Southwest Florida Economic Development Alliance

The Southwest Florida Economic Development Alliance (the Alliance) helps companies expand and grow in Southwest Florida, assisting with site location, incentives, talent attraction, process navigation, and regional data. Led by private industry, the Alliance understands what it takes to have a company be successful.

The Alliance serves as a non-parochial economic development coordinator to site selectors, real estate consultants and targeted companies, working in collaboration with the local economic development organizations.

For more information, please contact us at [email protected], or at 239.208.7627 or Toll Free: 844.707.SWFL (7935)

Board of Directors

The Alliance is governed by a Board of Directors of prominent local business and community leaders.

The Board of Directors is comprised of the following members:

Officers & Executive Committee

• Russell P. Schropp
  Chair
  Vice President
  Attorney At Law
  Henderson, Franklin, Starnes & Holt, P.A.
• Gary Griffin
  Chair-Elect
  President
  B & I
• Alan D. Reynolds
  Past Chair
  Regional Business Leader
  Stantec
• Richard Grant
  Secretary
  Founding Partner
  Grant, Fridkin, Pearson, P.A.
• Michael Wynn
  Treasurer
  President
  Sunshine Ace Hardware
• Laura Holquist
  Vice President
  President
  LAH Group Advisors, LLC
• Susan Pareigis
  President & CEO
  Southwest Florida Economic Development Alliance
  Board Members

Board Members

• Roger Desjarlais
  County Manager
  Lee County
• Dr. Robert Jones
  Regional VP Economic and Community Development
  Florida SouthWestern State College
• Jason Korn
  Managing Director
  Cohen & Grigsby P.C.
• John Manning
  Commissioner – District 1
  Lee County Board of Commissioners
• Michael V. Martin, Ph.D.
  President
  Florida Gulf Coast University
• John D. Meyer
  President
  Hodges University
• Leo Ochs
  County Manager
  Collier County
• Sarah Owen
  President and Chief Executive Officer
  SWFL Community Foundation
• Fred Pezeshkan
  Chairman
  Summit Management Group, LLC
• Christopher T. Spiro
  Chief Creative Officer
  Spiro & Associates
• John Talmage
  Director
  Lee County Economic Development
• Penny Taylor
  Commissioner – District 4
  Collier County Board of County Commissioners
• Christopher Westley, Ph.D.
  Director, Regional Economic Research Institute
  Florida Gulf Coast University

The organization structure also includes two sub-committees reporting to the Executive Committee:

• The Marketing Advisory Committee comprised of participating local EDO directors.
• The Investor Advisory Committee includes cornerstone investors who wish to participate.

Susan Pareigis, Alliance President