June NODE Partner Annual Meeting & Q2 Investor Meeting

As Chief Executive Officer of Team NEO, Matt Dolan is dedicated to driving economic growth and prosperity across Northeast Ohio. With a career spanning law, business, and government, Matt has a deep understanding of the region’s opportunities and challenges. His leadership is focused on strengthening Northeast Ohio’s economic competitiveness by advancing business attraction and retention strategies, strengthening the supply chain, fostering innovation, enhancing site preparedness, and promoting the region as a premier destination for investment.

Before joining Team NEO, Matt served in both the Ohio House of Representatives and the Ohio State Senate, chairing the Finance Committee in both chambers. In these roles, he oversaw billions of dollars in budget decisions and spearheaded initiatives to strengthen Ohio’s economy. He was instrumental in shaping the economic development tools used by JobsOhio and Team NEO to attract new businesses, support the expansion of existing companies, and drive job creation across the region. His leadership in the General Assembly was marked by key efforts in tax reform and infrastructure investment, laying the groundwork for long-term economic growth.

Beyond public service, Matt has been a leader in the private sector as a partner at Thrasher, Dinsmore & Dolan, LPA, where he provided strategic legal counsel to businesses and municipalities on land use, economic development, and regulatory matters. His business acumen extends to real estate and family enterprise leadership, having overseen investment and development initiatives at 7th Avenue Properties and 422 Company. Inc.

Matt’s leadership has earned him widespread recognition, including numerous legislative and business advocacy awards. He is a recipient of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce Champion of Business Award and has been recognized for his contributions to sectors ranging from healthcare to energy policy. A Northeast Ohio native, Matt holds a Juris Doctor from Case Western Reserve University School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Boston College.

Renee Ligon is the Managing Director of Partnerships & Engagement with Team NEO a JobsOhio Network Partner.

Mrs. Ligon is a business development and sales expert whose 27-year career encompasses successful collaborations with elected officials, community agencies, municipalities, nonprofits, and small to large for-profit organizations. Mrs. Ligon’s fundamental objective at Team NEO is the cultivation of positive economic impact through the creation of tactical business alliances to grow and strengthen a more inclusive and equitable coordinated regional economic development network.

Prior to joining Team NEO, Mrs. Ligon was the Regional Director for the Minority Business Assistance Center at the Urban League of Greater Cleveland, a program of the Ohio Development Services Agency, where she led a team of professional business advisors in the development of minority, women, disabled, and veteran owned businesses across eight counties in the state of Ohio. Before joining the Urban League of Greater Cleveland, Mrs. Ligon was the Assistant Director of Diversity & Corporate Relations at Case Western Reserve University where she was the national lead consultant on key strategic project-based opportunities between the University and the corporate sector for research engagements through the lens of diversity, talent development, and co-branding.

The cornerstone of Mrs. Ligon’s career started in the financial services industry where she was Vice President, Relationship Manager at JP Morgan Chase Bank.  During her 8-year career with JP Morgan Chase, she managed the financial portfolios for commercial sector nonprofit and municipal clients. 

Mrs. Ligon’s notable and numerous boards of director appointments have included, Ohio Economic Development Association (current), Ohio Economic Development Association Inclusive Economic Development Committee Chair (current), Northeast Ohio Development Exchange (NODE), Northeast Ohio Equity Trust, RLB Leadership Academy, The Land- Vice Chair, the Better Business Bureau Board, COMPACT, UNCF of Orlando, the Citrus Club’s Women’s Executive Exchange, Youngstown State Minority Business Assistance Center, Youngstown Regional Chamber Diversity Equity & Inclusion Committee, The Guardians Community Review Group, and numerous advisory roles to C-suite economic development leaders focused on local data to drive vibrant community engagement strategy.  She is a member and past class officer for Leadership Cleveland Class of 2020 and LC2 2021.

Mrs. Ligon holds a B.A. in Communications from John Carroll University and a M.S in Human Resources Management from Nova Southeastern University.

