Grafton County NH Economic Development Council - Board of Directors and Staff

Board of Directors and Staff

The GCEDC is led by a dedicated group of volunteers who believe in a better future for Grafton County.

Ray Gosney, President
Vice President, Strategy & Government Relations, NH Electrical Co-op

Ray Gosney

Ray has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering from the Virginia Military Institute and has done post-graduate work in business administration at Plymouth State University. Ray is a graduate of the Northeast Public Power Association’s Utility Management Program and the National Rural Electric Cooperatives Association’s Management Internship Program, has a certificate in Quality Leadership from Rivier College, and is a 2001 Associate of Leadership New Hampshire. He serves as Chair of the Information and Digital Communications Committee of NRECA’s Cooperative Research Network and Chair of the Board of Directors for MultiSpeak™.

Ray is an active member of his community, serving as Chair of the Town of Plymouth’s Planning Board and Chair for the Board of Directors of Grafton County Economic Development Council, and is a founding Board Member of the NHEC Foundation. He resides in Plymouth.

Bill Webb, Vice President
Owner/Manager, The Inn on Golden Pond, Holderness
Bill has owned and operated the Inn On Golden Pond in Holderness, NH for the past 25 years.  During this time, he has served his community as Budget Committee Chair and Selectman. He founded and chaired a local, community based non-profit, Holderness 2000 Inc., which was responsible for constructing a recreation path in town and purchasing land and constructing a town common in Holderness village. He has served on numerous non-profit Boards including the Squam Lakes Natural Science Center (Chair 2 years), the Whole Village Family Resource Center in Plymouth (Treasurer 2 years), and the NH Charitable Foundation - North Country (Chair 3 years). He currently serves on the board of the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests and on the President's Council at Plymouth State University.

Bill is a graduate of Colgate University. He and his wife Bonnie live in Holderness, NH and have two grown children.

Julia Griffin, Secretary
Town Manager, Town of Hanover
Julia is the Town Manager of Hanover, N.H., a position she has held since August 1996.  Prior to her move to Hanover, she was the City Manager of Concord, NH from April of 1992 through July of 1996, and served as Assistant City Manager from August of 1990 through April of 1992.  Julia began her work in the city management profession in 1984, when she worked for the Office of Downtown and Harbor Development for the City of New Haven in 1983 and the Office of Management and Budget for the City of New York in 1984-1985, followed by five years in the City of Santa Monica, working as a Senior Management Analyst in the Office of the City Manager from 1985-1990.

Julia received her B.A. in Political Science from Wesleyan University in 1979, her M.A. in International Relations from Yale University in 1982, and her MPPM from the Yale School of Management in 1984.  Prior to completion of her graduate degrees in 1984, Julia worked for the American Field Service, the American Friends Service Committee, the Friends Committee on National Legislation, the Agency for International Development, and Save the Children Federation in a variety of international internships.

Julia resides with her husband and two children in Hanover, NH.

Ronda Kilanowski, Treasurer
Malone, Dirubbo and Company, P.C.
Ronda began working for Malone, Dirubbo & Company, P.C. in September 1989 and has been working in the public accounting profession since 1984. Since she was certified by the New Hampshire Board of Accountancy in February 1989.  She has concentrated her professional growth and technical proficiency in areas that are beneficial to small and medium size businesses.

Ronda has had a strong impact on her community; lending expertise and enthusiasm to a variety of civic and charitable causes such as serving on the Boards of the Friends of the Arts, the Plymouth Chamber of Commerce, and the Granite State Economic Development Council.  She is past President and Treasurer of the Plymouth LioManess Club and is an active member of the NH Society of Certified Public Accountants.

Ronda lives in Plymouth, NH.

Jonathan Gould, Immediate Past President
Commercial Lender, Northway Bank
Jonathan Gould is a native of Plymouth and a lifelong resident of Grafton County. He is currently Regional Vice President-Commercial Lending for Northway Bank and is located in Plymouth. He has worked in the banking industry for 25 years, the last 17 in commercial lending. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Plymouth State University.

