Hudson Valley Economic Development Corp. and Westchester County Association form strategic partnership

Goshen, NY Hudson Valley Economic Development Corp. (HVEDC) and the Westchester County Association (WCA) launched a strategic partnership  to grow specific industry sectors such as healthcare and real estate, expand on each others’ workforce development initiatives, and close the digital divide through programs that promote gigabit-speed broadband connectivity.

Leaders of both organizations will sit on each other’s board of directors to help guide each organization’s strategic missions and facilitate the partnership. 

HVEDC president and CEO Mike Oates will become a member of the WCA Board of Directors and WCA president and CEO William Mooney, Jr. will become a member of the HVEDC Board of Directors.

HVEDC is the Hudson Valley’s leading economic development agency and the WCA is Westchester County’s leading economic development and business advocacy organization.

Together, the organizations will work jointly on:

• Growing the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, medical device and healthcare industry sectors in Westchester and the Hudson Valley;
• Developing the workforce to help prepare the region’s population for present and future jobs; and
• Bringing state-of-the-art high-speed technology to bridge the gap between demographics and regions that have access to modern information and communications technology, and those that have restricted or no access.

In addition, HVEDC and the WCA will identify key market trends and work together to find solutions that will help bring jobs and investments to Westchester County and the Hudson Valley.

“Forming a strategic partnership with the Westchester County Association creates a combined force to continue the expansion of the bio, pharma, medical device and life science sectors in Westchester and across the region,” said Oates. “We will bring together our knowledge, research, advocacy and business support to create more extraordinary economic development initiatives that will connect highly qualified workers with well-paying jobs to create better lives for their families.”

The WCA has recently completed a years-long transition from being a leading business membership organization to becoming Westchester’s most powerful economic development and advocacy entity. The WCA also unveiled a new brand and completely redesigned website, emphasizing the organization’s heightened focus on high-level advocacy, which has long differentiated it within Westchester’s business community.

“The WCA’s partnership with the HVEDC provides an opportunity for both organizations to examine the best practices in economic development advocacy and augment those approaches to fit the needs of the business community in each respective region,” said William Mooney, Jr., president and CEO of the WCA. “At the WCA, we’ve identified and implemented proven solutions to drive economic growth in key areas such as healthcare, real estate, workforce development and gigabit-speed connectivity, and we’re excited to expand our impact into the Hudson Valley.”