Taylor to lead Empire State Development regional office

Meghan Taylor has been appointed mid-Hudson regional director for Empire State Development Corp., replacing Aimee Vargas, who will take a role elsewhere in state government.

Taylor will work under Empire State Development’s incoming president, CEO and commissioner, Howard Zemsky, managing daily operations of the mid-Hudson office and promoting economic development practices to retain and attract businesses in the Hudson Valley region. Taylor also will serve as executive director of the Mid-Hudson Regional Economic Development Council.

“I look forward to this new opportunity and will work hard to further the mid-Hudson region’s economic development agenda and stimulate job growth throughout our area,” Taylor said in a press release announcing her appointment. “I am eager to contribute to the exceptional work of the staff already in place and am delighted to be working alongside the co-chairs and members of the Mid-Hudson Regional Economic Development Council.”

An Empire State Development spokesman told the Business Journal that Vargas will remain with the administration of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo in a new role to be announced in the near future.

Taylor holds a bachelor”™s degree in finance from Binghamton University and an MBA from Mount St. Mary College in Newburgh. Prior to joining Empire State Development, she was the president of the Putnam County Economic Development Corp.