Jonathan has a passion for economic development and has been a member of the Concord Regional Development Council and the Franklin Business & Industrial Development Corporation. He currently serves on the White Mountain Gateway Economic Development Corporation and is a trustee of the Dartmouth Regional Technology Center. He has been with GCEDC for five years, having served as President for two terms.

Jonathan lives in Hebron with his wife and three young children.

Paul Boucher
Executive Director, Greater Lebanon Chamber of Commerce
Paul Boucher, a New Hampshire native attended St. Anselm College after graduating from high school. After serving two years in the Army with one year of active duty in Vietnam he returned to earn his under graduate degree from Southern New Hampshire University with a major in Business Administration. 

He was immediately employed by the Indian Head Banks holding company (now Bank of America) in its officer training program. Upon completion he was assigned to their affiliate Indian Head of Claremont and has been in the Upper Valley since (32 years). In l976 he joined the National Bank of Lebanon (now Citizens Bank) where he served as the Branch Administration Officer.   

In l980 he joined the Insurance Firm of Degnan, Hough as a property and casualty agent/broker and worked on the Staff of the former Senate President Ralph Hough. Later he worked for the Townsend Insurance Agency in the same capacity. 

In l999 Paul was hired as the President and CEO of the Greater Lebanon Chamber of Commerce. 

Paul has served as a director of Grafton County Economic Development council since it’s inception in 1998.  He was recipient of Lebanon’s Citizen of the year in 1984, Rotarian of the year and Paul Harris Fellow from the Lebanon Rotary Club.

He served on the board of Lebanon College, five years as chair, and now serves on the advisory boards of Claremont Community Vocation College, Lake Sunapee Bank, and the Traffic Management Association, Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital and Dartmouth Hitchcock Memorial Hospital.

Paul returned to college in 1999 and earned his master’s degree from Notre Dame College.  

Mike King
Executive Director, North Country Council
Mike currently serves as Executive Director of the North Country Council, a regional planning commission serving the northern part of Grafton County.  He has worked for the Council for the past 11 years and the last 6 as Executive Director.   Prior to joining North Country Council he worked for 16 years in various management positions in manufacturing for Digital Equipment Corportation.   Mike graduated from Boston College with a BSBA in management.

Christine Walker
Executive Director, Upper Valley Lake Sunapee Regional Planning Commission
Christine Walker was recently hired as the Executive Director of the Upper Valley Lake Sunapee Regional Planning Commission, a small organization serving 27 communities. She has more than seven year experience in the planning industry. She worked as the Economic Development Planning Coordinator funded through the US Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration and was responsible for assisting the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) Committee in maintaining a regional Economic Strategy while at North Country Council. Projects included installation of water and sewer facilities to instigate development, and the construction of a 36,000 sq.ft. building to house a business incubation center in conjunction with Dartmouth College with a cost estimate of $8M.

Christine received a Bachelor of Science degree in Natural Resource Planning from the School of Natural Resources at the University of Vermont, has taken a number of post-graduate courses and completed the New Hampshire Professional Certification Program in Economic Development, New Hampshire Economic Development Association in June of 2003.

Christine is a member of the New Hampshire Planners Association and the American Planning Association. She is a Board member of the Passumpsic Valley Land Trust and serves on a number of state-wide committees in New Hampshire. She currently resides in St. Johnsbury, VT.

Daniel Moore
Professor of Business, Plymouth State University
Daniel P. Moore has been employed by Plymouth State University (PSU) since 1990. During that time Moore has taught in both PSU's MBA and undergraduate business programs, served as Chair of the Business Department, Dean of Undergraduate Studies, and is currently a faculty fellow of assessment for the University.

Moore holds a BA in American Studies from Kent State University, MBA from Youngstown State University, and Ph. D. in Organizational Sciences from Drexel University. 

