Welcome & meet our staff

Often times, it’s location and timing, which make real estate, business and
development decisions work. We ensure that you get a tangible component
to assist you in achieving success and that is our team. Their local
knowledge, experience and respect amongst their peers, is one of the
greatest incentives Tioga County has to offer you.

Douglas Barton, Director

Doug was raised in Tioga County and has been leading the department since
December 2003. After obtaining his B.A. from Mansfield University, he spent
ten (10) years in the Material Handling industry. This experience included National
Accounts Coordinator for Raymond Corporation and leasing manager for the Raymond
dealership in San Francisco, CA. He also wrote and delivered training programs
for Hyster Corporation.

His return to Tioga County began a decade of operation of a local restaurant and catering business. In 1995, after serving for one year as Assessor for the City of Binghamton, Doug joined Tioga County as the Director of Real Property.

Department of Economic Development & Planning

Economic Development

Jeffrey Stoke, Deputy Director

Jeff was raised in the area, but only settled back in Tioga County after having served as Director of Economic Development for Page County, Virginia and working in the Delaware County, NY Department of Economic Development. He has served as the County’s Project Manager for the Best Buy Co., Inc. distribution center development, Tioga Downs Racetrack, LLC, and the Lockheed Martin "Marine One" project. He also has been instrumental and successful in writing grants to obtain infrastructure and brownfields remediation funds. Jeff has administered U.S. HUD backed lending programs and offered educational, financial and technical assistance to small businesses. Jeff obtained his B.A. from S.U.N.Y. Buffalo and a M.P.A. from James Madison University (VA).

Teresa Saraceno, Development Specialist/Empire Zone Coordinator

Teresa is responsible for assisting new and existing businesses to locate and expand within Tioga County through her promotion and utilization of the New York State Empire Zone Program. Teresa leads the County’s Small Business Assistance Program. She additionally coordinates and develops resource referrals for our business customers. Prior to joining Tioga County in 1999, Teresa worked with the City of Binghamton Department of Economic Development for 12 years. Teresa obtained her B.A. from Binghamton University.

LeeAnn Tinney, Business Administrator

LeeAnn is the Business Administrator to the Tioga County Industrial Development Agency and Tioga County Local Development Corporation. As Business Administrator, she is responsible for assisting the Board of Directors of both organizations in a diverse range of functions including budgeting, financial reporting and management, administration of the County’s Payment-In-Lieu of Tax Program (PILOT), revenue reporting, and revolving loan fund administration and management. Prior to joining the County in 1996, LeeAnn was employed in the mortgage brokerage industry

Cathy Haskell, Secretary to Economic Development & Planning

Cathy is the Administrative Assistant to both the Economic Development and Planning sections of the Department. As the first point of contact, she is responsible for the direction of inquiries from the public. She is additionally responsible for the administrative support, coordination of schedules, and conference and travel arrangements for the Department.

Planning

Elaine Jardine, Planning Director

Elaine was born and raised in the local area and has been the Planning Director for Tioga County for the past 7 years. Prior to that she served for 5 years as the Regional Planner for the Northern Tier Regional Planning and Development Commission. She has been the lead on many significant planning initiatives throughout the County. These efforts have included the County’s Comprehensive Plan, Future Land Use Plan, Municipal Infrastructure Feasibility Studies and several other like efforts. She has additionally led the County’s efforts in developing GIS capabilities within the County, which now has over 70 layers available for both planning and development. Elaine holds a B.A. from S.U.N.Y. Geneseo and a M.A. from S.U.N.Y. Binghamton.

Joshua Brown, Associate Planner

Josh was born and raised in Bradford County, Pennsylvania and joined the staff in December 2006. Prior to this position, he served two (2) years as the Comprehensive Planner for Bradford County, PA where his work included: drafting municipal comprehensive plans, conducting zoning map amendment reviews, developing GIS layers, mapping for municipal projects and providing planning education to local planning commissions. Josh holds a B.S. in Geography with a Geology Minor from Mansfield University.