Our Team

As President & CEO of The Right Place, Randy leads economic development strategy through collaboration with local, State, and national organizations and stakeholders. His role is central to the organization’s core work of business retention, expansion, and attraction within the community, while aligning with The Right Place’s mission of driving sustainable economic growth and shared prosperity for all in the Greater Grand Rapids Region.

Twayne directs all activities related to accounting, finance, human resources, information technology, infrastructure, operations, contracts, and third party consultants. He also leads events and operations staff as well as the Leadership Team and professional staff.

As Senior Vice President of Strategic Initiatives, Brad is responsible for The Right Place's strategic projects and initiatives, business intelligence, fundraising and public policy. He engages with various partner organizations to lead projects that closely align with The Right Place's 2020-2022 Strategic Plan.

TaRita is the Senior Vice President of Talent and Diversity at The Right Place Inc. She works to collaborate with workforce development organizations, employers, and investors to lead strategies to ensure West Michigan attracts, develops, and retains diverse talent.

Rob leads The Right Place’s Prosperity team, which focuses on business retention, expansion, and attraction in the Greater Grand Rapids region. In this role he will lead the business development and Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center-West teams.

As Senior Vice President of Community Development for The Right Place, Tim is responsible for leading The Right Place’s place-based strategy and work. His focus areas include community development pillars such as smart growth planning, infrastructure & transportation, community leadership & engagement, placemaking, transformational site redevelopment and more.

Andria leads the strategic marketing and communications initiatives for The Right Place to promote West Michigan’s business capabilities across the country and the globe.

Brent works to recruit new business investment and jobs to the region. He also assists West Michigan companies during the decision-making portion of the expansion process to outline the benefits of growing locally as opposed to out-of-state.

Terry is responsible for The Right Place’s Manufacturing Services team. He is also the Regional Director for the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center - Grand Rapids office team. This team works with West Michigan’s small and mid-sized manufacturers assisting them with their opportunities for continuous improvement, development, growth, and transition with advanced manufacturing technologies.

Jane provides accurate and timely financial information to The Right Place’s leadership team while ensuring effective internal controls and financial safeguards.

Jennifer provides retention and expansion assistance to Right Place clients in Kent County and site location assistance to national and international IT and tech companies. She also serves as the Director for the Technology Council of West Michigan.

As Senior Director of Community Development, Travis is focused on transformational place-based development projects and initiatives throughout the West Michigan region.

Bader is an international student studying at Western Michigan University. He is majoring in Human Resources and minoring in Accounting. As a Member and Candidate Experience Intern at Hello West Michigan, Bader supports candidates who reach out, seeking guidance while job searching in West Michigan. He also sends candidates a weekly resume pack, promotes job opportunities at member companies, and conducts candidate searches for member companies.

Jackie provides accounting support as well as oversight of all project tracking, collections and records management. She is responsible for processing accounts payable and accounts receivable transactions. Jackie also manages grant reporting for The Center-West, and is responsible for investor billing and record maintenance.

Jakob Bigard is the Business Development Intern for summer 2022 for the Right Place. His primary role is building the fall retention “blitz” campaign lists for each county RPI has a presence. Additionally, he supports the Business Development team and their area partners in creating incentive packages and attracting new and expanding businesses to West Michigan.

René Booker is program manager for the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center-West (The Center-West), providing support for events, marketing, and internal continuous improvement efforts. She also supports The Right Place/The Center-West Manufacturers and Supply Chain Management Councils.

Julie serves as the Economic Development Director for the Newaygo County Economic Development Partnership. In this role, she provides business support services to companies in Newaygo County.

Karwyn serves as the Assistant to the Executive Team. She provides administrative support, as well as project management and content creation for marketing initiatives.

Jillian is the Manager of Conferences and Events. In her role, she leads the planning and management of events for The Right Place and The Center-West.

Donna provides executive assistance to the President & CEO of The Right Place and provides administrative support to The Right Place Board of Directors and the Executive Committee.

