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Sara Hailstone

Director, Community and Economic Development

Sara Hailstone was named Director of Community and Economic Development for the City of Allentown, Pennsylvania, in March 2010. A senior member of the Mayor�s cabinet, Hailstone is responsible for a broad range of planning and organizational activities as well as directing the City�s Bureaus of Health, Building Standards and Safety, Planning and Zoning and Economic Development and their programs. She also coordinates economic development with other City departments, citizen groups, governmental and other public agencies, and private enterprise and oversees the City Community Development Block Grant Program.In April 2012, Hailstone was elected interim Executive Director of the Allentown Neighborhood Improvement Zone Development Authority, the nine-member City organization that oversees construction of the Allentown arena and evaluates applications from members of the private sector pursuing financing for development within the zone.Prior to her current position, Hailstone served as Regional Director for the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) since 2007. In that role, she acted as DCED liaison to economic and community development projects in 15 counties in Northeast Pennsylvania and worked to improve neighborhoods with community-changing high-impact multifaceted development projects.From 2002 to 2007, Hailstone was Executive Director of the Office of Economic and Community Development in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where she directed the distribution and administration of $20 million in Community Development Block Grants as well as $5 million in small business loans that created more than 400 new jobs. During that time, she also oversaw the financing of the City�s new parking garage and marketed Scranton to new businesses and businesses wishing to relocate.Prior to that, Hailstone was Project Director for Scranton Tomorrow and First Night� Scranton from 1999 to 2002. She has also served as chairperson or co-chair of several additional major community celebrations and fundraisers in and around Scranton. Hailstone began her career as an Admissions Counselor for Marywood University in Scranton from 1996 to 1999.Active in the community, her current board memberships include the Allentown Economic Development Corporation, the Allentown Housing Authority and Allentown Parking Authority. �She previously served on the boards of Penns Northeast, Scranton Community Concerts, United Cerebral Palsy, United Way of Lackawanna County and Nay Aug Conservancy.Hailstone earned both a master�s degree in public administration with a concentration in nonprofit organizations and also a bachelor�s degree from Marywood University. She resides in Allentown.