Moore has academic and practical interests in strategic management, organizational dynamics, and organizational change. He has served on of numerous town committees and non-profit organizations boards, and worked as a consultant to various for-profit and non-profit organizations.  

John Manchester
Upper Valley SCORE
Long a fixture in Grafton County’s “Upper Valley” region, John has owned and operated an Avis car and truck leasing/rental business for over 25 years. Starting small, John grew the business to where it currently has a 100 vehicle fleet and employs twenty five people.  The business is operated from five retails locations throughout the Upper Valley. 

John’s business portfolio also includes commercial property ownership and management. Properties include the Hanover Coop, Irving gas, and three Denny’s restaurants in the Upper Valley.

John graduated from Norwich University and served for three years as a US Army pilot in Vietnam. He is a past Select Board member in Hanover and has retained membership with the Hanover Chamber of Commerce and the Hanover Rotary since 1970. 

In his “spare time” John is a volunteer for the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) where he counsels local small businesses seeking advice and assistance.

Steve Schneider
Town Manager, Town of Enfield, NH
Steve has served as Town Manager in Enfield since November 2005.  Prior to that he was the Assistant. City Manager in Batavia NY from December 2001 to Oct. 2005.  Steve also was the Asst. Township Manager in Tobyhanna Township, PA from Oct. 1999 to Nov. 2001 and the Administrative Assistant for the Town of Richmond, VT from Aug. 1996 to Sept. 1999.

Steve received his B.A. in History from SUNY Plattsburgh in 1992 and an M.P.A from the University of Vermont in 1997.  He lives in Enfield with his wife and two children

Mike Alberts
Consultant, New England Wire Technologies, Inc., Lisbon, NH
Mike Alberts : Management Consultant - New England Wire Technologies, Lisbon NH. A life long NH resident Mike has held various management positions within technology companies including Digital Equipment, Salem NH and Apollo Computer, Statham/Exeter NH.  Mike has also worked for technology start up companies and a consulting firm in Bedford NH / Portland Me. Mike owned and operated a professional management consulting and placement firm prior to his current independent consulting positions.

Mike has a BA degree from St Francis Xavier University – Antigonish Nova Scotia, Canada, and was a University of New Hampshire staff member while attending post grad course study at the university.

Mike has been consulting for the past 23 years for various businesses in the New England area. Mike was actively involved with the development and initial operations of the “Gregg Safety Academy” and the North Country ‘School to Work” program. Both state wide projects initiated in Grafton County. 

Mike lives in Lisbon NH with no pets – kids or honey do lists

Barbara Ashley
Executive Director, Franconia Chamber of Commerce, Franconia, NH

 GCEDC Staff

Mark Scarano
Executive Director

No longer a newcomer to New Hampshire, Mark was hired as Executive Director of the Grafton

Mark Scarano

Mark grew up in northern Maine and graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern Maine and a master’s degree from the Iowa State University of Science and Technology. Upon returning to Maine, he managed Senator Olympia Snowe’s Bangor office and represented her on constituency issues in Maine’s easternmost counties. Mark cut his economic development teeth as Community Development Director in Millinocket before being hired by the Piscataquis County (Maine) Economic Development Council as their Business Development Director and, subsequently, Executive Director. In that position, he led successful efforts to attract two manufacturers to Piscataquis County; both of which have created over 150 jobs. He also organized an effort to have the State of Maine fund $1.2 million for a center for higher education and enacted innovative tourism development initiatives that will help diversify that county’s natural resource-based economy.

He is currently focused on expanding the business assistance services of the GCEDC, developing business incubator space in the town of Plymouth, expanding the successful Dartmouth Regional Technology Center incubator in Lebanon, and growing the GCEDC’s $2 million revolving loan fund. 

Bob Walker
Loan Officer

Karen Saunders
Office Manager

Grafton County Economic Development Council ®2010
PO Box 178 | Plymouth, New Hampshire 03264
(603) 536-2011 or toll free at 1-888-535-0002