Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corp.’s board of directors today announced that it has named Ian Beniston as executive director.
Beniston, previously YNDC’s interim director, succeeds the organization’s founding executive director, Presley Gillespie, who left YNDC last month to accept a position in Pittsburgh. Before joining the YNDC staff, Beniston served as a consultant to its board of directors in the organization’s initial development stages.
“We are fortunate that Ian has been an integral part of YNDC since its inception and that he possesses not only the knowledge and experience, but the passion and the vision to foster growth and success for the organization,” said Lisa Metzinger, YNDC board president. “We are confident that, under his leadership, YNDC will continue to transform our neighborhoods and make a positive impact in our city.”
Beniston, who lives in Youngstown, brings nine years of urban planning and neighborhood development experience in the private, nonprofit, and public sectors. He was selected earlier this year as a Next City Vanguard ,which recognizes the work of “40 under 40” making an impact in cities across America.
He holds a master’s degree in city and regional planning from The Ohio State University, a bachelor of arts in Sociology from Youngstown State University, and has studied at the Technical University of Dresden in Dresden, Germany. He is also a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners.
“I’m very excited for the opportunity to lead YNDC and look forward to continuing the development of a highly collaborative model with many partners focused on stabilization and revitalization of neighborhoods across the city of Youngstown,” Beniston said.
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