Nathan Ohle

Nathan Ohle is an internationally recognized expert in economic development and a leader of public, private and nonprofit organizations. He currently serves as the President & CEO of the International Economic Development Council (IEDC), a non-profit, non-partisan membership organization serving economic developers, with more than 5,000 members globally. In 2017, he was selected as one of 40 Under 40 Rising Stars in economic development internationally.

Nathan’s economic development experience and leadership span decades at the local, state, and federal levels. He served as the Senior Advisor at the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA), overseeing policy and external affairs. He also was the lead for the U.S. Department of Commerce on the White House Rural Council and the Administration-wide Community Solutions team, leading initiatives across the Department of Commerce, as well as serving as the Deputy Director of the Detroit Federal Working group. He developed new partnerships for EDA and created the first-ever Office of Philanthropic Engagement at the Commerce Department, helping align the interests of the philanthropic sector with the federal government.

Before joining IEDC, Nathan was the Chief Executive Officer of the Rural Community Assistance Partnership (RCAP), a national network of non-profit partners working to build capacity in rural and tribal communities across the country. Under his tenure, RCAP’s budget and team almost tripled, expanding work in economic development, access to safe drinking water and sanitary wastewater, and disaster recovery for rural and tribal communities across the country. He led RCAP’s operations and strategic planning, serving more than 3.4 million rural and tribal residents in 2020.

Before moving to Washington, DC, Nathan served in the non-profit sector and as the Board Relations Liaison for the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. He holds two degrees from Michigan State University.

Nathan has served on several non-profit boards and is an active volunteer in the community. He resides in Falls Church, Virginia, with his wife and two children.