West NY News

Nate Aldrich, Chautauqua County Economic Development Coordinator and Manager of the Chautauqua County Partnership for Economic Growth (CCPEG), has been awarded the 2024 James W. Griffin Rising Star Award by the New York State Economic Development Council (NYSEDC). The award was presented to Aldrich by James Johnson, Executive Director of the Steuben County Industrial Development Agency and Past Board Chair of NYSEDC, during the 2024 NYSEDC Awards Banquet in Cooperstown, NY.

The Rising Star Award recognizes individuals aged 40 and under who have made significant contributions to economic development in New York State. Criteria for the award include quality of service, impact on New York’s economy, innovation in their field, and community service or volunteerism.

Aldrich is a native of Chautauqua County and has served as both Economic Development Coordinator for the county and manager of CCPEG. Previously, he worked as a planner for Chautauqua County. Since assuming his current role in 2019, Aldrich has spearheaded numerous projects with notable impact over recent years through CCPEG. This public-private partnership focuses on placemaking, workforce development, housing development, talent attraction and retention, and infrastructure.

Mark Geise, Deputy County Executive for Economic Development and CEO of CCIDA, emphasized Aldrich's contributions: “The CCPEG team has expanded in the past several years due to the large number of initiatives it is working on and the funding it has been able to secure to undertake these projects. The impact of these initiatives has increased year-over-year, and this has been in large part due to Nate’s leadership.”

In 2023 alone, CCPEG leveraged more than $28 million in grant funding for various development efforts. It secured $1.2 million in grants, assisted 47 individual projects, allocated approximately $460,000 to partners, and engaged with 65 partner agencies.

Among Aldrich’s recent achievements are providing technical assistance to Dunkirk City for its successful application for a $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative Award and contributing significantly to the Live CHQ/Choose CHQ talent attraction campaign.

Aldrich holds a Master’s Degree in Urban Planning from the University at Buffalo School of Architecture and Planning. He received multiple awards during his academic career including the American Institute of Certified Planners' Planning Excellence Award from the American Planning Association.

He serves on various boards including Brooks-TLC Hospital Board of Trustees and manages several commissions such as Chadwick Bay Regional Commission.

“Nate’s been an invaluable asset to economic development efforts not only in Chautauqua County but also Western New York,” said Geise. “His energy and enthusiasm have helped make our region a better place to work and live.”

In accepting his award, Aldrich acknowledged his mentors Mark Geise and Richard Dixon (CCIDA CFO) along with his team: “It’s really just a case of being in the right place at the right time... I’m really just proud of that.”

For more information about CCPEG visit CHQPartnership.org.

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