The York County Economic Alliance and Downtown Inc are proud to announce continued evolution for our team that Makes Things Happen in our Historically Edgy Downtown York.

Jonathan Desmarais has been named the next Director of Downtown Inc.  Jonathan joined the Downtown Inc and YCEA team in 2020 as Marketing & Communications Manager and brings strong knowledge of the organization, the work of Downtown Inc, our community, and its potential. Jon has a proven track record of success in leading the marketing & communications for Downtown Inc these past two years, launching successful campaigns such as the Downtown Dash social media marketing series, Virtual First Fridays, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the YoCo Taco Tour, and Coffee Crawl. Jon will begin his new role as Director of Downtown Inc immediately.

The YCEA and Downtown Inc are also excited to announce that Britney Brooks will join the organization in a new role as the Director of Community Engagement. Britney is currently a school resource officer with the York City School District. Britney has a passion for connecting community members and organizations to solve pressing issues. As the organization drives forward the strategic focus of our County-City-Downtown Action Plan, and the Bloom Business Empowerment Center, Britney will support existing engagement efforts, and strengthen further relationships with business owners, budding entrepreneurs, neighborhood groups, residents, stakeholders, and offer an even more enhanced community presence and strengthen participation at impactful events throughout York County, and within York City. She’ll work to further strengthen relationships between our Downtown York community, neighborhood organizations, our community development nonprofits, and promote the work, programs, services, and resources of the YCEA, Downtown Inc, and our partners, to best serve the needs of our community, and advocate for its success.

As an additional exciting development, Hannah Beard, celebrating two years with Downtown Inc and the YCEA this year, continues to excel in her work with our team and our community, and effective immediately will expand her focus and expertise with the new title of Marketing & Merchant Engagement Manager. Hannah has become known by many through her avid support of our Downtown merchant community, her energy and enthusiasm at business ribbon cuttings and announcements, and her commitment to celebrating the success of our York community.  Hannah organizes and leads the First Friday committee, manages the Welcoming Communities Grant Program, and is a lead for the Bloom Grant outreach and communication for the Downtown Inc team.

“What better way to jump into the new year than with this exciting evolution of our team! Our team wakes up daily to make positive things happen in our community, Jon, Britney, and Hannah certainly demonstrate their commitment to community daily in their professional and personal lives. We are an organization that strives for perpetual improvement, this announcement continues the journey for our team to drive forward our community’s success,” said Kevin Schreiber, President & CEO of the York County Economic Alliance.

Jon, Britney, Hannah, along with the rest of the YCEA team to continue to leverage the expertise and resources, to drive widespread, shared economic prosperity throughout our York County community. Please join us in celebrating the dynamic changes for Downtown Inc and the YCEA. To view the full team of the YCEA and Downtown Inc, visit www.yceapa.org/who-we-are/ycea-team/