The DeKalb County Economic Development Corporation (DCEDC) is pleased to announce Katelyn Lancaster as the DeKalb County Marketing Manager for the Opportunity Unbound Branding Program.
Lancaster brings extensive digital marketing experience, stellar analytical skills and solid marketing plan execution to DCEDC. In addition, Lancaster has established business and community relationships from past marketing positions in DeKalb County.
“The marketing manager is the cornerstone of Opportunity Unbound,” said DCEDC executive director Paul Borek.
Borek said promoting DeKalb County to attract professionals, makers, residents, students and visitors is crucial to recruiting talent to work at growing county businesses and contribute to county communities and institutions.
“We’re thrilled with Katelyn’s ability to elevate awareness of DeKalb County as the top location for business and community development in the Midwest,” Borek said.
Opportunity Unbound is the brand and marketing strategy which tells the story of DeKalb County as a growing, vibrant community where residents and businesses flourish, according to the DCEDC. Officials said the county’s location and workforce attracts international corporations and provides residents with opportunity to excel in one of several growing sectors. With affordable housing, excellent health care and exceptional education, DeKalb County is truly a place for you to live, work, and play.
“I am honored and grateful to be selected for this role. To work and serve the community that I love, is a tremendous blessing,” Lancaster said. “I am excited to share what the communities within DeKalb County have to offer. DeKalb County is a wonderful place to live, work and play – I am thrilled to tell the story.”
“We are so excited to have Katelyn joining our team and heading up the Opportunity Unbound branding and communication strategy,” said Cortney Strohacker, executive director of the DeKalb County Convention & Visitors Bureau. “Her experience and deep county roots make her the perfect fit for the Marketing Manager position. The best is yet to come for DeKalb County!”
The DeKalb County Convention and Visitor Bureau works on behalf of county stakeholders to attract leisure travelers and overnight visitors to the area’s diverse attractions and resources, which include a major public research institution with Northern Illinois University and a group of creative local makers and artisans known as Bold Spirits of DeKalb County. As the county’s only certified destination marketing organization, the bureau serves as a primary point of contact for meeting planners, sports tournament directors, tour operators, special event planners and travelers.
Before joining DCEDC, Lancaster worked for Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy in Aurora as the Senior Communications Specialist, Northwestern Medicine as a Marketing Specialist and the Sycamore Chamber of Commerce as the Events and Marketing Coordinator. Lancaster holds a Master of Science in Sports Administration from Valparaiso University and is an alumna of Sycamore High School.
DCEDC is a public/private partnership, established in 1987 as a 501c3 organization. DCEDC facilitates diversified and sustainable economic growth within DeKalb County, IL. The organization serves fourteen communities along I-88 and in the center of the I-39 Logistics Corridor. DeKalb County is a certified Enterprise Zone.