Ellie Ezzell Zytka leads the Economic Research & Strategy team at the Regional Industrial Development Corporation of Southwestern Pennsylvania (RIDC). She oversees RIDC’s economic impact analysis, measuring job creation, tax base expansion, and SWPA regional competitiveness, while conducting research on emerging drivers of growth across the Pittsburgh region. Ellie also manages RIDC’s policy initiatives, including cleantech and energy transition, Seedling, and RIDC’s Autonomy Initiative. She works with local governments, industry partners, and community stakeholders to align redevelopment projects in distressed and transitioning communities with long-term economic opportunity. Since joining RIDC in 2020, she has helped advance major redevelopment and innovation initiatives through data-driven policy and place-based planning. Prior to RIDC, Ellie worked in education and immigration policy. She holds a Master of Public Affairs from the LBJ School of Public Affairs.