Barbara Chaffee has worked in Harrisburg, Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C., but her heart has always been in her native Erie.
Next month she’ll return for a new job as President and CEO of the Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership. She’ll replace Jim Dible, who is retiring from that position.
Chaffee, who currently leads Public Intelligence, a strategic communications firm in Pittsburgh, will bring a wealth of experience in business and government. Her career includes stints as deputy secretary for the state Department of Community and Economic Development under former Gov. Tom Ridge, helping Ridge set up the U.S. Office of Homeland Security, and as president of Oakdale Management Corp., a former hotel and restaurant management company.
Chaffee plans to use her experience in the public and private sector to increase global trade among Erie-area companies, draw more members to the chamber and boost regional collaboration among partners in the Pittsburgh area, New York, Ohio and Canada. She also hopes to draw more startups and entrepreneurs to northwest Pennsylvania, touting its good quality of life, low cost of living and access to higher education.
Chaffee says many aren’t aware of what the Erie area has to offer. She recalls that when she was working for DCED, an image from Lake Erie’s Presque Isle State Park was chosen for the cover of the state visitors’ guide. “We were inundated with calls from people who wanted to know why we put the New Jersey shoreline on the cover,” Chaffee says.
Source: Barbara Chaffee
Writer: Rebecca VanderMeulen