Sally J. Guzik

Areas of Expertise

• Community Engagement and Strategic Communications

• Economic Mobility and Workforce Development

• Housing and Placemaking Strategies

• Innovation-Based Economic Development

• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Strategy

• Strategic and Organizational Planning

Sally J. Guzik is the President of Fourth Economy, where she leads national work in economic development, strategic planning, and community engagement. She drives initiatives that expand equitable access and economic mobility while guiding the firm’s overall strategy and growth.

With Fourth Economy, Sally led the Central New York Community Engagement Committee, which developed the Community Priorities Document that guided the $500 million Green CHIPS Community Investment Fund. That process ensured the fund addressed urgent local needs and long-term aspirations, setting the foundation for Micron’s historic investment in Central New York. She also supports the firm’s work across the country in shaping strategies for innovation districts, workforce systems, housing, and economic mobility. Her leadership brings together data, community voice, and actionable strategy to help communities design futures that are both ambitious and achievable.

Before joining Fourth Economy, Sally was the Executive Director at the Cambridge Innovation Center’s Philadelphia location, where she launched the Backstage Capital accelerator program and built the first social impact cohort, a model later replicated nationally.

Earlier in her career, she worked in environmental engineering consulting with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency, managed communications campaigns that secured national media coverage for farm-to-table restaurant groups and local food systems with outlets such as Condé Nast and Food Network, and served in programmatic staff roles at nonprofits in community and environmental health. She also volunteered for years as a bilingual doula, supporting women and families through childbirth. These experiences gave her a diverse foundation across infrastructure, communications, health, and organizational strategy that she now applies to economic development.

Sally holds a Master of Science in Global Strategic Communications with a focus on the diffusion of innovation and crisis management. She is certified in trauma-informed care, mental health first aid, racial equity training, crisis management, and decolonization training with Indigenous populations.

She was selected as a Coro Women in Leadership Fellow (2013) and received the President’s Volunteer Service Award (2007), honors that underscore her long-standing commitment to civic leadership and equity-centered work.

She serves on the Meadville Planning and Zoning Commission, the Crawford County Planning Commission, and the board of Common Roots Land Trust, where she helps shape housing and land use strategies in her community.