Board of Directors

IEDC is governed by a 13-member Board of Directors comprised of public, private, and nonprofit sector leaders in the community. Itasca Economic Development Corporation is extremely proud of the dedication and effort that our board of directors brings to the table year after year. Their time and diligent work never goes unappreciated!

Tamara Lowney
President & CEO

Staff

Tamara hails from rural Hill City, Minnesota. With a goal of gaining knowledge and experience, she spent the first 20 years of her career working throughout the US and internationally for ARAMARK. She led hospitality organizations in Alaska, Ohio and California, before hiring on t...

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Rob Sjostrand
Business Consultant

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Rob Sjostrand is a native to Itasca County, born and raised in Grand Rapids, MN. He graduated from Grand Rapids High School. He then graduated from Devry Institute of Technology in 1995 with his Bachelor of Science degree with an emphasis on accounting. Rob ha...

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Amanda Lamppa
Project Manager

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Born and raised in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, Amanda graduated from Itasca Community College and the University of Minnesota Duluth, obtaining a bachelor’s degree in psychology. Following her passion for rural initiatives and building strong community, she held executive positions at two local non-profits. Her organizationa...

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Nichole Arbour
Business Consultant

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Born and raised in Grand Rapids, improving the community has long been a passion of Nichole’s. After obtaining a degree in education from College of Saint Benedict, Nichole began as an educator in Central MN and from there to the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area t...

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Kayla Swanson
Operations & Outreach Manager

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Born and raised in Taconite, enhancing and shining a light on the many assets of Itasca County has always been a passion of Kayla's. In 2013, Kayla graduated from Greenway High School and decided that she wanted to stay in Itasca County for just a while longer. Sh...

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Teri Heikkila
Finance Manager

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Teri began working at IEDC in January of 2000. Initially hired part-time to support the team, it quickly became full time as she took on more responsibilities. Over the past twenty years, Teri has remained an anchor and historian of the organization. She is responsibl...

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Stacia Rom
Office Assistant

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Stacia Rom joined our team in August of 2022 as our Office Assistant. Stacia grew up in the area and considers herself a product of Cohasset Elementary. She graduated from GRHS in the early 2000's. After graduation, she attended college in the Twin Cities and lande...