Board of Directors

John Kearney
Chair

John Kearney has served as a member of the Town of Colonie Industrial Development Agency since 2010. John is the retired Secretary/Treasurer and Business Agent for the Teamsters Local 294 and an active community volunteer. John has served as Secretary and Chair of the United Way of the Capital Region; Vice-President of the Albany Boys and Girls Club, Vice-Chair and Chair of the Regional 210th Armor Association, Board Member the Albany County Empire Zone Administrative Board; Secretary of the Albany County Democratic Committee; and Board Member of the Regional Teamsters Pension and Health and Welfare Funds. John attended Cornell University, the School of Industrial and Labor Relations, and the American Institute of Banking. He is an active member and communicant at St. Pius X Catholic Church.

Peter Gannon
Vice Chair

Peter Gannon has served as a member of the Town of Colonie Industrial Development Agency since 2017. Peter is President and CEO of the United Way of the Greater Capital Region. Prior to that, he spent nearly ten years as President of the Arsenal Business and Technology Partnership, where he was responsible for all strategic planning, marketing, fundraising, and tenant management. Prior to joining the Partnership, he served as Director of Operations in the Town of Colonie and Director of Communications to Assembly Majority Leader Ron Canestrari. He was a member of the inaugural class of the Leadership Tech Valley and, in 2011, was named one of the Business Review’s Forty Under 40. He is active in various community organizations including the Board of Associates at the College of St. Rose, the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society, and Albany Pop Warner. Peter was recognized for his successful leadership role in the 2015 Friendship Walk for Best Buddies. In addition, he works as a member of the adjunct faculty at SUNY Schenectady County Community College. Peter earned his undergraduate degree in public communications from the College of Saint Rose and his MBA from the Lally School of Management at RPI.

Alison Blessing, CPA
Secretary

Alison Blessing has served as a member of the Town of Colonie Industrial Development Agency since 2018. Alison is a certified public accountant with over 20 years of leadership experience in public and private accounting and is the firm administrator at Teal, Becker & Chiaramonte CPAs, P.C. Alison was a previous board member and treasurer of The Food Pantries of the Capital District (2012-2017) and was also an At-Large Member of the New York State Government Finance Officers Association Board of Governors from 2011 to 2015. Alison graduated with a B.S. in Accounting from Siena College and an A.S. in Business Administration from SUNY Adirondack. Her prior experience in public accounting includes performing audits; compliance audits; reviews; compilations; and attestation engagements for municipal, for-profit, and not-for-profit entities; and as the Chief Financial Officer of The New York State School

Carm Basile
Treasurer

Carm Basile has served as a member of the Town of Colonie Industrial Development Agency since 2016. He is the Chief Executive Officer for the Capital District Transportation Authority, an Albany, New York-based mobility management company with an annual operating budget of $100 million and more than 725 employees. The company’s programs and services are spread throughout Albany, Saratoga, Schenectady, and Rensselaer counties. The company has an extensive list of mobility options including buses, a regional bike share program, an electric scooter program, and a micro-transit service. Carm serves on a number of boards and civic organizations including the Capital Region Chamber of Commerce, Christian Brothers Academy; Discover Albany, United Way of the Greater Capital Region, the New York Public Transit Association. Carm graduated from Worcester State College in Massachusetts with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Urban Studies.

Thomas Despart, III

Gary Rinaldi

Gary Rinaldi has served as a member of the Town of Colonie Industrial Development Agency since 2008. Gary currently directs Business Process Development and Systems Integration, Division of Health Plan Contracting and Oversight at the New York State Department of Health, Office of Health Insurance Programs. Prior to this he has held a number of key management positions in the Department as the Director of various Bureaus and programs. Gary is a founder and past president of the West Latham Home Owners Association and a member of the Colonie Coalition of Neighborhood Associations. He also and served on various Town committees including the Comprehensive Land Use/Planning Studies (2010-2100 and 2017-2018) and Route 7 Corridor Traffic Study. Gary holds an MBA from the Lally School of Management at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from St. Michael’s College in Vermont.

David R. Yule, CPA

Opportunity Starts Here

Industrial Development Agency (IDA) & Local Development Corporation (LDC)

The Colonie IDA and LDC have supported more than $450 million in project investments in the Town of Colonie, New York since 1990. Recent projects include:

The Ayco Company

$23.6 Million in Capital Investment
717 New Jobs Created
185 Jobs Retained

Afirm’s Sports Inc.

$10 Million in Capital Investment
51 New Jobs Created
4 Jobs Retained

Restaurant Depot

$8.5 Million in Capital Investment
42 New Jobs Created

Chris’ Coffee Service

$6.2 Million in Capital Investment
92 New Jobs Created

More Projects
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