Andrew Ryzner is part of Westfield Bank’s commercial banking team, where he serves in the role of VP, commercial loan officer. Andrew has nearly 20 years of branch management and business banking experience. Throughout his career, Andrew has built and managed relationships with hundreds of clients and will continue to partner with and provide strategic financial solutions to help the businesses in our Northeast Ohio communities achieve their goals.

Michael Weidokal is a world-renown economist, speaker and author, as well as an advisor to many of the world’s leading businesses, governments and financial institutions on issues ranging from global business, economic trends, geopolitics and international trade. Michael is best-known for his remarkably accurate economic and political predictions over the past 25 years, making him one of the most sought-after speakers in his field.

Over the years, Michael’s views have appeared in many of the world’s leading publications. Furthermore, Michael is a regular speaker at many of the world’s biggest conferences and events and he has spoken in more than 35 countries around the world.

In addition to his speaking, Michael is the author of some of the leading economic, political and business publications through his firm, International Strategic Analysis (ISA). Meanwhile, his latest book, “The Coming Decline: A World Without Economic Growth” was published in 2024.

Michael is the founder of the ISA Group of companies, including International Strategic Analysis, ISA Advisory and ISA Economic Development Consulting. For over 25 years, Michael has worked with the world’s most successful businesses, governments and financial institutions to help them prepare for the changes that will impact their future.

Dave is a northeast Ohio native and has more than 30 years of experience in transportation and
logistics, including senior level operations and business development positions in trucking,
intermodal, and third-party logistics. He joined the Port as Vice-President of Maritime &
Logistics in 2010, was promoted to Chief Commercial Officer in 2018, and was then named
Interim President & CEO effective January 1, 2025. His previous responsibilities have included
strategic management of all aspects of the maritime functions at the Port, including business
development and operations. He sits on various local and national maritime and logistics
committees and boards focusing on marketing and business development in the cargo
industry. He graduated from Wittenberg University in Springfield, OH with a BA in Economics.
He and his wife, Julie, have two grown children and after living in southwestern Ohio in the
1990’s, relocated back to northeast Ohio in 2001.

Brendan Heil is a seasoned attorney in Bricker Graydon’s Political Subdivision group. Brendan has extensive experience handling a variety of municipal law issues, including counseling cities and private entities on economic development transactions, public finance, legislation, eminent domain, annexation, land use, and zoning. Brendan is also well-versed in handling litigation matters for public and private clients in federal and state courts, including land use and zoning disputes, complex commercial class actions, and multi-district litigation.

In his previous position as the Law Director for the City of Sandusky, Brendan was the chief legal officer for the city overseeing all civil litigation, legal transactions, legislation, and advising city officials on a wide variety of municipal law issues. As law director, Brendan was the lead attorney managing economic development projects that involved public financing, incentives, and tax abatement, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in economic impact for the city.

Patrick Mohorcic is the Executive Director of the Lake Development Authority, an Ohio Port Authority established in February 2007 to foster job creation and enhance the economic welfare of Lake County residents. The Lake Development Authority leverages a range of economic development tools, focusing on four key areas: economic development, coastal development, workforce development, and managing the Lake County Executive Airport.

Prior to his current role, Patrick served as the Chief Financial Officer and Deputy Director for Planning and Development at the Lake Development Authority. His career also includes roles as Director of Workforce Development for the Lake County Board of Commissioners and Economic Development Manager for the Lake County Ohio Port and Economic Development Authority. Patrick’s accomplishments have earned him recognition from Crain’s Cleveland Business Magazine as one of their “20 in their 20s” and the title of 2019 Rookie of the Year by the Ohio Economic Development Association (OEDA) for his contributions to Lake County.

A dedicated resident of Lake County, Patrick is the Ward 1 City Councilman for the City of Willowick and has served on various non-profit boards, including United Way of Lake County, Leadership Lake County, the Willoughby Western Lake County Chamber of Commerce, the Northeast Ohio Economic Development Exchange (NODE), OEDA, and the Lake County Workforce Development Board.

