Tompkins County Area Development appoints McDaniel as president

ITHACA, N.Y. — The board of directors of Tompkins County Area Development (TCAD) on Tuesday announced the appointment of Heather McDaniel as the organization’s new president.

McDaniel, who had been serving as TCAD’s VP and director of economic development, succeeds Michael Stamm, who has retired. McDaniel began her new duties on Tuesday.

The nonprofit TCAD has acted as Tompkins County’s economic-development organization since its founding in 1964. The organization says its mission is to “build a thriving and sustainable economy that improves the quality of life in Tompkins County by fostering the growth of business and employment.”

John Rudd, who chairs the TCAD board, also served as chair of a nine-member search committee that worked with Waverly Partners, a national executive-search firm, in the search process.

“The board is very pleased that Heather McDaniel will be succeeding Michael Stamm as president of Tompkins County Area Development. Heather has been a key contributor at TCAD for over a decade, which will make this a very smooth leadership transition. The organization is in a very good place thanks to Michael’s 33 years of dedicated leadership. We congratulate Heather as she assumes the duties of president,” Rudd said in a TCAD news release. Besides his role on the TCAD board, Rudd is also president & CEO of Cayuga Health System and Cayuga Medical Center.

McDaniel has spent the last 11 years at TCAD, joining the organization as Empire Zone Coordinator in 2007, becoming director of economic-development services in 2008, and VP in 2014. She previously worked for the Tompkins County Department of Planning.

“I am excited to begin my next chapter at TCAD, leading the team to meet the economic challenges our community faces over the next decade. I firmly believe there is great potential for business growth and expansion here. My goal will be to work collaboratively with public and private sector stakeholders to maximize our success,” McDaniel said in the release.

Prior to coming to Ithaca, McDaniel worked in cooperative housing and redevelopment in New York City and began her career with Cushman Realty in Los Angeles.

McDaniel earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of California-Berkley and a master’s degree in urban planning from New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com

Photo credit: Tompkins County Area Development