Meet The Team
We are a team dedicated to the prosperity of Lancaster County through business and community success. We are committed to a culture of service, maximizing connections to accelerate growth, approaching community challenges with a solution-focused mindset, and leading opportunities on behalf of the business community.
Heather Valudes
President & CEO
Phone: (717) 696-6255
Email: hvaludes@lancasterchamber.com
Heather Valudes became the President & CEO of The Lancaster Chamber at the end of June 2022. Heather recently served as the Vice President of the Lancaster Chamber. She joined the Chamber in 2011 as the Advocacy Director with a focus on government affairs and community impact. Since that time, she has continued to advance that work while also leading events and programs strategy and engaging in the overall operations and strategic direction of the organization.
Katharine DeSantis
Public Policy Coordinator
Phone: (717) 696-3531
Email: kdesantis@lancasterchamber.com
Katharine builds, implements, and manages all aspects of the government affairs program of the Lancaster Chamber, inclusive of a pro-business agenda, policy research, grassroots efforts, managing issues committees, working with elected officials, and coordinating educational opportunities, while representing the interests of the business community at the federal, state, and local levels.
Membership Team
Tom Wallace
Director of Business Development
Phone: (717) 696-6235
Email: twallace@lancasterchamber.com
Tom is responsible for leading the strategic vision of business development and member relationship activities of the organization. He is also responsible for managing the Chamber’s Value Add and Ambassador programs.
Ryan Bainbridge
Business Relations Manager
Phone: (717) 696-6243
Email: rbainbridge@lancasterchamber.com
In his role as Business Relations Manager, Ryan, along with the rest of the Business Development team, will be responsible for overall growth and engagement of the Lancaster Chamber’s membership and investment model.
Events & Programs Team
Molly Crouser
Director of Events & Partnerships
Phone: (717) 696-6246
Email: mcrouser@lancasterchamber.com
In this role, Molly is responsible for the Chamber’s signature events like State of the County and Annual Dinner, as well as collaborating on events, programs, and initiatives that support the strategic direction of the organization. Molly is also responsible for the development and sales of sponsorships and representing and building relationships with strategic community partners. Molly cohosts the “What’s on Tap, Lancaster!” podcast.
Ashley Glensor
Workforce & Education Initiatives Manager
Phone: (717) 696-6240
Email: aglensor@lancasterchamber.com
Abby Williams
Programs & Events Coordinator
Phone: (717) 696-6247
Email: awilliams@lancasterchamber.com
Abby executes on the Chamber’s networking events like monthly mixers and Get Connected programs, our breadth of professional development opportunities, Industry Tours, and leads planning on our signature event, Leadercast. Abby also plays a vital support role in the planning and execution of the Chamber’s other yearly signature events like State of the County, Economic Forecast Breakfast, and Annual Dinner. Additionally, Abby uses her administrative expertise to coordinate administrative components for senior leadership.
Maya Fenner
Workforce & Education Initiatives Coordinator
Phone: (717) 239-6963
Email: mfenner@lancasterchamber.com
As the Education Initiatives Coordinator, Maya manages elements of the business/education programming, including the logistics for the Chamber’s Discovering Paths career exploration and readiness programming as well as outreach and coordination of the Inspire Lancaster work-based learning database. Her role includes attending relevant K-12 opportunities to promote the Chamber’s business/education programming and to represent Inspire Lancaster.
Ruby Santos
Business Programs Specialist
Phone: (717)
Email: rsantos@lancasterchamber.com
Ruby manages the curation & execution of programs, special initiatives, and niche groups for the Chamber. She will create relevant content and lead volunteers for a set of programs tailored to a business audience, including but not limited to, Excellence Exchange, Women in Business, Roundtables, Peer Groups, & Networking events.
Finance & Data Team
Julie Houck
Director of Finance
Phone: (717) 696-6244
Email: jhouck@lancasterchamber.com
As Finance Director, Julie oversees the fiscal operations of the Chamber, including the Foundation and Biz-Corp with value-adds – this allows the team to track the strategic initiatives of the organization to allow the Chamber to better serve the needs of the business community.
Laurel Riehl
Data & Verification Specialist
Phone: (717) 799-5331
Email: lriehl@lancasterchamber.com
Laurel manages the Chamber’s database software, ensuring the accuracy of data in the Chamber’s database, maintaining functionality of the software, and assisting with utilizing the data, which is vital to the success of Chamber membership, initiatives, and projects.
Communications & Marketing Team
Justin Johnson
Director of Marketing & Communications
Phone: (717) 696-6236
Email: jjohnson@lancasterchamber.com
Justin develops and implements a comprehensive communications and marketing strategy for the organization, focuses on storytelling to illustrate the Chamber’s mission and strategic priorities, and refines and implements the Chamber brand to ensure cohesion across all communications and marketing efforts.
Jared Spackman
Marketing & Communications Specialist
Phone: (717) 696-6249
Email: jspackman@lancasterchamber.com
Jared supports the Marketing and Communications department promoting the work of the Lancaster Chamber through graphic design and visual communications. Jared is responsible for designing impactful marketing materials, creating visually engaging content for digital and print platforms, and collaborating with cross-functional teams to ensure brand consistency.
Aliyah Mengel
Social Media Coordinator
Email: amengel@lancasterchamber.com
Aliyah is responsible for managing and curating content across all of Lancaster Chamber’s social platforms, engaging with our community, and implementing strategies to grow our social media presence.
Operations Team
Yolanda Brown
Director of Human Resources & Facilities Operations
Phone: (717) 397-1836
Email: ybrown@lancasterchamber.com
In this dual role, Yolanda’s responsibilities include managing the employee life cycle for all team members, creating & implementing HR policies, fostering organizational culture, and overseeing facilities management. This encompasses budgeting, building system maintenance, safety, and compliance, ensuring a well-maintained building that aligns with organizational goals.
Krista Sultzbach
Customer & Operations Support Specialist
Phone: (717) 397-3531
Email: ksultzbach@lancasterchamber.com
Krista is responsible for delivering superior customer service to Chamber members, the business community, and internal staff. As the primary point of contact, she assists members, visitors, and callers. Additionally, Krista provides logistical support to the Programs & Events team and efficiently manages all meeting room reservations and rentals at the Chamber.
Interns
Alex Swan
Data Management Intern
Phone: (717) 397-3531
Email: wbintern@lancasterchamber.com
As a Data Management Intern, Alex will be responsible for administering, tracking data for the analyzing and preparing the results of the 2024 Wage and Benefits Survey.
Fatimata Ly
National Civics Bee Intern
Phone: (717) 397-3531
Email: fly@lancasterchamber.com
As our National Civic Been Intern, Fatimata will be responsible for assisting in the management and planning of the National Civics Bee.
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