Convening the Region

Southern Tier West has a sixteen (16) person Board with five (5) members appointed by each of the three county Legislatures and one (1) member appointed by the Seneca Nation of Indians.

Regular meetings of the Board are held on a monthly basis on the third Thursday of every month, unless otherwise ordered by the Chairman.  Staff, local, state and federal partners; and the region's public and private partners meet to discuss relevant issues that are significant to the Southern Tier West region.

2026 Officers

CHAIRMAN
​Donald McCord
Chautauqua County

VICE CHAIRMAN
Kier Dirlam
Allegany County

SECRETARY
Crystal Abers
Cattaraugus County

 TREASURER
Deb Root
​Allegany County

Board Members

Craig Clark, County IDA, Allegany County
Carissa Knapp, County Administrator, Allegany County
Deb Root, Retired Legislator, Allegany County
Brooke Harris, Legislator, Allegany County

Norm Marsh, Legislator, Cattaraugus County
Anthony Nagel, Mayor, Village of Cattaraugus, Cattaraugus County
Peggy Root, Program Administrator, Cattaraugus County
Catharine Young, Cattaraugus County

Kim Ecklund, Mayor, City of Jamestown, Chautauqua County
Tom Harmon, Legislator, Chautauqua County
Paul Wendel, Jr., County Executive, Chautauqua County
Rebecca Wurster, Planning Coordinator, Chautauqua County

Donielle Lovell, Director of Community Planning, Seneca Nation of Indians

Committee Assignments

2026 Meeting Schedule

Executive commitee

2026 Executive Committee Members:
Crystal Abers | Kier Dirlam | Donald McCord | Deb Root

eda/arc project committee

Crystal Abers | Kier Dirlam | Donald McCord | Rebecca Wurster

finance committee

Crystal Abers | Donald McCord | Deb Root | Peggy Root

local government committee

Crystal Abers | Stacy Beardsley | Emma Cook | Kier Dirlam | Donald McCord | Lauren Sharp

policy committee

Kier Dirlam | Donald McCord | Peggy Root

southern tier west business resource center, inc. (stwbrci) committee

Crystal Abers | Kier Dirlam | Peggy Root

THURSDAY
MARCH
19

THURSDAY
AUGUST
20

THURSDAY
APRIL
16

THURSDAY
SEPTEMBER
17

THURSDAY
MAY
21

THURSDAY
OCTOBER
15

TUESDAY
​JUNE
16

THURSDAY
NOVEMBER
19

THURSDAY
JULY
16

THURSDAY
DECEMBER
17

​​All Board Meetings are held at 4039 Route 219, Salamanca, NY in the Southern Tier West Offices unless otherwise noted.