PEORIA, Ill. – The new leader of the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce says she’s “elated” to be in the role.
Jessica Linder-Gallo was formally introduced to the River City at an event at the Peoria Riverfront Museum on Friday. Gallo takes over the chamber President and CEO role from Joshua Gunn, who took a similar role in Glendale, Arizona last month.
Peoria Councilman Andre Allen chairs the Greater Peoria Business Alliance, who helped play a role in Gallo’s appointment to the top job. He says Gallo’s resume speaks for itself.
“Being able to help us obtain that grant from the state of Illinois that ultimately led us to the Rise Summit,” Allen said. “Her ability to really led the internal team and put in some processes in place, which I feel that we really needed to be more internally focused. And so, she was a great pick and made it an easy selection for sure.”
Gallo, a native of Morton, previously served as the Executive Director of chambers in Galesburg and Aurora, before returning to central Illinois to be the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce’s Vice President of Operations.
“This is a big role in our community, and so important to have somebody who’s supporting businesses. And it’s humbling to have someone say ‘Hey, we think you’re the person’,” Gallo said.
Gallo says Peoria has a lot going for it in terms of attracting businesses. She says a wide range of options for transportation; air, water, and trains, can help businesses bring in the goods they need. Another positive Gallo says a large entrepreneurship ecosystem works in Peoria’s favor.
But Gallo says the area will need to find ways to address a declining population in the Peoria area.
“Really making sure that we’re retaining folks that have credentials and skills that can feed those businesses, that’s really the currency of business attraction in the modern day, is what does your workforce pipeline look like, and who’s going to come work for me when I locate to your community,” Gallo said.
Gallo says she plans to work with the Choose Greater Peoria talent attraction initiative to help grow the population.
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