Dan Culhane
President & Chief Executive Officer
Ames Regional Economic Alliance
Dan Culhane, CEcD, CCE, is the President & CEO of the Ames Regional Economic Alliance where he oversees a staff of 17 and programs for 9 organizations.
In his current role he has led several initiatives including the modernization of the Ames Municipal Airport, the annexation of over 1,300 acres for the creation of Prairie View Industrial Center, and the recruitment and expansion of over 75 companies to the Iowa State University Research Park and the Ames Metropolitan Statistical Area supporting the creation of thousands of jobs.
He is a 1993 Graduate of Iowa State University with a B.S. degree in Community & Regional Planning and a 1998 Graduate of the University of Oklahoma’s Economic Development Institute. He earned his CEcD (Certified Economic Developer) in 2000 and the Chamber industry’s highest designation, the Certified Chamber Executive (CCE), in 2011.
Dan has served on numerous boards and is a current member of the YSS Foundation board. He has also served on the board of the United Way of Story County and chaired the 2017 campaign, which was the largest campaign in its history and remains today. He co-chaired Reggie’s Sleep Out in Ames to promote the needs of homeless youth as well. He has served as chairman to several organizations over the years including the Iowa State University Athletics Letterwinner’s Club, the Iowa Chamber Alliance –a coalition of Iowa’s largest community’s Chambers of Commerce, the Professional Developers of Iowa, and the Mid America Economic Development Council –a multi-state peer group from Ohio to the Dakota’s.
A native of St. Charles, MN, Dan, and his wife Stacey live in Ames, Iowa and have two adult daughters, Katie, and Maggie, that live and work in Chicago and Kansas City, respectively.