RAEDC Staff Bios
Janyce Fadden
President
As President of the Rockford Area Economic Development Council (RAEDC) Janyce is responsible for managing all the organization’s efforts, including business retention and expansion, new business recruitment, and improving the business climate of our region.
Prior to joining the RAEDC staff in June of 2004, Janyce served as the General Manager for Danaher Corporation. Throughout her 27-year career, Janyce has served in various capacities as President, Vice President and General Manager for Honeywell, General Signal, Applied Power, Pacific Scientific, and most recently Danaher.
Janyce earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering and Management from Clarkson University in Potsdam, N.Y., and she earned her Master of Business Administration degree from Northern Illinois University. Janyce is on the Rockford Alumni Board for the Northern Illinois University College of Business and was recently honored as the 2005 Alumni of the Year.
Mark Podemski
Vice President for Development 
Joining the staff in February 2005, Mark is part of the team responsible for business expansion and retention services within the Council.
Over a 19-year career prior to joining the Council, Mark held several leadership positions at Honeywell International in Product Management, Factory Operations, Sales, Business Development, and Engineering Management. In 2004, Mark established a management consulting company focused on performance improvement approaches necessary for profitable growth.
Mark holds a BS-Mechanical Engineering degree from the University of Wisconsin and an MBA from Babson College in Wellesley, MA. Additionally, Mark is a trained examiner for the Lincoln Award for Performance Excellence IL state quality award.
Eric Voyles
Vice President of National Business Development
Eric joined the staff of RAEDC in February of 2006. Eric leads the region’s business attraction outreach efforts. He serves as the liaison between the Rockford region and national real estate community, global site selectors and private companies considering first time investment in the Rockford region.
Eric has over 13 years of experience in economic development with expertise in business park planning and development, partnership and ally development, and rail-related logistics. He is also experienced in labor market assessment, strategic planning, existing business development, and incubator development.
Eric graduated from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, specializing in Finance and Economics, and a master’s degree in Public Administration with a specialization in Economic Development. He is a member of the International Economic Development Council, the Illinois Development Council, and the Chicago Traffic Club.
Tonya Lamia
Vice President of Investor Relations
As Vice President of Investor Relations for the Rockford Area Economic Development Council, Tonya is responsible for the RAEDC’s $7.5 Million, five-year capital campaign, Rockforward!, which is designed to generate $2.8 Billion of new wealth for the Rockford Region. Tonya serves as project manager for the Attracting and Retaining Talent to the Rockford Area initiative, which is focused on making the Rockford Region more attractive to the next generation of workers, and as a Strategy Team member for Next Rockford, a GenX / GenY advocacy group. Tonya also volunteers on the board of directors for the River District Association and on the committee for Rockford Day at Northern Illinois University.
Tonya earned her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees from Northern Illinois University, completed the Basic Economic Development Course through Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, and is working towards Economic Development Institute Certification through the University of Oklahoma.
Janet Mueller
Director of Research
Joining the RAEDC in June of 1999, Janet leads the Council’s research, organization, and interpretation of economic data as well as research of specific industries and companies. She also produces marketing materials and is web master for the RAEDC web site as well as maintaining the Location One Information System (LOIS) real estate database.
Janet’s background includes extensive research in the biomedical field at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Rockford as well as at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside.
Janet earned bachelor’s degrees in English and Life Sciences from the University of Wisconsin-Parkside.
Deb Dorsey
Investor Relations Manager
As Investor Relations Manager for the Rockford Area Economic Development Council, Deb is responsible for coordinating investor meetings and events, managing communications with new and prospective investors, and maintaining the organization’s investor database and online directory. Deb also provides support to the RAEDC Business and Community Relations Solutions Team.
Prior to joining the RAEDC staff in June 2008, Deb held marketing and management positions in a variety of industries, including financial services, manufacturing, and healthcare insurance. Deb earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing and Master of Business Administration degree from Northern Illinois University. She is also Green Belt certified in Six Sigma.
Leilani Hillis
Manager of Operations
Joining the Council staff in October of 2000, Leilani provides support to the President and RAEDC management staff as well as acting as board liason. She also provides support for events and various marketing projects, and coordinates the daily operations of the organization.
Leilani joined the RAEDC with several years of customer service experience.
Carrie Zethmayr
Client Solutions Coordinator
Joining the staff in 2008, Carrie supports business attraction efforts, focusing on establishing business relationships with China. She speaks Mandarin and French and has a background in Japanese and Italian.
Previously an intern with the RAEDC, Carrie is a 2008 Beloit College graduate who majored in languages and Asian Studies.