Our Team

As Chief Executive Officer of Team NEO, Bill Koehler is focused on seeing Northeast Ohio grow and thrive. With more than 20 years of banking experience behind him, Bill puts his knowledge and expertise to work as he collaborates with partners and others to attract new businesses and accelerate the impact of innovation in the region.

Bill has become a powerful voice in the economic development community, helping to align the services of Team NEO with the needs of the region. Under his leadership, Team NEO is working to improve the performance of northeast Ohio’s economic development system, with the support of its many partners.

Prior to joining Team NEO, Bill served as President of Key Community Bank, where he led 9,000 employees across 14 states. During his banking career, Bill worked with private and public middle market companies. Bill earned a Master of Business Administration in Accounting and Finance from Columbia University’s Business School and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Harvard University.

Bill serves on a number of education-related, non-profit boards and committees including College Now of Greater Cleveland, Friends of Breakthrough Charter Schools, Urban Community School; and is the former Board Chair of St. Ignatius High School. Mr. Koehler also served as Co-Chair of the Harvard Club of Northeast Ohio’s Schools and Scholarships Committee for 10 years. Bill is a member of the Advisory Board for Bancsource, a portfolio company of CapitalWorks, a middle market focus private equity investment firm.

Christine Nelson leads Projects, Sites and Talent at Team NEO, and believes in the unlimited potential of Northeast Ohio.  Her group works with over 300 companies annually to assist with growth and job creation.  Ms. Nelson brings over 20 years of economic and community development expertise at the city, county and regional levels. She joined Team NEO in 2008, most recently served as vice president, business attraction and aided in the attraction of over 40 companies to the region.

A graduate of Hiram College, Ms. Nelson also received a Master of Public Administration degree from Cleveland State University and is a Certified Economic Developer by The National Development Council. In addition to her responsibilities with Team NEO, Ms. Nelson is the President of the Board of Trustees for the Greater Cleveland Community Improvement Corporation and serves as the Vice-Chair of Arts Cleveland. She resides in Lakewood with her husband and twin sons.

As Managing Director of Project Management, Walt leads Team NEO’s project management group which is focused on growing jobs and investments across our 18 county region.

Walt brings 17 years of economic development experience from the Youngstown/ Warren Regional Chamber, most recently as vice president, economic development, business retention and expansion. He was instrumental in leading local development efforts there from 2004 – 2011 that resulted in 156 projects with almost $2 billion in new investment, 9,200 new jobs and 15,600 retained/maintained positions. Prior to that, Walt worked for the Cafaro Company, one of the nation’s most prominent and successful retail real-estate developers.

Walt is a graduate of Youngstown State University, former vice president and board member of the Ohio Economic Development Association, board member of CASTLO Community Improvement Corporation, president of the Mahoning County Community Improvement Corporation and liaison to the Western Reserve Port Authority.

Camille is responsible for managing projects that lead to the attraction of domestic and international companies to the Cleveland Plus region. Camille manages client relationships and helps to execute projects by connecting prospective businesses with a variety of resources including: providing customized data and relevant factors on the region, helping to determine potential local partners and determining the most appropriate financial incentive package.

Camille joined Team NEO with 8 years of deal execution experience in the banking industry. While at Bank One (now JPMorgan Chase) and Societe Generale, she structured and helped to sell Asset Backed Securitization bonds in a variety of industries. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Management from Albion College and a Master of Public Administration degree from Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University.

As a seasoned economic development professional, Shawn Starlin serves as Team NEO’s Director of Project Management and Site Selection. In coordination with JobsOhio and community partners, Shawn assists companies seeking to locate and expand in Northeast Ohio with the goal of facilitating and supporting job creation and capital investment throughout the region.

Prior to joining Team NEO, Shawn spent six years with the Wayne Economic Development Council where he assisted in projects totaling more than one billion in capital investment, adding 4,600 new jobs to the region. Shawn also served as the first Executive Director of the Holmes County Economic Development Council.

Shawn holds his bachelor’s degree in urban studies from Ohio Wesleyan University.

Stephen works closely with local economic development partners to attract and retain businesses in Northeast Ohio, resulting in job creation and an increase in capital investment. He provides insight into the business case for growing in the Northeast Ohio Region and recommends solutions to help drive investment decisions and location options.

Most recently Stephen served as Program Officer, Workforce & Social Investments for the Cleveland Foundation where he helped develop strategies for its $150 million social impact investment initiative and oversaw an annual $5 million grantmaking budget supporting grantee partners across the workforce development, entrepreneurship, innovation landscape as well as investing in urban, semi-rural and rural geographies.

He holds a Masters of Business Administration Degree in System Management from Baldwin Wallace University and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Human Ecology from The Ohio State University. Stephen is civically engaged through various volunteer roles. He resides in Mayfield Heights with his wife and 2 children.    

As the Director of Site Strategies, Bryce Sylvester works with JobsOhio and community partners to sell the competitiveness of Northeast Ohio for business investment, resulting in job creation and an increase in capital investment in the region. He focuses on leading development and management of real estate projects for competitive investment. Bryce also supports Job Hub pilot projects and the site programs of JobsOhio and Team NEO. 

Before joining Team NEO, Bryce was the Director of Planning and Development for the city of Lakewood where he led economic, real estate and housing development strategies and projects for the city. In this role, Bryce oversaw development projects across the retail, office, residential, industrial and education sectors citywide, in addition to facilitating over $140M of proposed development in 2019. He played a role in leading key strategies for the city including work on business development, parks redevelopment, land acquisition, facilities planning and resiliency planning. 

