LAKE COUNTY— Certified economic developer Ben Rickelman, who holds a master’s degree in public administration, was appointed Deputy County Administrative Officer, with a focus on economic development. He “began service with the County of Lake this month.
“I am confident more will be announced, as his work evolves,” said Deputy County Administrative Officer Matthew Rothstein, who also serves as public information officer.
Rickelman will manage the creation of a countywide economic development strategic plan, support local businesses and work with partners throughout Lake County and the region to grow, diversify and bring greater resiliency to the economy.
According to Rothstein, the Lake County economic development strategy says the plan needs to be seen as long term, with no quick solutions. The county has both real and perception challenges in terms of public relations. He added that marketing and outreach must be positive and realistic, building on good stories.
Rickelman is now mostly listening and learning, as he stated himself. “I’m working on a work plan that will be presented to the Board of Supervisors. ” He added that the plan will be presented in the next 30 to 40 days. “I’m assisting the Lake County Economic Development Corporation with the development of comprehensive economic development strategy – a medium to long range economic development planning document that helps provide focus and strategic vision. There’ll be a lot of outreach to the county as a whole to different communities, different industries, different business groups and residents to get their input, what they want forward and specific goals and objectives on how to achieve that”, he said.
The new deputy county administrative officer started his economic development career in Washington DC, supporting neighborhood redevelopment, working with local businesses, planning process and infrastructure. “After that, I was in a county executive office supporting several different economic development organizations in Montgomery County, Maryland, working with advanced manufacturers, on some community development initiatives, and (worked) a lot with the community college system there and then also some early stage companies,” he recalled.
Subsequently, Rickelman worked for the city of San Antonio, acting in “several different industries. I did a lot with manufacturing and economic development funding opportunities, partnering with universities, the military research institutes, private businesses and a fair amount in business attraction,” he said.
“San Antonio has a very large military presence. There are four military bases there. Working with the private sector to partner with military research labs, I tried to bring commercialization, creating jobs. Companies do those partnerships in San Antonio. The military is looking for private capital and expertise in the private sector and the private sector is interested because of the research work the military has done. There’s a lot of people that have the certifications and technical expertise transitioning out of the military that have cyber experience,” said Rickelman, who worked with the University of Texas and partners in the private sector to help grow the cyber security ecosystem in San Antonio.
“(I am) really excited to start here. People in Lake County have been very welcoming and I appreciate their enthusiasm and engagement.” He said he was excited to work with as many people and communities as possible, and to get as much feedback as possible.
