, growth, management, and promotion of Ithaca’s downtown and central urban core.

In accepting the job, Rohrer said, “Downtown Ithaca is well known nationally as a unique community gathering place filled with local dining and retail, cultural experiences, concerts, festivals, and much more that make it the center of the city and region. I am excited to bring my expertise to Ithaca and build upon the great success of the DIA and Downtown already achieved under Gary’s years of extraordinary vision and leadership. Together with the dedicated staff, board, partners, and community, we will further Downtown Ithaca’s vitality and enjoyment for those who live, work, study, and visit here.”