Bryce holds a Bachelor of Arts in Finance and Marketing from Baldwin-Wallace University. He also holds a Master of Urban Planning and Development from Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs, Cleveland State University. Bryce earned a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt in 2014 and is a Lean Ohio Boot Camp instructor at Cleveland State University. Bryce currently serves on the Cleveland State & Case Western Reserve Internet of Things Collaborative (IoTC), Public Sector Advisory Committee.  

As Director of Site Strategies, Peter Zahirsky works with JobsOhio and community partners to enhance and market the competitive quality of sites and buildings in the region to facilitate business expansion and attraction projects.  Peter supports JobsOhio resources and programs to stimulate job growth and new capital investments in the Northeast Ohio Region. He also collaborates with the Fund for Our Economic Future to support Job Hub pilot projects.

Before joining Team NEO, Peter was the Deputy Director for Planning and Development at the Lake County Port Authority. In this role, Peter’s primary focus was the implementation of the Lake County Coastal Development Plan and Landside Communities Plan, both of which provided templates for leveraging private investment along Lake County’s shoreline into catalytic economic development projects with county-wide and regional impact. Peter also handled many of the Port Authority’s regular economic development work including brownfield remediation, site marketing and development, and business outreach.

Peter has a Bachelor of Arts in History from Ohio University. He is a graduate of Cleveland State University’s dual-degree program from which he holds a Master of Public Administration from the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs and Juris Doctor from the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law. He is a licensed attorney in the State of Ohio and is also certified as an Economic Development Finance Professional by the National Development Council.

As a Project Manager, Erika Roitblat works with companies, JobsOhio and partners to facilitate the project and site selection process for investment, job growth and job creation in Northeast Ohio.

Most recently, Erika was a Graduate Assistant for Education Abroad at Cleveland State University Center for International Services and Programs. She also was University Relations Coordinator for Eastern Midwest at CISabroad (Center for International Studies). Erika holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Ohio University and a Master of Public Administration from Cleveland State University.

Jacob leads research and strategy for the Cleveland Plus region’s business development efforts to better serve the information requirements of Team NEO’s various partners and communities engaged in targeted and sustainable region-wide economic growth. His primary responsibilities include analyzing the regional economy to provide greater perspective on the challenges and opportunities in Northeast Ohio and developing strategic and actionable insights to encourage economic growth. 

Jacob has been with Team NEO since 2008. Previously, Jacob served as an integral part of the organization’s business attraction efforts in leading our work around site selector engagement and proactive energy development. Jacob holds a Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies from Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs, Cleveland State University, where he also holds a Master of Science in Urban Studies. He is a member of the Urban Studies Association, American Economic Association and American Planning Association.

As a member of the research team, Sondra gathers and provides data for internal and external audiences, including economic development organizations, and state, county and local government entities to support Team NEO’s core mission of accelerating business growth and job creation throughout the 18 counties of Northeast Ohio.

Prior to joining Team NEO, Sondra worked with the Walnut Hills Redevelopment Foundation as the Events & Communications Coordinator. She was responsible for community engagement, event management and communications, including a successful community street food festival and neighborhood cleanup initiatives. Sondra also spent six months working on locally owned, sustainable farms in County Clare, Ireland before returning to Cleveland.

A Parma native, Sondra holds a Bachelor’s in Urban Planning from the University of Cincinnati and holds a Certificate in GIS from Cleveland State University, focusing on how GIS systems and Urban Planning theory can provide greater context to aid regional change.

Laura is responsible for overseeing the financial and business operations of Team NEO and supports special assignments such as diversity and inclusion initiatives.

Previously, Laura was a senior manager at Deloitte & Touche where she focused on information systems and internal controls audits and was instrumental in leading regional HIPPA activities for the healthcare industry and was a national facilitator of Sarbanes-Oxley regulations. Prior to Deloitte, Laura spent 11 years at Ernst & Young, working in the Cleveland, National and London offices where she focused on financial services, manufacturing and health care industries in both Ohio and Michigan.

Laura is a Certified Public Accountant. She sits on the boards of the Animal Protective League, The Cleveland Leadership Center and The Club at Key Center. Laura has been a volunteer for the United Way in various capacities for more than 20 years.

Jackie Fairbanks is responsible for Team NEO’s accounting function and supports the VP, Finance and Administration.

For the previous 17 years, Jackie was self-employed as a CPA, specializing in accounting for not-for-profits.  The work included bookkeeping, tax and advisory services.  Prior to that, Jackie spent 10 years at Ernst & Young, working in the Northeast Ohio offices where she focused on auditing not-for-profits, manufacturing companies and benefit plans.

Jackie is a member of the Ohio Society of CPAs and the AICPA.

Eileen McLaughlin serves as a trustworthy partner and liaison to Team NEO’s CEO, Bill Koehler. She ensures that operational functions run smoothly and efficiently, providing a full spectrum of administrative support and professional representation to the CEO and his staff.

Eileen has more than 30 years’ experience, with much of her career being spent in the banking industry. Prior to joining Team NEO, Eileen worked for PNC where she provided project management and high-level administrative support to senior-level executives. She has also worked for Charter One Bank (acquired by Citizens Financial Group) and Women’s Federal Savings Bank (acquired by Charter One Bank).

As Office Manager, Lea Smith is responsible for creating and maintaining a highly effective administrative services process. In this role, she is responsible for the management of administrative functions and the administrative internship program, and supports the Director of Operations to implement and clarify staff organizational procedures, financial controls, and expense report submission.

Before joining NorTech, now Team NEO, in August 2010, Lea was a receptionist at Zaremba, a Cleveland-based real estate developer. She was responsible for providing administrative support to the property manager and served as an onsite liaison for building tenants at Zaremba’s Charter One Global Enterprise Center. Prior to joining Zaremba, Lea was a client services representative at OSI Collection Services, Inc.