• About The Alliance

    About La Plata Economic Alliance

Our Vision

The Alliance will enable La Plata County to be one of the most vital, vibrant communities in the country to live, work, learn, and play.

Our Mission

To create a vibrant and resilient economy through the recruitment, retainment, and growth of business to preserve our quality of life. This mission is achieved by workforce development, enabling business capacity, supporting affordable housing for the community workforce that is essential for long-term economic sustainability, and fostering public and private partnerships.

Our Strategic Plan

In the past, the Alliance embraced a strategic planning approach that looked ahead three years, supporting a vision and mission statement that underwent regular review and revision.

Over the last three years, our organization has navigated through unpredictable challenges, reshaping traditional approaches to economic development. Recognizing this evolving landscape, the Alliance underwent significant adaptations to address our community’s most pressing economic issues and ensure its vitality. This transformation involved a progressive shift towards fostering partnerships and developing programs strategically tailored to serve our membership and business community.

As we chart the course for the Alliance’s next phase, we recognize the value of shorter, more focused planning efforts. Given our environment’s inherent unpredictability, long-term planning has become increasingly challenging. Thus, we have embraced the Agile strategic planning framework, which allows for nimble decision-making in fluid and dynamic environments. This approach aligns with the needs of organizations experiencing transitional phases, enabling us to adapt and thrive amidst uncertainty.

Agile Strategic Plan

History & Purpose

  • 2009

    LEAD formed

    The La Plata Economic Action Development (LEAD) board was formed to promote an organized approach to economic development across the county, which previously did not exist. While LEAD was successful in bringing key partners together to create a vision for the community, as a volunteer run board, there was a strong need for a full time economic development organization to reach bigger development goals.

  • 2010

    LEAD gives way to Economic Development Alliance

    The La Plata Economic Action Development (LEAD) board was formed to promote an organized approach to economic development across the county, which previously did not exist. While LEAD was successful in bringing key partners together to create a vision for the community, as a volunteer run board, there was a strong need for a full time economic development organization to reach bigger development goals.

  • 2011

    Roger Zalneraitis hired on as Director of Alliance

    As a downturn in the oil and gas industry in the region was foreseen, the need for economic diversification became the focus of the Alliance. Roger Zalneraitis was hired on as the director, and focused on three main initiatives: airport development, a business park study, and broadband to every roof top.

    During Roger’s time at the Alliance he built the organizations structure from the ground up, and grew the Alliance’s business membership through the Partners and Progress initiative, a program that allowed members to apply money directly to one of the three initiatives mentioned above. During his tenure the airport saw significant air traffic increase, the business park study was completed, and broadband services across the county was improved. After serving the Alliance for 8 years, Roger moved on to a position with the Southern Ute Tribe.

  • 2020

    Mike French hired on as Director of Alliance

    After an extensive national search, Mike French joined on as the new director of the Alliance at the beginning of 2020. Mike’s experience in starting a private small business and growing it to a public organization has brought extensive business experience to the Alliance, and will focus the organization on business recruitment and retention efforts, expanding startup initiatives and foster additional strategies that reflect the community’s strengths for long-term economic prosperity.