The Upjohn Institute is pleased to announce the hiring of Iryna V. Lendel as its senior director of regional economic and community development.
Lendel is currently a research associate professor of economic development at Cleveland State University and the director of the Center for Economic Development, based in the university’s Levin College of Urban Affairs. She earned her first Ph.D., in economics, from the Lviv Regional Institute of the Ukrainian Academy of Science, and her second Ph.D., in economic development, from Cleveland State.
Lendel has published research in economic development and energy policy and serves as an assistant editor of the journal Economic Development Quarterly. She has produced more than 100 professional reports, including economic impact studies and feasibility analyses.
As a consultant, Lendel has worked with organizations including the World Bank. She speaks four languages and has been named both a Fulbright Research Scholar and a Fulbright New Century Scholar.
“Iryna brings a rare combination of management experience, collaborative partnerships with academic researchers, and extensive experience building a client-based portfolio of work,” said Upjohn Institute President Michael Horrigan. “That aligns perfectly with the vision we have for the work of our Center for Regional Economic and Community Development.”
The position oversees the Institute’s newly formed Center for Regional Economic and Community Development, which comprises the Regional Economic Development and Community Development divisions. The Regional team helps local public and private entities with problem-solving and decision-making and gives economic outlook presentations in Michigan and beyond. The Community Development team oversees community partnerships including with both the Kalamazoo Promise, the first-of-its-kind free-tuition scholarship program, and the Southcentral Michigan Planning Council, a regional planning organization designated by the Michigan Legislature.
In her position, Lendel will serve as a public face of the Institute in the community and with local media. She will identify projects that bridge the worlds of research and policy, with practical applications to local and regional economies.
“I look forward to working with the great team of researchers at the Upjohn Institute on expanding the area of applied research and providing regional and national stakeholders with the facts to assist in building prosperous, just and equitable communities,” Lendel said.
Lendel’s first day with the Institute will be August 1.