Ian J. Beniston, AICP, Deputy Director

Ian J. Beniston is the Deputy Director of the Youngstown Neighborhood Development Corporation (YNDC). Under the general direction of the Executive Director, Ian is a strategic thinker and innovator responsible for assisting the Executive Director with operationalizing effective organizational structure and programming that positions the organization for success. He is primarily responsible for the management of program staff, development of innovative programming, resource development, budgeting and finance, marketing and communication strategies, development of strong partnerships and relationships among diverse stakeholders, and organizational development to create a successful organization in a complex postindustrial weak market context.

Ian comes to the YNDC with six years of urban planning and neighborhood development experience in the private, non-profit, and public sectors. Previously, Ian served as Director of Policy for the Mahoning Valley Organizing Collaborative. As Director of Policy, he served as a consultant to YNDC’s Board of Directors where he played an integral role in the creation and development of the organization. Ian also spent several years working for the nationally recognized urban planning consulting firm, ACP Visioning+Planning. He began his career as an intern in the City of Youngstown’s Planning Department during the early stages of the award winning Youngstown 2010 planning process.

Ian’s involvement with community initiatives includes serving on the selection committee for the Youngstown Zoning Code Update project, steering committee of the Mahoning/Youngstown Vacant Property Initiative, planning committee of the Regional Network, and the executive committee of APA Cleveland. Ian was selected as a 40 under 40 award recipient by the Mahoning Valley Young Professional group in 2009 for his work in the community.

Ian holds a Master of City and Regional Planning from The Ohio State University and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Youngstown State University. He has studied the European approach to reinventing older industrial cities at the Technical University of Dresden in Dresden, Germany. He is also a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners. Ian resides in Youngstown with his wife and two Irish Wolfhounds.

Contact Ian at ibeniston@yndc.org.