Lewis County Economic Development recently hired Cheyenne Steria as their new Finance Technical Specialist.  Keep reading to learn about Cheyenne's background, why she pursued this position, and her goals for the future!

The Cheyenne Steria Profile

What is your background?

My academic background is in Mathematics and Business.  My career has been mainly focused on Project Management, usually in numbers intensive (costing, financial analysis, processes) realms, but I’ve touched on sales, heavy construction and managing people too.  I was the Chair of the Village of Lowville Planning Board for 4 years.  I’m currently the Treasurer of the Lewis County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.

Why did you pursue the position with Lewis County Economic Development?

I participated in the inaugural Lewis County Leadership Academy class in 2011-2012 and it really sparked an interest and a passion in me for all things “Lewis County”.  Stopping the brain drain, highlighting our resources, etc.  In my travels around the County I would see vacant buildings and day dream about what they could be.  I was working at Climax at the time and living and breathing the struggles that many of our local businesses share.  I had friends in the Economic Development office, so I regularly engaged in conversation about it.  When I had to face the 7 people who reported to me and the 140+ others that didn’t as they learned they no longer had jobs I knew I had to do something.  Then this position became available and it just felt like the perfect fit.

What do you look forward to the most in your job?

Seeing people find good jobs.  Seeing our communities shine.  Doing my part to be a light and turn our collective outlook from negative to positive.  I’ve had two amazing mentors in my career thus far and maybe I can start to share some of what I’ve been gifted with.

What challenges have you faced so far, and how did you/have you overcome them?

There is a lot to do!  Identifying priorities and where we’ll get the most “bang for our buck” is so important, but not always as straightforward as you would hope.  Getting people to remember the big picture and come together to work toward common goals will need to be a focus.

How do you feel you will have the biggest impact on the organization?

I like organization.  I like to understand the details of a business in order to identify priorities, create focus and drive results.