As the Executive Director for Hello West Michigan, Rachel leads the organization’s strategy, operations, and membership. She helps educate employers and prospective candidates about the region.

Eric provides graphic and layout support for all printed communication needs of The Right Place, and he works with local printers to see production through to the final printed materials.

As the Marketing and Web Intern at Hello West Michigan, Josie manages their social media channels, writes blogs, and produces their Candidate and Intern Inform newsletters, along with other marketing tasks.

Eric provides retention and expansion assistance to Right Place clients. He provides site location assistance to national and international life sciences firms. He also serves as the facilitator for the MiDevice group.

As Talent Program Manager for The Right Place, Victor works on establishing collaborative relationships between businesses, colleges, universities, and organizations dedicated to the flourishing of communities in West Michigan.

Rosemary provides executive assistance to the Chief Operating Officer of The Right Place and provides administrative support to The Right Place Finance Committee. In addition, she supports activities related to human resources, information technology, infrastructure, operations and accounting.

Jessica serves as the Program Manager for Hello West Michigan, where she oversees the internship and candidate connection programs, marketing and communication needs, and facilitates member orientation and training programs.

Olivia Lanctot is a Business Development Coordinator at The Right Place. She provides retention and expansion services to companies in Kent County.

As a Business Development Specialist for the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center – West (The Center-West), Steven covers Barry County and parts of Kent County. Steven assists manufacturers with lean process improvement evaluations/implementations as well as a variety of leadership development programs, particularly for line supervisors. Steven is West Michigan’s lead industry 4.0 assessor where he identifies technologies that help improve operational performance.

Kristi serves as the Economic Development Director of the Ludington & Scottville Area Chamber of Commerce. In this role, she provides business support services to prospective and existing companies. She works to improve the overall economic state of Mason County through business retention, expansion, and attraction.

As a Fund Development Specialist, Emily works to build and implement a comprehensive fundraising strategy for The Right Place. This includes managing the necessary administrative infrastructure and building relationships with current and future investors.

Rafael works as a Business Intelligence & Research Manager for The Right Place. In this role, he provides business intelligence and economic research for the organization, and to investors and other stakeholders.

Ron serves as the Economic Development Director for the Oceana County Economic Alliance. In this role, he provides business support services to companies in Oceana County.

Sadie McKinstry is a Business Development Specialist for the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center-West, primarily serving small and mid-sized manufacturers located in Ottawa and Allegan counties.

As the Marketing and Communications Coordinator, Allyssa manages the website, social media channels, blog, email and digital marketing campaigns for The Right Place and The Center-West team.

Jodi serves as the Executive Director of the Lake County Economic Development Alliance. In this role, she provides business support services to prospective and existing companies. She works to improve the overall economic state of Lake County through business retention, expansion, and attraction.

Darline works to play an active role in the organization's marketing and communication's department. Here she assists in video editing, maintenance of the organization's website, and prepares social media posts, along with other marketing support duties as assigned.

As a Business Intelligence Analyst for The Right Place, Nick provides support to the Business Intelligence team in the form of economic research and data analysis.

Kelly serves as the Executive Director for the Mecosta County Development Corporation. In this role, she leads the promotion of economic development in Mecosta County through the attraction, retention and expansion of business and industry.

As Business Research & Intelligence Manager for The Right Place, John provides business intelligence and economic research for the organization, investors and other stakeholders.

Ryan provides leadership in the development and implementation of economic development initiatives focused on People, Place, and Prosperity and in alignment with both local needs and regional strategies.

Amy Winkler is the Client Coordinator for the Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center-West Regional Office at The Right Place, Inc. Amy coordinates customer consulting and training projects, user groups and workshops, and monitors these activities’ compliance with contractual reporting requirements.

Ben is responsible for working with small to medium sized manufacturers in West Michigan, focusing on Mason, Lake, Osceola, Oceana, Newaygo, Mecosta, Muskegon, Montcalm, Ionia, and Northern Kent Counties. He helps them assess their opportunities for continuous improvement and growth.