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YOUNGSTOWN -- A Youngstown Business Incubator official, a former economic development official from Illinois and a county commissioner in North Carolina planning to run next year for auditor of that state are the top three ranked candidates to be Youngstown's next economic development director.
City officials will review the applications for the job starting this week, said Nikki Posterli, the mayor's chief of staff and director of the city's community planning and economic development department.
Nine candidates applied for the job, with the city's civil service commission determining that six met the requirements, Jonathan Huff, the commission's administrator, said.
The job has been vacant since May 2022 when T. Sharon Woodberry resigned to become economic and business development manager for Cape Coral, Fla.
The person hired will manage the planning, research and analysis on matters related to economic development and the creation and retention of jobs in Youngstown, as well as work with regional development partners and identify and administer grants and loans supporting the city's economic development programs and priorities, according to the job description.
The annual salary for the position is $69,343 to $76,450.
Those applying were required to have at least five years of experience in community and business development and at least five years of supervisory experience. A bachelor's degree in public administration, business administration, finance or a closely related field was desired.
Instead of a written exam, applicants for the economic development director were ranked based on work and supervisory experience and education, Huff said. The city has used a ranking system for upper-management civil service positions for a few years.
"Nikki Posterli has the eligibility list and they can interview one or all of the candidates" who were determined to be qualified, Huff said.
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Finishing first in the rankings was Stephanie Gilchrist, who started working at the Youngstown Business Incubator in August 2014 as special projects coordinator to manage the U.S. Economic Development Administration's grant for Tech Block Building No. 5, the former Vindicator building. In 2016, she was promoted to director of the Women in Entrepreneurship Program.
Between 2017 and 2020, Gilchrist was executive director of Inspiring Minds.
She was named YBI's director of the Youth in Entrepreneurship Program in 2021 and is regional director for the Ohio Department of Development's Minority Business Assistance Center at YBI.
Gilchrist had the second-highest score based on experience and education at 87.87, but received 15 bonus points because she is a city resident, moving her to the top of the list with a 102.87 score. City voters approved the civil service residency bonus as a charter amendment in November 2012.
Second in the rankings with a score of 92 is Walter D. Williams of Edwardsville, Ill., who was program coordinator of community and economic development for Madison County in Illinois from April 2021 until resigning in January. On his application for the Youngstown job, Williams wrote he quit his previous position because "I was placed in a job title and pay that did not reflect my experience. My hours were reduced. I resigned from the position because it was not what I initially agreed to."
Before that, Williams was the director of community and economic development for Edwardsville, Ill., from October 2015 to April 2021. He was an economic development manager in Commerce City, Colo., from September 2012 to August 2013; economic development director and director of tourism for Farmington, Mo., from August 2009 to July 2012 and Ohio State University extension education director of business development in Cleveland from September 1994 to July 2009.
Ranked third with a score of 87.75 is James Upchurch of Colfax, N.C., who has been an elected county commissioner in Guilford County since December 2020. Guilford is the third most-populous county in North Carolina.
Upchurch was elected to the position as a Democrat in November 2020 and switched parties to be a Republican in December 2021. Upchurch announced in March that he would run next year for state treasurer and then a few weeks ago said he would run instead for state auditor in 2024.
Before being elected commissioner, Upchurch was director of communications and an associate professor of business at St. Andrews University in Laurinburg, N.C., from December 2019 to December 2020; a business education teacher at the Guilford County Schools from August 2017 to June 2019; and marketing manager for Mosaic in Colorado from June 2013 to June 2017.
Ranked fourth with a score of 86.72 is Shelley K. Murray of Canfield, who has worked at Valley Christian School in Youngstown since August 2009. Since December 2019, she has served as the school's executive director. She also is a former Youngstown school board member.
In fifth with a score of 82.6 is Alex B. Fredericks of Abington, Pa., executive director of AECC Group Inc. of New York City since January. He was executive director of Regenerative Investment Summit from January to August. Between June 2004 and June 2018, Fredericks held various management positions with four different companies.
Angie Paramore of Boardman, with a score of 73.15, was ranked sixth. She has been an executive and consultant for MIC Consulting Firm of Youngstown since September 2015. Paramore was an executive regional technical trainer for Hallmark from August 2018 to January 2020 and was the executive director of the Mahoning County Homeless Continuum of Care from July 2012 to September 2016.
The three who applied for the job, but were determined not to be qualified, were: Jeffrey B. Novotny of Warren, an eligibility / referral specialist for Trumbull County Job and Family Services since August 2017; Aaliyah R. Hakeem of Youngstown, account manager / recruiter for Just In Time Staffing in Youngstown since January 2022; and Nelson Clark of Youngstown, a machine operator for Gorant Chocolatier in Boardman from September 2022 until March.