Patrick graduated from the College of Wooster in 2018 and earned his Master of Public Administration (MPA) in Public Financial Management from Cleveland State University in 2021. He is also a Certified Economic Developer (CEcD) through the International Economic Development Council and an Economic Development Finance Professional (EDFP) through Grow America (Formerly NDC).

Richard Pace is a registered architect in Ohio, receiving his architectural degree from the University of Michigan in 1979. Pace became Managing Partner of van Dijk Pace Westlake Architects in 1992. During his time in management, the revenues increased from $4 million to $18 million annually.

At the end of 2001, Pace sold his ownership in the firm to his Partners and, in 2002, founded Cumberland Development, LLC. Cumberland Development currently owns and manages the Independence Technology Center in Independence, Ohio. He also owns and manages the Baker Electric Building in Cleveland, Ohio which is a tech incubator.

In early 2014, the City of Cleveland selected a joint venture of Cumberland Development and Trammell Crow as the developer for the Cleveland Lakefront project. Cumberland Development has completed the first phase at North Coast Harbor which includes Nuevo Restaurant on the East 9^th Street Pier and Harbor Verandas, a mixed-use residential building next to Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Dick lives in Gates Mills, Ohio with his wife, Cheri. They have a son, Alex and daughter, Catherine. He currently serves as Board Chair of the Land Bank Charities

Eric Wobser is the CEO of the Greater Sandusky Partnership, a regional chamber providing comprehensive economic development services to the Greater Sandusky region. Previously, he served as City Manager of Sandusky, Executive Director of Ohio City Incorporated, and Chief of Staff of Cuyahoga County. Eric is passionate about building strong teams that collaborate across sectors to revitalize special places on the Great Lakes. He is a proud graduate of the University of Michigan Law School and Ohio University.

Andrew Coleman is Managing Director and Market Leader for CBRE’s Cleveland and Akron offices. In this role Mr. Coleman oversees the business operations and drives the office’s growth strategy for all Advisory Service lines of business including leasing, sales, valuations, project management and property management. With 20 years of experience in commercial real estate, Andrew is an market expert in leasing, having worked with large investor/institutional owners and both public companies and local occupier clients. Prior to Andrew’s promotion to Managing Director, he led CBRE Cleveland’s Office Agency practice group that focuses on Office Landlord Representation.

Mr. Coleman joined CBRE in 2018, where he began his career in 2004. Previously, Andrew served as Executive Vice President & Associate Director of JLL’s Cleveland Office Agency Team. During his tenure at JLL, Andrew consistently earned Top Achiever & Gold Achiever revenue recognition. Mr. Coleman’s clients receive unparalleled service, experience and problem-solving assistance with their real estate properties (owned and leased). Andrew has specific expertise in advising local and national Landlords, managing corporate real estate portfolios, executing corporate headquarters transactions and strategic planning, and property valuations on behalf of his clients.

Mr. Coleman’s 20 year tenure in commercial real estate has involved various leadership roles; account lead for Fortune 200 company servicing transaction, project management and consulting services, Transaction manager for large banking institution, corporate real estate team member for an international manufacturer, lead broker for multiple corporate headquarter site selections and lead broker for a downtown Class A office portfolio.

As Vice President for Investor Relations, Dawn is focused on leading Team NEO’s relationship-oriented efforts to elevate support from the business community.

Previously she was chief strategy officer at One Advocate Group in San Antonio. Her most recent posts in Northeast Ohio were vice president of Marketing at The Adcom Group and vice president of Business Development, Sales and Marketing at Goldfarb Weber Creative Studios.

She is a past honoree of Crain’s Cleveland Business 40 Under 40 and has earned a variety of awards, including the SME Cleveland Distinguished Marketing & Sales Award and SME-International Akron Distinguished Marketing & Sales Award.

Southard earned an MBA at Western Michigan University and a BBA at Davenport University.