Erik Collins, MA

Director - Community & Economic Development
Montgomery County
Dayton, OH

Beyond leading the day-to-day functions of Building Regulations, Planning, Community Development, and Economic Development, Erik is actively involved in overseeing business attraction and retention, as well as the County's incentive programs. He was instrumental in developing the internationally recognized BusinessFirst! For A Greater Dayton Region Business Retention and Expansion Program that includes 34 jurisdictions in five counties. Since 2001, the program has connected over 9,800 local businesses with almost 100 different Resource Partners to help them grow their businesses. Erik’s business retention experience serves him well as a trainer for IEDC, OUEDI, and the Ohio Economic Development Association (OEDA). In 2017, Erik led in the BR&E curriculum development and instruction for OEDA’s new Economic Development certification program for Ohio Economic Developers. In addition to business retention and expansion, Erik has played a key role in bringing new investments to Montgomery County. A partial listing of projects include: Spectrum Brands Global Auto Care Division, the U.S. Headquarters for Automotive Parts Manufacturer Hematite, U.S. Headquarters for MSW Plastics, Collective Brands (the largest shoe retailer in the western hemisphere), CAT Logistics - the second largest CAT Logistics facility in the U.S., the P&G Mixing Center and WilmerHale - the fifth largest law firm in the U.S.

Erik has served and is serving on various boards including the University of Oklahoma’s Economic Development Institute’s (OUEDI) Board of Director’s, Greater Dayton Foreign Trade Zone, Secretary to the Montgomery County Community Improvement Corporation, Ex-Officio-Dayton/Montgomery County Port Authority, the Rotary Club of Dayton, the Ohio Economic Development Association and Past President of the I-70/75 Development Association.