KEDA Board & Staff

Board of Directors

Executive Committe

Andrew Lahti

VICE CHAIR

President,
Andrew Lahti Contracting

Brian Baccus

CHAIR

President,
Peninsula Powder Coating

Dave Vlahos

SECRETARY

President/CEO,
Superior National Bank

Jerry Wuorenmaa

TREASURER

(Ex Officio)

Executive Director,
Western Upper Peninsula Planning & Development Region

Board of Directors

Full Board

Brad Barnett

(Ex Officio)

Executive Director,
Keweenaw Chamber of Commerce - Keweenaw CVB

David Rowe

CEO,
MTEC SmartZone

Dean Woodbeck

(Ex Officio)

City Council,
City of Hancock

Ryan Heinonen

CEO,
UP Health System – Portage

Jeff Ratcliffe

Executive Director,
KEDA

Kevin Codere

President,
Peninsula Copper Industries

Amy Isaacson

(Ex Officio)

Supervisor, Baraga Township
Executive Director, Baraga County Housing Commission

Debbie Stouffer

(Ex Officio)

President,
Baraga County Chamber of Commerce

Tom Tikkanen

(Ex Officio)

Commissioner,
Houghton County & Superior Properties

Ian Repp

AVP University Marketing & Communications,
Michigan Technological University

David Paananen

Account Executive,
Upper Peninsula Power Co.

Tim Gasperich

(Ex Officio)

Supervisor,
Charter Township of Calumet

Eric Waara

Ex Officio)

City Manager,
City of Houghton

Jeff Baril

Director,
Aspirus Keweenaw Hospital

Debbie Stouffer

(Ex Officio)

President,
Baraga County Chamber of Commerce

KEDA Staff

Jeff Ratcliffe

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Jeff has a wide range of community and economic development experience. Over his 25 year economic development career in small rural communities he has worked with manufacturers and commercial businesses to identify financing and operational problems, obtain expansion financing and address management issues; worked with manufacturers and commercial businesses to solve employee screening, training, infrastructure and regulatory issues; worked with identified prospects to provide custom site location information package incentives and numerous business locations resulting in new jobs and millions of dollars in new investment; identified, packaged and managed infrastructure development to serve business expansions and locations; counseled start up and existing businesses, reviewed business plans, facilitated strategic planning, provided ongoing financial review and packaged loans for bank and EDC-managed revolving loan fund financing.