Judy McKinney Cherry, CEcDJudy McKinney Cherry is currently the
Executive Director for the Schuyler County Partnership for Economic Development in the heart of the Finger Lakes within New
York State. Previously, she was principal of New Growth Strategies (NGS), a boutique consulting firm specializing in innovative
business strategies for private, public and not-for-profit sectors. Judy is a certified professional economic developer with
over 20 years of experience in the combined areas of demography, information technology, Geographic Information Systems, economic
development strategy & tactics, community-based services and health-related non-profits.
She is a seasoned
professional who is candid, results-driven with a deep industry knowledge and experience. Her understanding of current market
practices and perspectives enables NGS to provide tailored solutions based on specific business needs, situations, and culture.
Judy served in the State of Delaware
Governor's Cabinet for six years as Director of Economic Development with responsibility for managing and leveraging over
$1b in assets. The Department was responsible for Financing, Workforce, Tourism, Small Business, Technology-based Business,
Clusters, and Main Street programs. She led a team in creating an innovative
program to transfer commercializable intellectual property from Fortune 500 firms to the State of Delaware that, when bundled
with financing programs, stimulated high technology start-up businesses.
She led the state department to excellence
and organizational certification - one of only two state organizations in the United States to achieve this level.She championed
the implementation of robust reporting, benchmarks and performance standards, culture of innovation, and business approach
including evaluation based on return-on-investment calculations. She has successful international business development expertise and familiarization of
Arab World (Kingdom of Jordan), United Kingdom, France and Belgium and hosted foreign dignitaries from China, Japan, and Taiwan.
Prior to her Senate confirmation,
she was a leader in an IT services business for eight years with profit/loss responsibilities for several regional locations.
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